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Communications Among Skateboarders

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:57:55 +0000

Skateboarders’ self-identities are tied to the number and difficulty of the moves they perform. Participants constantly try to invent even more spectacular (and dangerous) moves, working together at the skate park performing, practicing, and acting as mirrors for each other as well as relying on information in videos and magazines, the archives of skateboarding history. In the United States such magazines as Skateboarder, Thrasher, and Big Brother and in the United Kingdom Skateboard!, R.A.D., and Sidewalk Surfer are the products of skateboarders who publish what the community has to say while recording the history-in-the-making of the subculture; the great proportion of still and high-speed sequence photographs reveal the performance emphasis of the skateboarding ethos.

Skateboarding History

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:56:11 +0000

Skateboarders use their boards for transportation, kinetic expression, and rebellion.The board consists of a “deck,” usually made of wood and covered with highfriction grip tape; two “trucks,” for suspension and turning; and four wheels. The skateboard originated as a scooter in California in the 1930s, but by the 1950s the handlebars had been removed and the decks were shorter. Surfers took up the sport in hilly Californian coastal cities, which allowed them to recreate a sense of being on the sea.
In the 1960s skateboarding surfers took to riding the banks of empty backyard swimming pools, making tricks such as the kickturn (riding nearly vertically up a wall before lifting the front wheels and pivoting 180° to drop back down) possible. Skaters, as they became called, used all elements of the city and suburban landscape as their playground. Intentional “skate spaces” proliferated in the 1970s. Design and construction techniques were further refined and continually modified to keep up with improvements in skate techniques, which exploded in the 1980s. Renowned athletes such as Tony Hawk popularized aerial, ollie (jumping in the air while keeping the board on your feet) and flip variants of the 540° (1.5 full rotations); Danny Way began experimenting with 900° (2.5 full rotations) aerials in the 1990s.These extremely technical and dangerous moves were made possible with the help of bigger and better wooden-ramp skate parks often designed, owned, and managed by skaters themselves.

Records in Wimbledon

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:53:53 +0000

Several records have been broken at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club over the past twenty-five years. In 1980, Sweden’s Bjorn Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, becoming the first male to do so in over a hundred years. His victory over John McEnroe, a five-set thriller that included a 34-point fourth-set tiebreaker, is arguably the most memorable match in tennis history. Other notable records include Boris Becker becoming the first unseeded and youngest male champion in the tournament’s history; Martina Navratilova setting the all-time record of nine Singles titles in 1990; and Pete Sampras of the United States attaining his record seventh Gentlemen’s Singles title in 2000.

The Wimbledon Era

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:50:22 +0000

In the 1960s, those in charge of Wimbledon faced increased pressure from the ruling International Tennis Federation (ITF) to allow professional players to compete in its championships. For years,Wimbledon would permit only amateurs (that is, players who did not receive financial assistance from the ITF) to play in its tournament. However, with most of the world’s top players now turning professional, the Lawn and Tennis Association decided to keep up with the times and permit professionals to compete with amateurs at Wimbledon. The inaugural winners in the 1968 Wimbledon Open Championships were Billie Jean King and Rod Laver. Since 1968 the Championships have continued uninterrupted.
Records Broken
Several records have been broken at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club over the past twenty-five years. In 1980, Sweden’s Bjorn Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, becoming the first male to do so in over a hundred years. His victory over John McEnroe, a five-set thriller that included a 34-point fourth-set tiebreaker, is arguably the most memorable match in tennis history. Other notable records include Boris Becker becoming the first unseeded and youngest male champion in the tournament’s history; Martina Navratilova setting the all-time record of nine Singles titles in 1990; and Pete Sampras of the United States attaining his record seventh Gentlemen’s Singles title in 2000.
Venue Today
While Wimbledon’s present location has remained the same since 1922, many changes have been made to its grounds to accommodate the increasing number of spectators who flock to London to watch the Championships each year. In 1997, a new Court 1, a media center, and two extra grass courts were built to help improve the quality of the tournament for fans, officials, and players. Including Centre Court and Court 1, the club now has nineteen grass courts in use for the Championships. Future plans for the club include erecting a retractable roof over Centre Court to help avoid the rain delays that have befallen these Championships over the years.

