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The Kickflip Wheelchair Project

Posted in Skateboarding | January 24th, 2011

Hello, I have been skateboarding for over 25 years and have always loved the sport since I could first ride my friends broken in half skateboard down our street.

I wanted to write this article to let everyone out there know some of the cool new stuff going on with skateboarding today. Specifically the collaborative project called “The Kickflip Wheelchair”. This idea is the brainchild of theFUZZco, who are a skate company and group of artists as well.

This non profit project is to raise funds and awareness for the LA childrens hospital Center for Metabolic and Mitochondrial Disorders. Two other companies also have teamed up with theFUZZco to help the project along. Both Russ Ward Auto Shop and Air Engineering used their resources and expertise to turn this vision into a reality. They have created a really unique specially tricked out wheelchair. By using Unique graphics and designs along with HL2 Wheels, skate deck footrests and graphics by theFUZZco also!

This chair is designed to make the overall look and experience better for the user and to help raise awareness to this great cause.Besides awareness and fund raising all involved know this will help raise the spirits of the brave children suffering from these disorders.The initial base chair used to build on was kindly donated by the California Medical Pharmacy.

Wondering where this cool idea gets its name? Some people might not know what a kickflip is.This trick when done properly allows the skater to literally kick his board into a full 360 spin rotation then land back on it again. It was first known as The Magic Flip with guys like Rodney Mullen and other freestyle pros at the time really using the trick a lot in their routines and contests. This is one of the defining tricks of skateboarding like the ollie and 360 flip so it’s a great name to give to such a cool project for helping out kids with special needs!

The Kickflip Wheelchair will be officially presented at the CHLA 5 Kilometer walk for children on Arpil the 30th 2011

with one of Dr. Richard Boles of the CHLA patients name Zack. Both Zack and his mom are excited to see the final product and for him to take the first spin on the new trickled out chair.

This is a preview of The Kickflip Wheelchair Project. Read the full post (448 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

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Swimming Lessons

Posted in Swimming | January 14th, 2011

It is summer and everyone’s trying to beat the heat. The most popular way to cool off at this time of the year is by going to the beach. Some people are too far from it, though, that many opt for swimming pools. But what use are pools if you do not know how to swim? All the more, if you are near Austin, Texas, which is home to the world’s most beautiful water ways and lakes. Fortunately there are Austin swimming lessons that can help a lot when it comes to building skills.

Swimming is not just a skill that is to merely for fun. It is actually a life-saving skill, too. Since drowning is a leading cause of death for children with ages 1 to 4 in the United States, it is important for children, and even their parents, to learn how to swim. Not only that they should learn how to swim, but parents should consider letting the children learn how to swim at a young age.

Swimming is also a health tool. It is the most complete exercise, offering both cardio and strength exercises. Cardio, since the heart gets pumped by having the body do a lot of aerobic activity by the kicks and strides. Strength, since the body gets resistance from the water when the body tries to part the waters when swimming.

Apart from being a cardio and strength exercise, swimming can also help asthmatics since it provides very good exercise for the lungs. Some people even say that their asthma attacks ceased when they took up swimming as their routine exercise.

Additionally, swimming has a lot of psychological benefits. Swimming can actually make one happy as certain levels of chemicals in the brain shoot up when one engages in physical activity. The cognitive, emotional and physical aspects of psychological development are also affected when swimming!

Swimming can also be a good way for mothers and children to bond this summer. Swimming can actually be taken up by kids as young as six months. This can actually more beneficial for the child because the skill is learned soon, and the child has not incurred any preconceived notions of danger that can hinder most students.

Of course, the first thing to remember when one is swimming is comfort. When one is comfortable, one can take lessons easier. It is also more fun!

This is a preview of Swimming Lessons. Read the full post (516 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

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Serving Consistently in Volleyball

Posted in Volleyball | January 7th, 2011

When you first learn to serve the first thing you will want to focus on is creating a routine that you do each time you serve the exact same way. When you change the way you serve during a match it becomes more difficult to create control and harder to maintain consistency.

Spending time creating a serving routine that is comfortable to you will make it easier for your body to create muscle memory; this will allow you to serve the same way each time without even thinking about it. Try to implement different techniques you learn that work best for you and stick to those same techniques until you master your serve.

When you are first setting up your serving routine the first thing you will want to notice is the serving line. Some people have a tough time serving behind the line and if you don’t start early it can make your serve miserable.

If you cross or even touch the line with your toe before you jump and serve the ball then the other team will automatically be awarded the point. Being aware of the serving line when designating a serving routine will make it much easier to serve constantly down the road.

If you can make your serving routine one fluid motion you will notice you have more control. You will want to work on moving forward, throwing the ball, and then hitting it all in one motion.

When you are able to have the timing down to know how high to throw the ball and how high to jump, your serve will be much more consistent. It is important to realize that you hit with you strong hand and throw the ball up with the opposite hand.

The serving line will dictate how far back you start the fluid motion of your serve. As you become more comfortable with your serving routine you will be able to focus more on placing the ball and generating more power behind each serve.

It can be very tricky to learn exactly how high to throw the ball and when to jump to ensure that you aren’t waiting on the ball as you jump to hit it. When you have to wait for the ball to come down you lose the momentum you had from moving forward and jumping at the same time.

This is a preview of Serving Consistently in Volleyball. Read the full post (496 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

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Yonex Voltric 80 Badminton Racquet Review

Posted in Badminton | January 1st, 2011

I am in love…let me introduce you to Yonex’s new flagship racquet, the Voltric 80.

This racquet was launched at 2011 All England Badminton Championships, where it proved to be a real winner on court through Mens Singles Winner Lee Chong Wei, and Mens Doubles Winner Mathias Boe (his partner used VT70).

In my review of VT70 I raved about the new technology and design and said that Yonex had really got it right with this series of badminton racquets. In my opinion, somehow Yonex have managed to go one better with VT80 as it’s got a lot more to give.

The Voltric arrived in a full length bag, which is now standard for the Voltric range. Yonex have continued to improve on the graphics and this racquet is very striking in red, black, white and gold. It’s looks so much better than VT70.

This particular model is only available in 3U (weight 84-89g) in UK, and grip size G4 which is the smaller of the grip sizes usually on offer in UK.

This is a remarkable racquet in terms of what it’s meant to do. In essence, Yonex have combined the aerodynamic qualities of a Z Slash with the thin frame of a Nanospeed 9900 (not as thin as VT70, although the shaft is the slimmest in Yonex range) and given the racquet the head weight of an Armortec. Ingenious. We already know the technology works from my review of VT70, so how much better can this racquet be?

Balance wise, this is a head heavy racquet, but certainly not as heavy as AT700. I’d say this is very close to the weight on Armortec 900 Power which is therefore why Lee Chong Wei likes the racquet.

This racquet has a thin but stiff shaft which appears to be slightly longer than conventional racquets by around 1cm, which is very similar to Z Slash. This should therefore have a broader appeal to players especially fans of Armortec 900 who are looking for more from their racquet.

The frame is certainly thin although I’d say it’s an even size rather than the super thin with bulges we witnessed on Voltric 70. Yet again, the weight is at the top of the head. This racquet also has the sound filters although to my mind they don’t add anything to your performance.

Permanent link to this post (391 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

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