By Osam Sakamoto
Columnist
Believing in the success of a single moment has caused skateboards to be flipped by many riders over the years.
Due to the popularity of surfing, people began to balance on four-wheeled boards; out of this, the sport of skateboarding emerged. The idea was to experience the thrill of surfing without actually going to sea. Since then, men and women, children and even the elderly have succeeded in feeling the excitement from riding skateboards.
The shape of skateboards was gradually changed over decades, and we now have a model that has a slight curve on both nose and tail of a skateboard. The change in the shape was, in my opinion, a revolution. The transformation was genuinely significant in skateboard history. In fact, it enables skateboarders to do various types of tricks. For example, a“360 Shove-it,” in which a skateboard horizontally spins 360 degrees, is an important cornerstone for learning more tricks. Flipping a skateboard with a front foot, which is called a kickflip, is also an essential trick to elevate skaters into the more advanced level. If we combine a 360 shove-it and a kickflip, we make an advanced trick known as a, “360 flip” or “treflip”: in which a skateboard flips once while spinning 360 degrees (which is cool!).
The skateboard culture also influenced word usage. Skateboarding terminology is fascinating trivia. You would not wander in a maze of vocabulary if you knew some words such as “sick” and “sketchy” (“Sick” meaning sweet or awesome and “sketchy” meaning rough or difficult.)
In time, skateboarding had detached itself from its surf-related origins and imprinted its image onto the world as its own unique sport, joining ranks with other extreme sports worldwide.
Starting off from a minor branch of surfing, skateboarding has lately become well-known from Dew Tour, Street League and X Games. Some of you might know these lords of skateboarding: Jake Brown, Nyjah Huston, Ryan Sheckler, and Tony Hawk. Jake Brown was particularly tough. He fell from 15 feet high in Big Air from X Games and slammed hard on the ground. In a few moments, he stood up in the harsh atmosphere and the tense audience was relieved.
Inspired by these big stars and events, I found myself entering into the extreme world at the age of 16. My enthusiasm has remained the same since I started because no other things interest me in the same way. Skateboarding is an art just like other sports. We can be freely creative in it. It is an endless game. Once we learn a trick, we soon come up with the next trick that will be another tough wall. Every challenge is an opportunity to be better. Skateboarding imparted to me two all-star mottos: “never give up” and “you can do it.” This sport virtuously raised me, though pain was often involved.
These are the reasons why I really love skateboarding. Whenever I do terribly, I can always take a step back and try to find something in particular that I am doing wrong. Skateboarding is a competition against ourselves, and we never lose, because we fall, get up, and skate again.