Overcoming the Bureaucracy to Go Half-Pipe Pro in Japan You’ve heard your friends talk about it, you’ve seen it on TV and now you’re ready. You want to start snowboarding. Fantastic!

Special thanks to Yumiko Murota for the introduction

What a fortunate boy am I! Apart from how to catch two meters of phat air and how to pull a switch 720, I now know everything there is to know about going pro in Japan! How fortunate are you? Very fortunate according to Burton Riders Makoto Yamagishi and Tatsumi Eiichi, who were kind enough to spill out all of their acquired secrets over hours of beer and oysters (it was a very manly affair) in Roppongi on Tuesday night because, I am about to pour all of those years of experience into this column for you.

Makoto and Tatsumi are two Burton riders, among many, fighting for the pious privilege to be called "Half Pipe Professional." 25 & 23 years old respectively, Makoto and Tatsu have both boarded since the age of 19. Makoto gave up his childhood dream of becoming a baseball player within hours of setting foot upon his first snowboard. Tatsu too was captivated on his very first day and decided that he was going to represent Japan in the first Olympic snowboard events in Nagano '98. Still young, they have not yet achieved their goals but, unlike many of us, their dreams are well within grasp- or, more appropriately for this situation, well within grab. Through years of effort, they now rank higher than most. Last year, they ranked third and first respectively in the Kanto Region Boarder Cross and they also ranked quite high nationally on the half-pipe. To keep rice on the table while fighting the fight, they do right by others and teach camps and classes during the season. Last year they taught mainly at that playground to the Japanese pros, Oze Tokura, but this year they hope to make a new heart-full home for Japanese boarding in Muikamachi which, I am proud to say, is very close to SJG headquarters.

Makoto launches into a back-grab	Tatsu tears it up at the Boarder-Cross

   
I once thought that professional snowboarders were like Hessians, simply paid to fight the revolution but, listening to these two aspiring pros' tales has forced me to realize that, at least in Japan, going pro involves much more than receiving a paycheck. There is a path that must be followed before one can earn the Pro privilege of getting bank. So here it is, for you, the dedicated Members' of the Board, the Four-Fold Path to HP Pro:

Of course, physical training is key - 'do or do not, there is no try.' These two guys were attempting fakie switches on their very first day! But boarding every waking lunch hour is simply not enough, you must also study, young Jedi. I will dedicate a column to finding a worthy sensei in the weeks to come but, in the meantime, I asked Makoto and Tatsu what they look for in a teacher.

Camp manager Yumiko Murota, who kindly introduced me to Makoto and Tatsu, pointed out that an unprecedented number of students in her last camp actually wrote in to praise Makoto's fine teaching style. His secret? Kokoro, or heart. "Many instructors say that they have kokoro but their words are useless, action is the only thing that really matters. Only by being concerned for a student's personal progress can a teacher consider himself effective."

Tatsu, on the other hand, who supplements his training with book-study, sees snowboarding as a young sport. "At this stage instructors are teaching a wide variety of styles. You need to sample the best instructors and take what you admire from each of them to create your own path to excellence."

How does one find these wise boarding elders? Sadly, going pro is, like any other aspiration, made possible not only by a combination of ability and knowledge, but also through a network of connections. Makoto and Tatsu suggest getting to know various snowboard shops in your area. The shop owners and workers will introduce you to the teachers and the pros who will be more important in the long run than you would expect.

When you feel trained up enough for competition, you need to shell out 8000 yen to become a card-carrying member of the JSBA. Those of you who are no stranger to Japanese bureaucracy will not be surprised to learn that there is a Japanese Snow-Boarding Association (JSBA). In my opinion, the JSBA flies in the face of everything that is beautiful about snowboarding leaving deep gashes, just like those branches that dug deep into my fleshy face on my first off-piste run at Shiga. I'll reserve further rants for a future column on JSBA Demonstrators but, for now, on with the red road to payroll.

The JSBA will soon become the center of the universe to anyone wishing to go pro in Japan. Your registration will allow you to join the nationally held JSBA competitions and earn you a subscription to the members-only magazine, Yuki Bozu, which will keep you up to date on all the competitions and national rankings.

JSBA Half Pipe competitions are split into three categories - named almost as creatively as the JSBA itself - A, B, and C.

A is the National Competition which draws on the Regional Competitions, B. Anyone can join the Regional B competition but, if you do feel like joining, you'd better sign up quick because, like the A Competition, B is only held once a year and the deadline is drawing near.

