Skating Do – The Style of Consciousness

Skating Do – Part III. Is skateboarding an art form?

So…does skate boarding measure up to the true art label?  Does it have the substance buried beneath the untailored clothes to be honored as such? What does skating boarding offer up to be worthy of a life pursuit?  Let us examine principles I have learned from past masters of different disciplines.

For skate boarding to receive the title of Skate Boarding Do, it must fulfill certain criteria.  There must exist a tradition of etiquette, perhaps not presented with traditional symbols such as loin-cloths or dark belts around the waist, but nonetheless it needs to be present.   And we know that such a tradition of etiquette is indeed present in skateboarding, reflecting with sharp clarity that it is not just a sport, but also a set of principles.  For example, take some damned fool who hasn’t the awareness of where the local drop-in is.  This causes confusion, and the timing of other skaters gets out of whack, which can lead to dangerous conditions for everyone in the bowl.  Respect is the operative word when anyone new enters into a skate park.  We do not skate in a vacuum.  Stand back and observe how things work then slowly join in.  Skating is only exclusive to Kooks, people who don’t know the way.  When infractions occur, the individual is surely dealt with quickly.  For the land has rules, and without them the art cannot evolve.

To be considered an art, it must be available to a wide spectrum of ages.  Further, skateboarding must be open to both genders, and all creeds.  As a true art form, skateboarding must transform the practitioner, evolving him to higher states of consciousness.  This is done by the practice of continual refinement of techniques, which reveal character limitations the practitioner must overcome.

I see riders that have been skating for over twenty years.  They have incorporated the art into their personal lives, and have passed the art down to their children (or new members).  I am reminded of grand masters that started as young boys in their art, and follow the code to the day they pass on.  The art is the way, it’s the path they use to make sense of the world.  It’s the way that they develop themselves throughout their lives.  Practiced over a lifetime, the art becomes the manifestation of the knowledge the practitioner has acquired.  The art becomes the vessel, the medium for the artists to express their unique perspective of the universe.  By conquering the boundaries, they break through their own fears.  So what better example of positive development than as a skater?

There must be etiquette and tolerance to achieve this art. Respect to follow comrades and artists when practicing, for without this there is no exchange of knowledge.  The path is not for fame and glory, which may or may not happen.  No, the path of the artist is self-enlightenment.  If you find yourself in the burning light of fame, remember to give as much as you receive.  And remember, the demon is always lurking below the surface of the concrete…waiting.  The land is the environment where we grow.  Always give it your utmost respect for the higher the state of consciousness shown causes the flowers of creation to bloom more vibrant and bountiful than ever.

Skating Do - They style of consciousness

Part I. Historical

Remember the damn teacher yelling, “don’t run around the pool”? I was young but I was still irritated. Logical in her assumption, but passion doesn’t wait, so throw that all aside like a Burbank starlet. There exists a place where more difficult activities than walking around a filled pool of water are the worry. How about an empty pool, 10ft deep, hard concrete with multiple obstacles high and low and now your on a board with wheels zipping around like a electron in box. Yes a place does exist that has a definitely more interesting complete guide for the disregard of all logical physical boundaries and safety. The people I am speaking of are the skate boarding practitioners. I have witnessed an edgy sub-cultural of people that over 30 plus years are still feeling the wake of the initial movement. What is this madmen referring to you may be asking? Well don’t forget about the word mad, it will be needed later to describe the feats being created by such mad people. Venice California, a slue of twisted mutations of all ages, all diseased, all artists and assholes alike woven into a stream of chaotic mad energy and allowed to run free in a mix of higher tolerance. Yes, I claim that what I witness each morning at the skate park is nothing less than a new art form, which has stretched around the world.

The rant is necessary for I must capture the spirit of this art form. It is a glorious thing when one realizes the feats these practioners are succeeding at each day. Respect must be given for certain death lies ever so close. However this does not detour any age, sex, or class from joining the ranks. There are some rules as with anything but the one I’m interested in is: if it aint’ got style – its shit. I claim that this concept is the ideological soil for the mind to cultivate its consciousness from within. The act of skateboarding frees the mind from tomorrow and yesterday. Only the now can manipulate the skateboard so gracefully over smooth glassy concrete walls waiting to sink their teeth in. Skate boarding is an art form by all rights. By the end you should support me with the new label for this continuing movement, Skating Do – The style of consciousness. If you disagree, grab a board and try for yourself – Kook!

In many eastern philosophies and or martial arts the Do finishes the label of the art. Tae Kwon Do, Karate Do, Jeet kwon Do, ect, Do is defined as Art and or way of life. When contemplating this meaning as a younger lad, I realized the significance of this back then. To accept a mental set of principles that guide ones life until the act of living expresses the art form without thought. Ones life becomes the art. The movements, gestures, everything ceases to be mechanical the actions flow as milk does to a suckling infant.

Skateboarding is highly misinterpreted art form, due to its gritty anti-establishment attitude. My response is, “no shit.” Of course it’s anti establishment, modern day skating was birthed out of the ruins of a beach ghetto. Venice California was a place forgotten and left to rot by others. Why should they give a shit about conformity? Thirty-five years ago Venice was a slum, blue rag against red, V13 tagged across neighborhood and certainly no yuppie children in sight. This became the perfect soil for the release of pent up social energy. A few young surfers looked at this environment with a new eye and let their imaginations extend over their limitations. Without realizing it they were setting the building blocks for a new art form to evolve, which is shared by thousands of all ages today. They stepped out across their fears riding on the pure ecstasy of their vision. Homage of origin must be given to the Zephyr skateboarding team of the mid 1970’s. Without these young pioneers there would be no modern day skate boarding, as we know it today.

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