History of All England Croquet Club

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:48:53 +0000

The All England Croquet Club began in 1868 as a private club in the small town of Wimbledon just outside of London. In 1875 Major Walter C.Wingfield introduced a game called lawn tennis, which was immediately popular with club members.The game left such an impression on its members that two years later they decided to rename the club “The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club.” That same year the inaugural Lawn Tennis Championships were held using several of the same rules and regulations that govern the game today. The first Gentlemen’s Singles champion was Spencer Gore, who bested a field of twenty-two participants. In 1884 two significant events—the Ladies’ Singles and the Gentlemen’s Doubles—were added to the Championships. Maud Watson came out of a field of thirteen women to take the first Ladies’ Singles Championship, while William and Earnest Renshaw took the Doubles title. At the turn of the century, the Championships began to display a more international flavor. In 1905 May Sutton, an American, became the first non-British player to win the Championships. Two years later, Norman Brookes of Australia became the first foreigner to win the coveted Gentlemen’s Singles title. To help meet the growing popularity of the Championships, in 1922 the club was moved to its present location on Church Road.The current venue was opened by King George V and funded partly through the reserves of the club. After the move,Wimbledon’s beautiful grounds were able to accommodate over fourteen thousand people. Initial concerns regarding ticket sales for the Championships were quickly dismissed—in fact, ticket demands became so great during the tournament’s first year that tickets had to be allotted using ballots, a system still in use today.

Introduction on All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:46:38 +0000

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is the site of the most prestigious tournament in tennis: Wimbledon. Also known as “the Championships,” Wimbledon challenges elite junior and professional players from around the world to compete on the club’s famous grass courts. Of the four major tennis tournaments played every year that compose the Grand Slam of tennis—the Australian, the French,Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open—Wimbledon is the oldest and the only one played on grass. It is often referred to as the truest test of tennis because it requires players to adapt their playing style to the low bounces produced by the grass surface.

Traditions

Playing on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon requires competitors to conform to some of the longstanding traditions of the club.While bowing on Center Court to the Royal Box (where members of the British Royal family sit on occasion) is no longer required, players must still wear all-white tennis apparel. Although over the years some players have protested Wimbledon’s preeminent role in the sport, many players still view tradition-rich Wimbledon as the most important tournament to win.

The Future of Aikido

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:42:21 +0000

Aikido will likely develop on a large scale because there is significant demand from people who have tired of competitive sports and because many individuals have welcomed aikido as a unique form of physical activity that offers a combination of mental and physical stimulation not available elsewhere.
On the other hand, the increasing popularity and success of competitive martial arts such as judo and taekwondo in the Olympic Games bodes well for aikido, too.The Tomiki Aikido Network has held international competitions and contests since 1989, with widespread excitement evident among the participants, who enjoy the thrill of competition as in other athletic sports.
This enthusiasm for competition, however, is not generally shared by practitioners of other styles of aikido. Indeed, Aiki-kai strongly forbade competition after Kenji Tomiki created the free practice training method in 1961, which allows two aikido practitioners to compete. The reasoning behind the ban is that contests may produce a mind-set that is more interested in competition than cooperation.
More recently, however, a contest in the format of kata, with the winner being decided by a judging panel that scores each participant’s performance, has become popular in many non-Tomiki aikido schools. Some clubs and some schools hold contests and give commendations to winning participants as an incentive, although strictly speaking this practice may result in producing a mind that wants to compete against other people. Going forward, the competitive mind-set—pro and con—is likely to remain a thorny issue in the aikido world.

Aikido Around the World

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:39:03 +0000

Aikido has the greatest number of schools in Japan, France, the United States, England, Germany, and Italy, in that order. Minoru Mochizuki was the first person to teach aikido in France, from 1951 to 1953. Then Tadashi Abe and Nobuyoshi Tamura of Aiki-kai followed. Aiki-kai aikido in France was promoted in affiliation with the French Judo Federation, which allowed aikido instructors to more easily receive government subsidies and to rent fully equipped gymnasiums at minimal cost. Consequently, tuition costs have been reasonable, a fact that has also helped to draw followers. France has approximately fourteen hundred clubs in two large organizations.
In North America Yoshimitsu Yamada and other younger instructors contributed to the rapid popularization of Aiki-kai aikido during the late 1960s. As of 2005 there were six hundred and forty clubs from various schools.The United States Aikido Federation (Aikikai, www.usaikifed.com) has the most with around two hundred and twenty clubs on the mainland.The United Kingdom has around three hundred and thirty clubs under the British Aikido Board (BAB, www.bab.org.uk). Three of the four main schools now have their own international organizations, the International Aikido Federation (Aiki-kai, www.aikido-international.org), the International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation (Yoshinkan, www.yoshinkan-aikido.org) and the Tomiki Aikido Network (JAA).

