Why I Started the Snowboard Research Group

It has been 30 years since I started snowboarding.
Looking back, I feel like I have been doing the same thing all along.
That is,
thinking about "why?"

When I was young, I wanted technique.
I wanted to go faster.
I wanted to jump higher.
I wanted to get better.
I wanted to win competitions.
So, I imitated those who were good.
But there is a limit to just imitating.

Why does that movement happen?
Why is that setting used?
Why is that person good?
Such questions came up one after another.

Before I knew it,
rather than learning techniques,
thinking about the structure had become more interesting.

Why does a board bend?
Why does carving accelerate?
Why does centering change?
Why does edge design affect sliding?

Even among things that have been said for a long time,
there are some that can be viewed differently when reconsidered today.
Conversely, there are things that could not be explained in the past
that can be explained now.
Things I didn't understand 30 years ago
are gradually becoming clear.

However, there is a limit to doing that research alone.
Even if I think by myself, there is a limit to the scenery I can see.

That is why I want other people's opinions.
I want questions.
I want counterarguments.
I want new perspectives.
I want companions.

Yesterday,
theFirst Snowboard Research Groupwith Taku Matsumoto concluded.

Research,
I believe, is not about teaching answers,
but about sharing questions.

This Snowboard Research Group is also
not a place to teach the correct answers.

Of course, we talk about techniques.
We talk about settings.
We talk about how to use the body.
But what I really want to do
is "think together with everyone."

Even when hearing the same content, people feel differently.
Even when watching the same turn, the scenery seen is different.
That is why it is interesting.
That is why it becomes research.

And one more thing.
This research group also has meaning
towards what is about to begin,

"Snowboard University"

which is aimed at.

Snowboarding has not yet been fully elucidated.
There are many things spoken of only through intuition.

That is precisely why
there is value in researching,
putting into words,
organizing the structure,
and increasing reproducibility.

We are now trying to create such a place of learning.

A university without graduation.

A place where you can research for a lifetime.
We are aiming for such a place.

This research group is the first step.
Together with everyone who participates,
I would like to start new research.

This was Rei Aoki, the demon of verbalization.

You will improve significantly by thinking.
I will hold a "Snowboard Research Group"
with Taku Matsumoto of OGASAKA.
-JOINT SESSION-
For details, see below ↓
http://joint.shop-pro.jp/?pid=191805632