> I've been downhill skiing most of my life and in all that time on the slopes I've never once sustained an injury as severe as getting punched in the face. I

> I've been downhill skiing most of my life and in all that time on the slopes I've never once sustained an injury as severe as getting punched in the face. I think you're right about injury rates of skiing vs boxing, but I don't find your anecdote convincing. One could just as easily say, "I've been free-solo rock climbing for a decade and I've never gotten more than a blister." Different sports have different distributions of injuries. In some, you're perfectly fine until you're dead. In others, you slowly accumulate damage. Because of this, it's better to ignore anecdotes (even ones involving lifetime experience) and look at stats.