Introduction on Aikido

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:37:05 +0000

Aikido is a Japanese martial art that includes techniques for fighting empty handed, with weapons, or for subduing an armed opponent.The distinctive feature of aikido is characterized by a training method based on “kata” (a practice of aikido forms),while other Japanese martial arts, like judo, use two training methods, kata and randori (a free practice using the moves of kata in a more realistic and competitive setting).The kata method is well suited to younger and older people and to women because it is a safer and enjoyable way to practice a martial art. People are often impressed by aikido’s graceful movements because, as many instructors point out, aikido movements maintain a person’s stable center with an emphasis on spherical rotation characterized by flowing, circular, and dance-like motions. Aikido is largely divided into two categories: joint (wrist, elbow, and shoulder, etc.) techniques (kansetsu waza) and striking techniques (atemi waza). Although aikido techniques have the power to kill and injure, their fundamental purpose is to seize and control an opponent. All of the principles of Japanese swordsmanship (eye contact, proper distance, timing, and cutting methods) are incorporated into the movements of aikido. Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) founded aikido and promoted it throughout Japan with his son and heir Kisshomaru Ueshiba (1921–1999). He learned several forms of martial arts, but he derived the major techniques of aikido from the Daito-ryu jujitsu style, which he learned from Sokaku Takeda (1860–1943). Jujitsu is an art of weaponless fighting that employs holds, throws, and paralyzing blows to subdue an opponent. Ueshiba also established the Aiki-kai aikido association. As to the meaning of aiki—the core concept of aikido —“ai” means to come together or harmonize, while “ki” means energy or spirit or mind.We can trace aiki back to martial arts literature of the Edo era (1600/1603–
1868). Toka Mondo (Candlelight Discussion), written by a master of Kito-ryu jujitsu in 1764, says aiki means that two fighters come to a standstill in a bout when they have focused their attention on each other’s breathing. Other interpretations exist. For example, the book Budo-hiketsu Aiki no Jutsu (Secret Keys to Martial Arts Techniques), published in 1892, says aiki is the ultimate goal in the study of martial arts and may be accomplished by “taking a step ahead of the enemy.”
Organizations
There are three other major organizations that were established by Ueshiba’s leading pupils in the world of aikido.The Ki-Society (established in 1974) is regarded in second position. Its founder is Koichi Tohei (b. 1920) who started aikido in 1939 and was at one time supposed to be Ueshiba’s successor in Aiki-kai. He emphasizes the power of “Ki” in aikido, which he defines as the unification of mind and body, and became independent from Aiki-kai in 1974.Yoshinkan (established in 1955) is in third place. Its founder Gozo Shioda (1915–1994) practiced with Ueshiba beginning in 1932, and established a practical training method while teaching aikido at the police academy in Tokyo. The Japan Aikido Association (JAA, established in 1974) is in fourth place. Its founder Kenji Tomiki (1900–1979) originated the randori (free practice) training method of aikido in about 1961. It combines Ueshiba’s techniques with judo, founder Jigoro Kano’s theory on the modernization of Japanese schools of jujitsu.The JAA is the only school in the big four to promote the practice of both kata and competition. There are other smaller groups in Japan and other countries that are or were led by master instructors, among them Noriaki Inoue (Shineitaido school), Minoru Mochizuki (Youseikan), Minoru Hirai (Korindo), Kanshu Sunadomari (Manseikan), and Kenji Shimizu (Tendoryu).

The Transferal Problem

admin — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:12:19 +0000

Although adventure education can nourish positive character traits, some people question whether the social and moral skills that participants are taught can be easily transferred to the participants’ daily social and professional lives.The success of transferal is an element of uncertainty in adventure education. In adventure education people are confronted with nonspecific transferal, which means that the learning experiences in adventure education courses take place in an environment (mountains, rivers, lakes, etc.) that is different from the environment in which participants have to make use of such learning experiences.