Hop Aboard a Wave Board and Go Street Surfing
by Matt Ambrose
The revolutionary wave board combines the techniques of three extreme sports to create a unique, new way of gliding through the parks and malls. By twisting and pushing your feet in opposite directions, you can carve downhill like a snowboarder, perform tricks like a skateboarder and surf the streets on two wheels.
Extreme board sports are immensely popular throughout the country, with an estimated 22 million Americans surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding on a regular basis. The wave board plugs into this love of feeling the bumps, balancing your weight and enjoying the buzz of shaping your path with your body.
Wave boards are constructed of two feet pads joined by a spring orientated torsion bar that rests atop two wheels. The bar is able to twist in the middle and the wheels can pivot 360 degrees, which enables the rider to make sharper twists and turns than are possible on a traditional skateboard.
Its fans regard it as a new urban extreme sport, with many tricks borrowed from traditional skateboarding such as Manuals, Ollies, Acid Drops and Kick Flips.
Wave boarding is very easy to pick up, but very difficult to put down. It takes minutes to learn the basics, and then within hours you can be performing jumps and twists like a pro.
To get started:
- Place the board on a slight downward slope.
- Keep one foot on the ground and place your leading foot on the front section of the board.
- Push off gently with your back foot and then place it on the rear board section.
- To propel forward, twist your hips and push your feet in opposing directions to snake in an S shape.
- Once you're moving try just using just twisting with your back foot to propel yourself like fish does with its tail.
Wave boards are unique in that you're able to propel yourself without your feet ever having to touch the ground. The snaking motion, and the fact that you don't need to push with your feet, makes it look to passers by as though you're hovering, and riding the crest of an imaginary wave, just like a proper surfer!
Wave boards are quicker and easier to learn than normal skateboards, and regarded as being safer because it's easier to keep your balance. This makes them especially popular with young teenagers who are new to skateboarding because they're so easy to pick up and be having fun in no time.
Not only is wave boarding a lot of fun, but also great exercise. Being able to keep the board moving requires plenty of twists and turns, especially if you're going uphill! So, what better excuse to get your teenagers unplugged from their games console than to get them a wave board so they can go out street surfing with their friends.
Wave boarding is easy to learn, fun, great exercise and safer than traditional skateboarding. So, for every young surfer dude a wave board is certain to be high on their birthday wish list.
RollerUSA.com features the wave board and more. For a full listing of roller products, visit www.RollerUSA.com
