Express Action Sports

Anyone who has seen a surfer or skateboarder pull off a flying aerial move is amazed that a human can do such an incredible trick. Although we are all completely dumbstruck by the performance of these maneuvers, these sports often have an unfair reputation of not being truly professional. We often consider these athletes to simply be kids who have spent too much time playing around on the beach.

Surfing and Skateboarding are no longer sports dominated by athletes with talent only. These professional athletes spend many hours training. Professional surfers now spend almost as much time out of the surf, working out (often with trainers) on balance balls, with weights, and in the gym and swimming pool. They do thorough warm up sessions before going out to compete and often also have cool down routines for after a surf.

The use of scientific analysis in surfing has been long in coming. There are a number of reasons for this and I won’t give you a history of soul surfing, but the main reason is the difficulty of doing any physiological or biomechanics testing on a surfer. Because surfers do their sport in water and shifting, changing waves (size, direction, steepness…), it is very difficult to test them in the same conditions and obtain relevant scientific results.

Recently, for the first time a team of scientists joined some professional surfers in the Mentawais and recorded their paddle speed, surfing speed and heart-rate during surfing sessions. They also took blood samples to monitor lactic acid build-up and hydration data. These scientists were able to provide the surfers with some physiological and performance data which will surely help them to train better for competition.

Using video to analyze surfing is another way in which these athletes and other non-professional surfers could improve their performance. The professional surfers get lots of video of their performances from all different angles and we hope they use this information to make improvements. Of course, because of the changing waves and the 3 dimensional nature of surfing (moving up and down, forward and sideways), it is difficult to make comparisons with video.

As we looked through some of the video from the surfing trip to the Mentawais, we found one of Jordy Smith of South Africa, performing a Rodeo Clown Flip. We won’t try to describe the move here. At about the same time at a competition in the Maldives, an American surfer, Patrick Gudauskus was completeing the first ever rodeo clown in competition.

We have decided to look at both these videos and compare their performances. Jordy’s wave is the first video and then Pat’s wave is the first part of the second video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVIDlndAWhw&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-udTqZS5GM&feature=player_embedded

Once you get over being completely amazed that surfers can do such things on a wave, take a closer look. The first thing you will notice is that Jordy is on a much bigger wave than Pat and this can make comparison difficult. We can still look at the technique though and we will do this in stages.

1. The Setup: Jordy launches into his rodeo clown with his board facing almost vertically up at the sky, while Pat’s board is about 30 degrees from the vertical when he launches. This may be because of the size of the wave. However, what is obvious is how this affects the height of the flip. Jordy’s vertical entry helps project him higher into the air.
2. The Take Off: Here both Jordy and Pat transfer their weight onto their back foot. This helps them launch the board out of the water, bring the board up to their hands for the grab and creates the rotation by pushing on the back of the board.
3. The Grab and Spin: Once again they both use a similar technique here. They both grab the board quickly once they are in the air and begin their rotation. Some of their rotation has come from the back foot pushing on the board but once they are in the air they both use their heads to complete the spin. Watch how they both turn their heads to their left (the direction of spin) . If they did not use their heads to turn they would not be able to complete the spin.
4. The Top of the Flip: As they spin around both surfers actually travel upward to their high point. The high point of the flip is determined by the surfers maximum height above the wave. It is obvious here that Jordy is much higher than Pat throughout the flip. At the top, Jordy’s body and board are well above the wave (we can see sky and clouds between him and the wave). Pat’s board and body are at just about the height of the wave. Although in this case it does look like Jordy is much higher we need to clarify this by pointing out that Jordy is on a bigger wave (this is not controlled by the surfer) and the camera angle filming these two flips is not the same and therefore the camera angle used to film Jordy’s flip may be making it look much higher than it was.
5. The Landing: The landing of course is dependent on all the other factors that occurred before, including the take off, spin and height. Jordy has rotated further and is still above the wave as he prepares to land. He therefore needs to stretch out his legs to find his landing and ride out of it. Pat, on the other hand has not been able to rotate as far, because he did not get the same height above the wave. He is forced to land low down, but by landing with knees bent and hands still on the board he too is able to ride out.

So both of these flips were spectacular and although they looked different they were actually performed with similar techniques and there is a lot to learn by analyzing the videos. Unfortunately, those of us who surf for fun and do not have sponsors, do not have too many opportunities to see ourselves in action. You can however set up a camera on a beach or get someone to film you from the beach. Try to get video looking straight out at the wave from the beach. It is difficult to analyze your performance when studying video that was filmed at an angle to the wave. It is also useful to have some sort of calibration scale that can be used to measure height (as we did in a previous post on Measuring Jump Height). Of course if you can get more than one camera setup you can really take a look at your technique from multiple views, which makes sense for a sport such as surfing. We love to hear your comments or suggestions. Let us know what you think or what you want to see posted.

Dudley Tabakin

Action Sports are very popular these days and there are many types. They include sports such as Motocross racing, Surfing, Waterskiing, Parasailing, Rock Climbing and the list goes on. Here is a brief history of the beginnings of a few of the more popular Action Sports.

History of Skateboarding.