C competitions are small local competitions that are held many times during the year. Though joining only three C competitions will get you into the national C rankings, you need to be a top finisher of the A competition to be considered pro. In turn, going pro will allow you to be listed on the payroll of your new favorite sponsor.

The A and B competitions are mandala-like in their symmetry and cosmic mystery. They are made of four rounds, Qualifying, Preliminary, Semi-final, and Final, and are stretched over three days with each cut-off being made by four all-powerful judges. The judges are responsible for four categories of scoring, Height, Grab, Spin, and Overall, with each category being worth up to 10 points.

Want to know how you measure up? Competitive riders on average reach a height of 1.5 to 2 meters coming off the ridge. The grab combinations of nose, tail, front, and back are all judged equally but riders who don't mix it up during their performance will find their scores suffering, so I guess my patented 'Repetitive Crotch Grab' doesn't make the cut. Anything less that a 360 is not considered a spin, most competitors keep it reeled in between 360 and 720, regular and inversed, because of the overwhelming presence of the fourth Overall judge.

JSBA competitions are mandala-like in there mysterious symmetry	How much is 2 meters of phat air? About this much

   
Mocked like the Ringo Starr of the four judges, the Overall judge tends to favor a reserved sort of stability that does not sit well with riders who are eager to strut their stuff. This last category forces them to maintain a solid balance throughout their performance, which is a tall order for riders who are striving to push themselves to their physical limits.

No, seriously, I am a member of the Beatles!

   
To add to the vague stress of the entire competition, scores are not revealed 'Olympic-style' as the rider finishes his run, but rather 'Entry examination-style' at the end of each round. Tatsu suggests that the wise 'playa' must mark the performances of various riders in his memory and later associate the posted scores with the rider in order to feel out the judges' preferred boarding style.

To give you an idea of the fierceness of competition, only the top 22 finishers of the entire Kanto Regional Competition went on to join last year's Nationals. The blood and sweat of the National Competition ends in tears for most, as only the TOP THREE are actually declared pro! But not all are left to shiver in their soft-shelled boots, for there is one last chance for those who are in the loop.

Remember earlier when Makoto and Tatsu suggested campaigning around at different shops in order to rub elbows with the owners and the pros? That wasn't just so you could scam a few thousand yen off aYakuza-Kamikaze-Kick board, those pros may turn out to be your very best chance at a ticket to the big dance. Professional snowboarders' most powerful possession, apart form their awe-inspiring ability to earn money for what the rest of us pay for, is a single invitation ticket, for the boarder of their choice, to attempt the yearly Pro Trials. The top 16 finishers in that competition are chosen to become professionals themselves. More behind-the-curtains decision-making goes into the delivery of the 'wild card' invitations, which go to two lucky participants who finish between 16th and 22nd. That 'wild card' is their free ticket to try out again at next year's Pro Trials even without professional invitation.

A Heaven Not So Bright

The big announcement, you are made pro and St. Peter opens up the gates wide to you, welcome to heaven. Up until that bright moment, sponsored riders like Makoto and Tatsu only receive wear and gear support. Pros are the only ones who can officially receive the cold hard cash. However, snowboarder heaven is an un-earthly place where physical desires for things like money are little heeded. With the number one finisher making something like 10,000,000 yen a year from sponsors, Makoto and Tatsu estimate that only the top ten can survive by snowboarding. While this may seem like a fairly decent amount of money, Makoto is fast to contrast it to the 300,000,000 yen that numerous professional baseball players make. This enamored yet unsatisfied view of snowboarding is what I most enjoyed about my insightful visit with Makoto and Tatsu.

So many of us are ready to accept snowboarding as a minor underground sport that scrapes along in the shadows snatching up the occasional fan from the fringes of the flock. Makoto and Tatsu, however, are not at all satisfied with this small role. They, like you, have seen the light of snowboarding and know that the magic of the sport extends far beyond its cold confinement as a skiing alternative. Focusing on kokoro, these two riders intend to increase the weight of snowboarding in Japan until it crushes the bland masses of the other professional sports. If you don't agree then you'd better get out of the way, because judging from their current ambition, they will soon be a force to be reckoned with - anyone up for bombing Yokohama Stadium next month?

On behalf of Snowjapan.com, I'd like to thank Makoto and Tatsu for opening up their world to us and I wish them luck in their holy quest. Personally, I can do without climbing the strenuous ladder to HP Pro myself - ahem - but I will happily join them in their inspiring search to uncover the powder-dusted heart of snowboarding.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and, for those of you heading to Naeba, a happy first run!