I am not sure what they are smoking down there in Manila, but something is off...highlighted for your instantenous amusement...
Skateboarding: Just for the young and the reckless
By Reuel Vidal
SKATEBOARDING can be a mode of transportation, an art to express oneself freely, a hobby or an extreme sport.
Imagine careening down a steep slope at 50 kph, jumping over 5-foot high obstacles, or sliding down the railing of a flight of stairs onboard a skateboard. Certainly, this is not a sport for the sane, but a sport for the young and the reckless.
For this reason, most skateboarders are reckless young men thirsting for an adrenaline high and exposing oneself to danger of serious physical injury.
The sport is so popular that it’s no longer a surprise to find young men in their teens skateboarding in parks. What is surprising is finding a dainty young thing like 17-year-old Fil-Japanese Maiko Okuaki clearing high obstacles and doing tricks beside other accomplished young skaters.
Maiko is a Media Arts freshman at Southville International School and Colleges in Las Piñas City. She’s been in the country for a month. She was born in the Philippines but raised in Japan. She is staying in the country to pursue her studies.
It’s not surprising that Maiko is such a proficient skater. After all, she started skateboarding as a child.
“I saw somebody skateboarding in Kozukue skate park in Japan,” said Maiko. “I got interested and have been doing it ever since. I think it’s fun to do. I skate every chance I get. That means I skate almost everyday.”
Her favorite skate spots in Japan are Kozukue skate park, Nozuta park, Fuchinobe Eki park. In the Philippines, she skates at the Sumulong covered park in Antipolo, and some places in Cubao and Pasig.
“I look up to professional skateboarders Ellissa Steamer, Amy Caron, Jamie Reyes and Vanessa Torres,” said Maiko. “These are professional skateboarders who make money through appearance fees, prizes in tournaments and product endorsements.”
She said that she’ll stay on a skateboard for as long as she can. “This is my life, but it’s not the only thing in my life.”
Maiko has no fear or hesitation to ride skateboards right beside boys, who are bigger and stronger than she is. She believes the only advantage of boys over girls is that boys are generally taller, which means it is easier to do tricks like jumping over a high obstacle or sliding down high rails.
She said she gets her biggest charge from competing because it allows her to display her creativity in doing tricks.
“There is nothing like the thrill of competition,” said Maiko. “When I go to competitions, my adrenaline really goes too high. But my most dangerous experience was in a park when I fell flat on my face onto the concrete pavement while doing a 50-50 grind on a ledge because somebody distracted me.”
She is most frustrated when she can’t complete a trick (or maneuver like riding on a skateboard, flipping the skateboard and landing safely to continue the ride) that she is practicing.
Maiko skates regularly in Japan, too. Surprisingly, she thinks it’s safer in the Philippines.
“Here, the people are disciplined and there are less crimes,” she said. “In Japan, crime is always in the news. But skateboarding in indoor skate parks in Japan can be such a pleasant experience. The worst is skating on the poor pavements in the Philippines.”
A recent report by the American Sports Data found that there are 12.5 million skateboarders in the world and 80 percent of skateboarders who had used a board in the last year are under the age of 18. The popularity of skateboarding isn’t so surprising because it is such a spontaneous sport. You don’t need to join a team or organize a league. Kids can just go practice at their own skill level and blow off steam. For many, like Maiko, skateboarding is just a way to practice her creativity and express herself freely.
The weirdness may be from cultural differences, the Phillipines being somewhat more sexist than the US and the Asian views of women competing with men. I think its awesome that they write about a girl skater and that they don't focus on the vandalism skaters do, just that theyre crazy. Was the article written by an Asian for Asians, or for Americans? I just chuckled when she said that she fell off the ledge because someone distracting her. Its maybe true but it sounds like an excuse.
i find this kind of interesting...i lived in the phillipines for a summer around '96...i street skated a bunch there, and none of the kids had really seen a nice skateboard before. i had a foundation with a knife fork and spoon on the bottom...
anyways, i also remember something about an olympic skateboard demo in manilla, like a trial for it to be in the olympics, sometime in the 80s or 90s...anyone remember some details?
so they have a different view. this article could have been written about skaters in canada or the usa just ten or fifteen years ago, eh? yeah, they may have some catching up to do and this is only one guy's perception.
for some, the philippines is more about hunting with a palawan eagle eating monkeys which they catch or hustling up some wild boar... drinking tuba, chewing maman, and snuggling in a duyan with some young mestiza. it's all good... 'cause the roads are just too ratty for skating. i find it just amazing that they do it anyway.
what's wrong? oh, they're jumping stairs and sliding rails... heheheh, i guess there can be only one kind of skating.
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Last edited by shapeshifter; 10-28-2006 at 08:49 AM.
I dont know man they only smoke the finest down in Manila,hahahahah.
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Do you choose to bomb hills with sick speed?
Or carve all the way down? Slide and spin out of control? What ever it is as long as its LOngboarding! SHOUT OUT TO THE NATIV CREW
hey youre talking about me! wow, im shocked, i just tried googling my name and this popped out. actually most of the things there are not accurate. he edited it to make philippines look good or something i was asked to compare philippines and japan but im sure most of you knows that philippines has more crime rates than japan. so anyway, yeah.
Fillipino Skate Article...somewhat puzzling...
