Welcome to my Blog Too!

Austin Beltz

Dear Blog Reader

Welcome to my blog! It is my pleasure to introduce you to the world of snowboarding. In my blog, there are videos, pictures and stories for your viewing pleasure. I’ve made several posts about articles telling the history and findings of snowboarding, along with its health benefits and contributions to nature.

My favorite post by far would be my third self-selected response, which tells the history of snowboarding in brief. I based my information off of an article by Rob Daniels; I felt this post meant the most because how primitive snowboarding started out, and its annual rise to popular demand. While the original article did a much better job expanding on the actual matter of fact, my post covered most it with accuracy on its key points. Where I’d like to improve would to be in more intricate detail where it’s needed, like it lacks a narrative feeling, it should be giving a story. So although it gives a great insight into Snowboarding’s great history, it wouldn’t be a great read for everyone. I don’t consider this post to be my best writing as well, but I think it can tell the most about the fantastic snow sport.  Great credit should be given to Jake Burton Carpenter, the person highlighted in this post. I’d say he is the godfather of snowboarding; he gave it life along with a sleek design, which would be the focus of my post.

I am upset this post didn’t meet up with my expectations of it. I failed to write anything about Sims Boards, who were the underdog of snowboarding’s history, and they were snuffed out by Burtons overbearing shadow. Sims also played a part, but I didn’t feel as if they played an important enough part to be recognized as a competitor of Burton. My concerns about the structural integrity of my post are unaffected by the absence of this fact, so it’s not that much of a loss but this could give my post more girth. Sims didn’t make its mark on history, and thus didn’t make it into my post.

Another key aspect post of my blog would be my book review about an instructional guide on how to snowboard. My post lacked greatly on its ability to give actual detail on how to snowboard but listed all the ways you would look into the book on how to learn. I chose to write a post about this book to provide a resource for people struggling with snowboarding.

I personally learned how to snowboard from this book, so I knew it would prove to provide helpful insight and help to anyone who wants to snowboard. My personal feelings about the book helping me didn’t inflict my knowledge that the book was an actual resource on how to snowboard, but I did look here first. But I doubt there is a better starter book out there for  people learn to snowboard, thus my strong feelings that you can’t find a better way to learn other than actually getting a lesson on the mountain.

Finally, my last post that I enjoyed writing was my passion blog, in which I poured my feelings into giving a simple understanding on my deep feelings for snowboarding. I give a reminder that while snowboarding fun and exhilarating, injury and death are always a possibility while snowboarding, as you are on a metal board thrown down a mountain side. I could’ve elaborated more and added more feeling into the short paragraph but I felt that it gave a accurate representation of my passion for snowboarding, and my feelings on why everyone should give it a try.

My writing has improved drastically throughout the year as you may see in my book review post, it displays my writing skills that I've gained through this year of english. Its easier to see if you compare it to my other posts which aren't my best work. So throughout the year iv made great progress towards a a better career in college.

Sincerely, Austin Beltz

SSR 4

Well According to statistics, snowboarding it a majorly male dominated sport, I thought so too but not from a 3 to 1 ratio. And it’s almost entirely dominated by people under the age of 30, I didn’t of snowboarding as such young people’s sport, I see many adults snowboarding, but roughly only about twenty percent of people snowboarding are above the age of thirty. This sport does too dangerous for the wimpy old men who want to stick with skiing then start the epic adventure that is snowboarding down the huge slope of a mountain. But I must say I’m surprised, snowboarding can be an expensive hobby, and older people have more income so you would think more older people would try but sadly that is not the case with this world, they think the sport is too wild and reckless for them to attempt, as is the stereotype for snowboarding. It’s so typical for people to think of snowboarding as a way to break both your legs and arms, and that only skaters should be snowboarding and not adults.

Book review

“The Complete Snowboarder” written by Jeff Bennet and Scott Downey asserts itself as a source of learning, insight, helpful tips, and complete teachings in the art of snowboarding. In multiple chapters are detailed pages and pictures to help engage the readers to teach them the fundamentals and advanced techniques of snowboarding. This could be for anyone just deciding to take up snowboarding along with struggling experienced riders who just can't land that one trick. Bennet and Downey wrote this tome of snowboarding knowledge due to their love of snowboarding and the need to share it with others.

