How often do you want to learn something way out of the norm for yourself? Amazingly, I try not to cos I know I'll probably suck at it. However, if you really put your mind on something, maybe just to prove a point, or maybe just to challenge yourself, you'll be surpried at what you can achieve.
I've always felt an urge to learn how to ride motorcycle since I was about 9-yrs-old. My inspiration hit me when I saw a Indian lady riding while I was in my father's car picking my nose. Fast forward 9 years, I happily put my name down for riding lessons. Listening to encouragements from friends who ride, I signed up at this school, which supposedly had a high passing rate.
I really want to say that it went like a breeze for me, but sorry, I SUCKED. I sucked big time. So big time that I was a popular face there for a year (I was called yi tiao long meaning One Dragon, don't ask me why. Must have had a hidden meaning). I went through the learning period the same duration as the next student, but it took 9 nerve wrecking attempts to pass my Traffic Police test...there were worse. 4 years after I got my licence, I am now the proud owner of this lovely little Vespa scooter, named 'Lambchop'. It took much peserverence to pass what seemed to be a simple reasoning of balance, but it paid off.
Recently, I've come across snowboarding while I was in New Zealand. Snowboarding has the fundamantals of surfing, skiing and skateboarding. It was first created on Christmas 1965, by a Muskegon chemical gases engineer named Sherman Poppen, as a present for his daughter. He nailed two childrens' skis together, making the first 'snurfer' (snow+surf). This new device manufacutred and sold thousands of 'snurferss' in the next decade. There were no bindings then, held only by a rope connected to the nose of the board. There was also no way to stop except by crashing!
A decade later, Dimitrije Milovich started making 'Winterstick' snowboards in 1969, he eventually left the snowboarding business in 1980, but is still recognized as a very important pioneer of the sport. Later in 1977, 23-yr-old Jake Burton (Burton boards), who was an avid surfer from Long Island created the snowboard made of laminated wood with bindings. There were also other notable pioneers of snowboards like Tom Sims, Bob Webber who developed the famous 'yellow banana' board and Chuck Barfoot, who invented fiberglass snowboards.
So now, who wants to learn snowboarding?
I've always felt an urge to learn how to ride motorcycle since I was about 9-yrs-old. My inspiration hit me when I saw a Indian lady riding while I was in my father's car picking my nose. Fast forward 9 years, I happily put my name down for riding lessons. Listening to encouragements from friends who ride, I signed up at this school, which supposedly had a high passing rate.
I really want to say that it went like a breeze for me, but sorry, I SUCKED. I sucked big time. So big time that I was a popular face there for a year (I was called yi tiao long meaning One Dragon, don't ask me why. Must have had a hidden meaning). I went through the learning period the same duration as the next student, but it took 9 nerve wrecking attempts to pass my Traffic Police test...there were worse. 4 years after I got my licence, I am now the proud owner of this lovely little Vespa scooter, named 'Lambchop'. It took much peserverence to pass what seemed to be a simple reasoning of balance, but it paid off.
Recently, I've come across snowboarding while I was in New Zealand. Snowboarding has the fundamantals of surfing, skiing and skateboarding. It was first created on Christmas 1965, by a Muskegon chemical gases engineer named Sherman Poppen, as a present for his daughter. He nailed two childrens' skis together, making the first 'snurfer' (snow+surf). This new device manufacutred and sold thousands of 'snurferss' in the next decade. There were no bindings then, held only by a rope connected to the nose of the board. There was also no way to stop except by crashing!
A decade later, Dimitrije Milovich started making 'Winterstick' snowboards in 1969, he eventually left the snowboarding business in 1980, but is still recognized as a very important pioneer of the sport. Later in 1977, 23-yr-old Jake Burton (Burton boards), who was an avid surfer from Long Island created the snowboard made of laminated wood with bindings. There were also other notable pioneers of snowboards like Tom Sims, Bob Webber who developed the famous 'yellow banana' board and Chuck Barfoot, who invented fiberglass snowboards.
So now, who wants to learn snowboarding?
No comments:
Post a Comment