Is Riding With Music Safe?
Collisions on the hill happen. Two skiers, two snowboarders, a skier and a snowboarder, it doesn’t matter – the collisions happen. Sometimes there is little consequence, but sometimes people get hurt. That can suck, especially if it’s not your fault.
It doesn’t have to be a collision – sometimes people just get in each others way. Cut the queue, drop in without looking, ride in a dangerous way. Maybe there’s contact, maybe some shouting, perhaps it’s just a few people tutting or being annoyed.
There are many factors that contribute to poor slope use – often times it’s a basic lack of knowledge, not being aware of the things to look out for, or to consider.
But is listening to music one of the snowboarder’s vices? A bad habit that we should avoid? Irresponsible. Or is it simply another way of enhancing the ride…
Jake Terry 2011 Edit
Check out this winter edit from young, UK ripper, Jake Terry. Jake started out on skis and by all accounts was progressing really well with that – he picked up an equipment deal with Salomon at the age of 6. During 2007 Jake started to ride on one plank as well as two – after hanging out with a bunch of snowboarders as well as skiers. Then in 2008 the skis were retired for good…
iPhone 4S Camera Review: Photos and Video
This isn’t a general review of the iPhone 4S. This review will provide information on file sizes for iPhone 4S photos and video, which is the main focus, as well as a quick visual comparison of examples from the 3GS and 4S…
iPhone 4S photo and video file sizes
One of the key reasons that I wanted to upgrade from the 3GS to the 4S was the camera. Having seen the difference between the 3GS and the iPhone 4 – I was particularly interested when the 4S camera was hailed as being a significant upgrade from the 4…
But moving from the 3GS, how much bigger would the video (and photos) be? Could I get away with the 16GB option, or is 32GB a requirement for me?
Here is an overview of the file sizes, comparing the 3GS, the 4 and the 4S:
Photo file sizes
- iPhone 3GS: 1 MB – 1.5 MB per photo (3 megapixels)
- iPhone 4: 1.5 – 2.5 MB per photo (5 megapixels)
- iPhone 4S: 2.5 – 3.5 MB per photo (8 megapixels)
Video file sizes
- iPhone 3GS: approx. 27 MB per minute of video
- iPhone 4: approx. 83 MB per minute of video
- iPhone 4S: approx. 180 MB per minute of video
Rider of the Year – John Jackson
The current Rider of the Year is John Jackson. Maybe you’ve heard about his recent move to Burton? Maybe you’ve seen some of his sick skills in the film, The Art of Flight?
Well, you can also see his full video part from the Forum (Special Blend & Foursquare) movie – Fuck It…
John Jackson – full FUCK IT video part on Vimeo.
Mid-Week Eye Candy: Special Blend and an Overview of Whistler Parks
Two things to look at this week…
Special Blend Circa Jacket
I received an email recently and inside were a bunch of Special Blend jackets. The Circa jacket, below, stood out. I’ve only ever owned one Special Blend jacket – I’m still wearing it now and always been impressed with the quality. Every year their range includes gear that I really like the look of. This is one such example…
The 10,000-Hour Rule: How Long Does it Take to Get Good At Snowboarding?
Do you ever watch pro snowboarders and think “wow, how did they get so good?”
It’s a good question. No doubt the best riders out there start with an aptitude for snowboarding, a fair amount of natural ability, but they also put in a lot of hard work; a lot of time on the board.
How much time? How long does it take to get good at snowboarding?
The 10,000-Hour Rule
There’s a guy called Malcolm Gladwell, a writer and speaker covering subjects related to the social sciences. In one of his books, Gladwell mentions something called the “10,000-Hour Rule”. Simply put, the 10,000-Hour Rule suggests that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to become really good at something. Research shows that this time-frame crops up in a variety of different fields/disciplines; it’s a reliable measure.
If you want to know a little more about this, you can follow that wikipedia link above, watch the short video below, or maybe even read his book, Outliers?
Fun Jibbing Around on the Piste
Gotta love the vibe of this video. Friends jibbing on the piste: it’s a good mix of style, fun and playing around. They’re Japanese, which is about all I know – can’t read any of the info on YouTube.
Check it out:
If you want to check out a bit of park action – some of the guys in this crew have got some pretty sick skills. Take a look at one of their other videos, featuring a bunch of kickers, rails and boxes; they’re still having fun on the hill and with the editing of the video 
Does Visualisation Have a Place in (Your) Snowboarding?
Perhaps you’ve heard about how competitive sportsmen and sportswomen use visualisation techniques to improve their performance? Perhaps not? The power of the mind… Positive thinking. And it’s not just sports, it can have a real impact on all areas of life…
Yeah, yeah – so what’s that got to do with snowboarding?
What is visualisation?
Visualisation: forming a mental image of something; to imagine.
In the context of improving at something, the theory is that when you visualise doing that thing, you’re actually training your mind to do it. Mental training.
With physical training your brain is controlling your muscles to perform the task. You practice, learn, correct mistakes, repeat, and the whole system gets better.
When you visualise doing that same task your brain is sending the same signals. Therefore, you can improve physical performance with mental training. That’s the theory.
There is technique involved. Some visualisations are more effective than others. For example, visualisations should be big, colourful and contain detail, including sound. There’s a skill involved; you can do it “properly”.
How effective can visualisation be?
So does that actually make a difference?
There’s a pretty interesting study carried out by an Australian psychologist called Alan Richardson. The study involved the effect of visualisation on taking free throws in basketball. You can read about it in more detail here; this is a summary:
- Random collection of students, they all take 100 free throws and their accuracy is recorded
- The whole group is randomly split up into three, equal groups
- Group 1: for the next four weeks, they don’t touch a basketball, they don’t even think about it
- Group 2: for four weeks, they spend 20 minutes per day practicing free throws in the gym
- Group 3: for four weeks, they spend 20 minutes per day practicing free throws in their mind – using visualisation only
- All 3 groups return, after the four weeks, and shoot another 100 free throws…
The results? Group 1 didn’t improve at all. Group 2 improved by 24%. Group 3, who did nothing but visualise, improved by 23%. Dang!
Can that apply to snowboarding?
OK, you do hear things like “it’s 90% mental” and sportsmen/women being described as having “a strong mental game”. So let’s say that you can improve at sports using some kind of visualisation-based training – could that apply to snowboarding?
The theory suggests yes. After all, the techniques involved in snowboarding require coordinated movements in a similar way to shooting a free throw in basketball. What’s more, there’s a definite nerve/bottle/fear aspect to snowboarding. It can be scary learning new tricks or riding more advanced terrain. There’s no doubt that those internal battles are going on inside the head.
So – it’s at least feasible, but perhaps likely, that a snowboarder could benefit from mental training…
What does it mean for you?
Perhaps a professional golfer or Premier League football player can help to stay at the top of their game by visualising success, preparing for competition in their head as well as on the practice field – but does that mean that you should start to improve your own visualisation in preparation for a round of golf at the weekend or a game of five-a-side with your friends?
Even if it could help snowboarders to learn new tricks and deal with fear – does that make it relevant to your snowboarding. That will depend on a variety of factors, two important ones being:
- How badly you want to improve
- How much faith you place in the idea of mental training
It’s time to have your say. What’s your take on this?
- Is it a load of codswallop? Get out of town with this shit…
- Is it possible, but irrelevant to the ‘average’ snowboarder? Maybe something Shaun White is working on…
- Or is there something in it? Maybe a bit of mental preparation could help you learn that frontside boardslide, or the backflip…
Add your opinion with a comment – and share it to find out what your friends think.
