There is much debate as to where snowboarding originated. But whether snowboarding descended from skiing or skateboarding, snowboarding is a legitimate sport that requires a descent on a snowy slope using a snowboard. It is difficult to really point out who started this fun-filled sport, but one thing is for sure: somebody will always have the idea of sliding down a snowy slope on a board or sled.
The growing recognition of snowboarding around the world is evidenced by its establishment as a sports discipline in 1995. As such, snowboarding has been included in events in Winter Olympics and Winter X-games. It even has a US Open tournament of its own. The growth of snowboarding as a sport is undeniable as more and more people get hooked on it.
Now that you are among the countless ones who want to try out the fun and excitement that only snowboarding can give, it is high time that you learn the basics of making your very first downhill ride on a snowboard. So how do you begin?
First, you need to procure the necessary snowboarding equipment. You need to have the right snowboarding gear, clothing, boots, and of course, snowboard. Make sure that your snowboard is the right size for you; not too expansive or narrow.
If you already have the necessary equipment, you can start learning the basics of riding your snowboard. Here are a few important things to remember as you start to find your destiny in snowboarding.
Keep in mind that snowboarding is similar to snow skiing. The body movements that enable you to control and stabilize your snowboard are the same as the movements in skiing. Therefore, if you are already a skilled skier, there will be fewer problems for you ahead. A skier will have easier time than a skateboard thrasher to learn snowboarding.
Always be in a relaxed position. Like any sport, snowboarding requires a calm and hang-loose mindset. Most accidents and injuries in snowboarding happen when one is in tensed position. As you mount your snowboard, keep your knees bent; a stiff stance will only make you absorb impacts between your snowboard and snow.
Do not start learning how to snowboard by immediately riding down the snowy slope during the first time. Instead, begin with snowboarding across a small patch of snow. Get a feel for the sport. Be conscious of your snowboard and your movement. Are you comfortable in your getup and equipment?
Try steering the snowboard over the small area you are in. Practice making turns, learn the finer points of toe-side turns, which means turning by lifting your heels up while pressing your toes to the snowboard; or heel-side turns, which make use of your heels for your turning. Once you have mastered the basics of balancing and steering your snowboard, you can move to a bigger patch of snow, but do not try a long and steep slope just yet.
Now that you have actually moved on your snowboard, you have to learn how to stop your snowboard. Stopping a snowboard basically requires making more turns until you find your self going for an uphill position. An uphill direction will certainly slow your snowboard down until you are in a complete stop.
After learning all the basic riding movements, you can now try a full-scale ride down a longer and steeper snow slope. Good luck!
Kevin Ryan's The Illustrated Guide to Snowboarding offers one of the most useful guides to snowboarding for people from any level, whether beginners wanting to learn more about the sport and get their techniques sharpened, up to instructors and professionals seeking to further hone their skills on the slope.
Reader reviews and feedback on this book showed that it has a lot of useful drills featured that helped them improve their game immensely after repeated practise. The drills are written in a step by step fashion that seems ambiguous at first, but makes complete sense once you actually try them out. Furthermore, the book's coverage is all-encompassing, including tips for beginning, to intermediate, to advanced skill levels.
The approach taken by the author is both humorous and scientific, employing small drawn illustrations to show drills and techniques. While there are few actual pictures involved, these hand drawn illustrations are funny to look at and yet maintain a good degree of accuracy in portraying the skills and techniques being demonstrated. The author uses a lot of jokes and quips interspersed with facts and the illustrations are likewise a mix of serious, factual ones and cute, cartoony renderings of snowboarding stuff.
Most professional instructors in snowboarding who read this book found new drills and skills they could teach their classes inside the beginner sections, so this book's coverage is quite extensive. Furthermore, the author knows that certain skills can ONLY be conveyed though actual practice and demonstration, so he goes out of his way to state when certain skills are best acquired through a snowboarding instructor.
One of the sections that a lot of readers will probably find useful is the chapter on snowboard care and maintenance. Where most how-to books devote footnotes or at best, a few pages to the care and maintenance of equipment, Kevin Ryan actually goes out of his way to write an in depth full chapter on tips for taking proper care of your snowboard.
There is even a section on the ergonomics of skateboarding, covering the proper way to carry and ride a board to minimize the physical strain on the snowboarder. This also includes explanations on the physics and mechanics of snowboarding. While not exactly necessary for most people, this chapter is useful for people who are more technically inclined, like say, industrial designers who might be out to design a new type of snowboard.
Unlike some instructional books, this book does not seek to replace the need for an instructor, but instead seeks to augment and expand on the knowledge gained from working with a good qualified snowboarding instructor. For those who insist on learning everything from a book and doing it themselves, however, the book's attention to detail and exhaustive explanations of the mechanics of snowboarding are actually enough to let them get by and teach themselves through practice and repetition.
This book is 336 pages long, and it's first edition was published by the renowned book company McGraw-Hill back in 1998. Despite being published 8 years ago, to this day it remains one of the most popular and sought after instructional books for snowboarders. No matter what your skill level, it's guaranteed that you will benefit from reading this book that is already considered a classic "encyclopedia" in the sport by avid snowboarding enthusiasts.
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