Skateboarding began in Southern California sometime in the late 40s or early 50s. Southern California has some of the most popular surfing spots in the state which attract surfers from all over the world. Even when the waves were not right the surfers wanted to be able to surf so somehow skateboarding evolved, no one really knows who built the very first skateboard, but the idea caught on and spread like wild fire. Today there are skateparks, ramp skating, trick skating and the Skateboard itself has evolved to allow skaters the ability to perform very complicated tricks and maneuvers.

History of Snowboarding.

The first Snowboard was called the Snurfer and was manufactured as a toy in 1966. I was basically a Skateboard with no wheels that you would steer with a rope. It had no bindings but would allow your boots to adhere to the board. In the early 70s a surfer developed a Snowboard called the Winterstick based on the feel of a surfboard but with the same function as skis. Through the years Snowboards and Snowboarding have increased greatly in popularity with the boards now being designed to enable Snowboards to race and perform freestyle tricks.

History of Skiing.

Skiing began as a means of travel and transportation. Sondre Norheim of Norway helped develop Skiing as Recreation and a Sport. In the mid to late 1800s lighter, thinner, cambered skis and a new stiff binding were developed which made it possible for skiers to swing, jump and maneuver turns while skiing down hill.

Some types of skiing are;

Alpine Skiing is what you do when you go to a ski resort, ride the lift and let gravity propel you down the run.

Alpine Freestyle or Jib skiing is where skiers use jumps or kicks to do aerial tricks.

Back Country Skiing or Nordic touring uses Nordic style equipment which allows skiers to ski up hill in areas where there are no chairlifts.

Cross Country Racing is one third up hill, one third downhill and one third flat.

Adaptive Skiing is done by people with physical disabilities and allows for adaptations to standard ski equipment.

Military Skiing is recreational and a means of transportation for the military, many armies train for ski warfare.

Nordic Jumping or ski flying is where skiers slide down a ramp and fly to see who can to the furthest before landing on the ground.

Nordic Skiing is the most popular style and does not require a special ski area and was developed in Scandinavia as a means of travel in winter.

Telemark skiing uses flexible ski boots that do not lock the heels into the skis which allow the skier to travel at higher speeds.

History of Cycling.

Cycling has grown in popularity over the years and throughout the world. In some countries it is a means of transportation through very narrow streets that will not allow cars to travel or countries where cars are too expensive. Cycling as a sport has increased in popularity throughout the world as well and uses bikes that are specially designed for the terrain and speeds.

Action Sports Gifts.

Action Sports are becoming more popular everyday and there are many types. They can include other sports such as Motocross racing, Surfing, Waterskiing, Parasailing, Rock Climbing, 4 Wheeling, Snowmobiling, Drag Racing, Mountain Biking and more.

Some interesting gift ideas for an Action Sports enthusiast might be to decorate a small tree with Action Sports Ornaments. There are Skateboarding Ornaments, Bike Racer Ornaments, Gifts for Snowboarders, Snowboarding Ornaments and Skiing Ornaments. These are just a few of the different types of Action Sports Gifts that are available. They are sure to be a hit with any Action Sport enthusiast.

Debby Brown

From barrier breaking auto-racing to the calm and peaceful game of golf, the globe of games and sports has consistently been exciting. When the masses get pleasure from frequently watched sports such as tennis and soccer, there are most many people who are involved in sports that do not have considerably fan following. But, even those sports are adequate to fascinate the athletes and audience alike. For instance, kayaking is not a highly normal sport but you can acquire a lot of shops with Kayak accessories and kayak hardware.

There is 1 type of sport that is while highly favorite but only couple of many people are courageous adequate to be a portion of it as a specialist athlete – the extreme sports. The accurate definition of extreme sports is challenging to acquire, but it can basically be categorized as a sports or activities that are connected with the adrenaline rush that is felt by the athletes and the audience as properly.

Extreme sports are also referred to as Action Sports or adventure sports considering that they mostly fulfill the thirst for thrill and adventure. These sports can take participants to the edge of their physical and psychological extreme. Also, these sports involve a highly high risk of fatal injury. In spite of this, just about every sport that entails a high risk of injury could not be extreme.

The term extreme sports is stated to be coined by the extremely publicized Television event, The X games. In spite of this, the origin of such games links back to straight forward games and sports. The extreme enthusiasts frequently add new and risky approaches and maneuvers in existing sports to make it alot more thrilling for them and exciting for the audience.

Skateboarding, which is a normal and favorite activity about the neighborhoods of America, was taken to extremes by performing extraordinary maneuvers at unimaginable heights and hazardous terrains. Similarly, extreme enthusiasts took the typical bike and BMX ride and turned the activity into extreme sports such as dirt biking and extreme BMX.

The scope of going extreme in a sport is not limited to getting land but also in the sky and water. Sky diving, paragliding and bungee jumping are some of the most preferred sports of this type. Plus, hiking is also taken to the next level by climbing the most impossible locations such as glaciers and high mountains.

Water gliding, surfing and paragliding are only couple of of the sports that take the participants to the extremes of their physical and mental endurance. Other water extreme sports incorporate canoeing and rafting against speedy raging rivers.

As apparent in most sports of this type, these sports do not will need any unique ground or conditions. Rather, they are played in a natural environment with practically no or highly much less safety gear and equipment. At present, there is a new breed of extreme sports that relies entirely on human physical capabilities and the capacity to transform the body into an extreme machine. A favorite example of these activities is zero cost running in which participants jump and run with practically super-human abilities.