 Along with just the small things like how to warm up properly before heading out the slopes, to a switch backflip with a one handed nose grab. This book covers anything you need to know about snowboarding's inner workings. Within are lots of tips from actual professional snowboarders giving their personal insight into the sport and how they would tackle the problem? Lots of tricks are represented here, grabs, flips, and other tricks you can do are listed here as well, with pictures, and detailed information on how tom perform them.

Unfortunately, it couldn't cover all you could want to know, but didn't miss much. Things like where you could go into the states for a first try, or what specific muscle groups you should exercise to be better prepared for snowboarding.

Like an instruction manual should, this book does do a good job at telling its reader all of his questions, more or less. The advanced techniques or the easy little tips and tricks, are all paths that need to be crossed in order to get better at snowboarding. Books like this are helpful, but if it doesn't help just reading about what to do, just go on the mountain and try it for yourself.

SSR 3

This article titled "History Of Snowboarding" by a man named Rob Daniels tells the reader a brief recap of known history of snowboarding. From a prospective start in the 1920's where someone named Jack Burchette fashioned a poor snowboard out of a plank of wood and slid down a hill to the first snowboard friendly park in Vermont in the 1980's. I love how it tells us all the wins snowboarding has had in its short uprising this late century, about 15 years apart were no snowboarding being allowed anywhere to it being certified as an Olympic sport, making it into the Olympics was a major victory for snowboarding as it created an image of actual official competition and begun to dissipate the stereotype of only skaters or reckless people participating the sport.

No sport on record has become so worldwide popular this fast, Daniels predicts that it will become more popular than skiing by the year 2015,, which I think has already happened but perhaps he means the world. He mentions when it became nationwide in the 80's thanks to Jake Burton Carpenter's redesign of the modern snowboard with bindings to strap in your feet in allowing you to ricks and go down in deeper powder and harder slopes than you would've ever tried with the Velcro like flaps they had before. And a video made in 1996, told and showed us all the marvelous tricks and stunts we could achieve in snowboarding, brought in a whole new flock of boarders in, people who wanted to perform these feats soon appeared, young to old, athletic to couch patties, everyone wanted to try this new up and coming winter sport. Daniels has accurately written down a short collaboration of all of snowboarding’s wins for anyone with twenty minutes to spare to read it.   

Passion

Well here it is, a paragraph expressing my feelings about snowboarding. Snowboarding gives you an epic feeling of intensity and clarity. It’s just nothing but an experience you have to live through to truly understand, sometimes when you're riding down in the deep powder, you hear nothing but the silent smooth ride of your board through the bright white blanket of pillowy fluff. It feels like you're flying through the air with no worry for the world below or ahead of you. You want to just fly away but the board won't let you, you have to come to your senses at some point or you might run into a tree. A tree is a harsh reminder of reality along with pain, pain from hitting a dense pine tree with enough force to knock over a large person. So while just letting go is fun and exhilarating, pay attention from time to time or you might just die.

Creative 2

You want to snowboard?
Its not for everybody.
Just try not to die.

Self-Selected Response

The Health Benefits of Snowboarding

Well in a Health Article I found, there is lots of information describing the many health benefits of Snowboarding. Like all the muscles it improves like the ankles, calves, quads, and your core muscle groups like your arms and shoulders. Snowboarding also makes you more flexible from all the bending you have to do to balance yourself at high speeds, and the more flexible your joints are, the less likely you are to break any bones in other things you do. Though there is possibility of head injury, all you have to do is just wear a helmet and you'll be safe from most injuries, and if you really want to be safe then you could just stay home, because there’s danger in almost everything you do. All this just proves my point in why snowboarding is such a great activity to exercise in your daily life, it properly lists and explains much more benefits of snowboarding and how it can improve your life like how it can increase your concentration by having to look for paths of ice or the way the moves for a path to go down, concentration is used in everything you do and this is just more that can add more to your life. While it misses a few things like how great it is for recreation and relaxation when you are feeling down or how it is good for the environment as it brings in money, plus it can burn more than 500 calories an hour. I personally love all the benefits snowboarding brings you, but I didn't know that worked out your core muscles, it’s a lot better for you than you would think. So  If you’re having trouble losing weight and being consistent, than consider going snowboarding more often, you can lose weight and have fun at the same time.