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| A fresh
perspective on Freestyle Snowboarding with
a dash of Freestyle skiing thrown in for good
measure. Benjamin Rok - or
barok on
the
SnowJapan.Com
Forums - brings you
the haps on the everyday freestyle scene from
wherever he travels to.
Spotlights include secret spots, rider
profiles, trick tips,
equipment and gear reviews, all with a
bit of humor thrown in for good measure.
Baroks member page on Snow Japan
can be found
here
(you need to be logged in to view the page.)
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27th June 2003
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The
Elusive Art of Finishing
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In most sports, finishing is an
art form. Right before a goal is scored is the moment of greatest tension
for the players involved. Muscles flex, teeth clench, and everyone
involved gives 110% of what they’ve got. If a player finishes properly,
a goal is scored, and the attacking team celebrates the grace and style of
the players involved in their collective success. If the player finishes
poorly, there is no goal, no celebration, and the replays pointing and
pinin show ineptitude, pain, and often, finger-pointing over the goal that almost
was. The analogy is almost lost when it comes to winter sports as in
reality, there is no attacking or defending team. But when it comes
right down to it, there are days when it feels like the mountain is your
worst enemy. |
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| 17th March 2003 |
Springtime
Freestyle Sessions at Hakuba
PART 1 |
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Snowboarding is
one of the most versatile sports you can play, and that’s a good thing.
Most beginners start on the courses, but once you progress to a higher
level, your range of options is vast. You can ride an alpine board, a
swallowtail, a split board, a long board, a powder board, a big mountain
board, a freeride board, a freestyle board, a jib board or any one of
about 5 other kinds that I know I am forgetting. Once you strap in, you
can ride in the pipe, the park, powder, on-course, backcountry, or in the
streets. |
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17th March 2003
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Springtime
Freestyle Sessions at Hakuba
PART 2 |
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Spotlight: Iimori Tabletop
I have perfected the majority of my tricks at the jump at
Iimori. It is a
medium sized jump, maybe 5 meters. You have to hike it after you jump it, but
that fact alone keeps the masses away and the lip and landing fresh. Based on
mine and my friends’ experiences, it is one of the best medium sized jumps in
Japan.
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January 2003
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One Hundred &
Eighty Degrees
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When I asked SnowJapan.com’s
editors if I could do a feature on freestyle snowboarding, I was stoked to
get the nod, but when they asked me to write an introductory piece on
myself, I was shocked. I never thought my story here would be all that
interesting to anyone but myself, but if you have nothing better to read,
here yah go... |
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Please note that any views
expressed are not necessarily
those of Snow Japan.
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