http://www.scribd.

com/doc/265560381/

A Guide to Balance Boards That

Rock, Wobble and Roll

The contents of this PDF file:

Page 2 videos online

Page 5 photos of feats online

Page 6 catalog of models that rock and roll and their sellers

Page 15 models that don't roll: wobble boards, their sellers and rocker boards

Page 19 to search online for sellers, videos and photos

Page 21 tips for getting the knack and avoiding injury

Page 22 those tips in detail

Page 23 backward-forward riding: tips for getting the knack

Page 25 variations and tips for someone who has already gotten the knack

Page 27 testimonials

Page 29 why an athlete needs several kinds of balance boards

Page 31 for brains, music and further reading

Page 36 sports, balance boards & the self (version with feminine pronouns)

Page 37 sports, balance boards & the self (version with masculine pronouns)

To go to the other pages of this file, open the Drawer.

To open the Drawer, go to the View menu and select it.
To scroll to pages, select Continuous Scrolling in the View menu.
To find a word or phrase, type it in the Search Box at the top of the Drawer.
To return to the Drawer's display of pages after typing in the Search Box,
delete what you typed.

© 2010 David Maisel

 Videos Online
If a video isn't found at the URL that is given here, its new location can probably
be found in one of these two ways:
Copy, from the URL given here, the phrase that is to the right of the rightmost
slash and then paste it to the Search box at <google.com/advanced_search>.
Then, at the bottom of that Google window, click "Date, usage rights, numeric
range, and more." In the resulting list of choices, to the right of "Where your
keywords show up" choose "in the URL of the page." Then click the Advanced
Search button or hit your keyboard's Return key or its Enter key.
The other way to look for the video's new location is to delete from the URL
given here the phrase that is to the right of the rightmost slash, then enter that
shorter URL in your browser's address box, and then go to the page at that ad-
dress and browse for a link or a photo (a still image of a video) that seems rele-
vant to what you are looking for. If that doesn't find the video, delete from the
URL given here the phrases that are to the right of the two rightmost slashes
and then browse at that page. If that doesn't find the video, delete from the
URL given here the phrases that are to the right of the three rightmost slashes,
and so on.
8 clips, each about 10 seconds long
smooth rocking:
www.gopivit.com
choppy rocking:
www.zoomboardz.com
hockey goalie:
www.vaughnhockey.com/goaltending_resources/balanceboardresource/bal-
anceboard.mov
weight-lifter:
www.strongobjectives.com/video/KBpresssquat.WMV
on a split log:
http://tsampa.org/vault/downloads/ubar/video/20040613balanceboard.wmv
push-up:
www.central.edu/athletics/strength/BalancedPushup.mov
trick (ollie):
www.indoboard.com/application/cart/index.php?
main_page=custom_page&page_id=video_viewer&video_file_name=how_-
to_ollie.mov&is_autoplay=true&title=How%20to%20Ollie
(Or at <www.indoboard.com> click "Getting Started," then click "Indo TV," then
click "How to Ollie.")
barefoot:
www.getboards.com/land/balanceboards/indo/balanceboard_movie.html

6 clips of mostly tricks, each about 5 seconds long

www.gopivit.com/pics-n-vids.asp
35 clips of tricks and fitness exercises, averaging 7 seconds long
http://vewdo.com/videos
http://vewdo.com/videos/aiden_16_months.wmv
Click the "Performance Riding" tab and then "Learn Tricks" to see diagrammed
instructions (after a hundred hours of non-trick practice).
2 clips of sumo wrestlers (though not wrestling, only balancing)
www.gopivit.com/news.asp
Click "CNN" (20 seconds long)
Click "Fox" (2 minutes long)
Ten female models simultaneously, a 1950's newsreel, 0:33
http://www.archive.org/details/BongoBoa1950
17 activities for advanced training, 1:00 total
http://www.indoboard.com/application/cart/index.php?main_page=custom_-
page&page_id=video_viewer&video_file_name=indo_trainers.mov&is_autoplay=
true&title=Indo%20Board%20Training%20Clips
(Or at <www.indoboard.com> click "Getting Started," then click "Indo TV," then
click "Indo Board Training Clips.")
A handstand with the roller on a pedestal 14 inches square
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ILvL-0JOlA
(The action is in the final ten seconds of this 2:45 clip. If the URL changes, find
the clip by typing "balance board Boulder" in the searchbox at <youtube.com>.)
Fancy footwork on a roller without crosswise guiding, 0:30
www.indoboard.com/application/cart/index.php?
main_page=custom_page&page_id=video_viewer&video_file_name=foot_-
work.mov&is_autoplay=true&title=Indo%20Board%20Foot%20Work
(Or at <www.indoboard.com> click "Getting Started" and then click "Indo TV."
Fancy footwork on a roller without crosswise guiding, 0:53
www.bettersportsbalance.com/site/739738/page/320197
(Or at <www.bettersportsbalance.com> click "See It in Action" under the "Navi-
gation" heading.) Downloading the video to your hard disk works better than
clicking to just see it.
3 clips of another roller without crosswise guiding, each about 10 sec.
www.eastsidelongboards.com/photos/Balance%20Board%20Gallery/Frame-
Set.htm
Successful and unsuccessful attempts to do tricks on another roller
without crosswise guiding, 4:00
wakeboardbootcamp.com/Movies/bukumovie.mov
5 clips of a board that rolls in every direction, each about 15 seconds
crouch:
www.balance360.com/surfing.php
beach girl:
www.balance360.com/skateboarding.php
beach boy:
www.balance360.com/exercise.php
pavement and shadow:
www.balance360.com/videos/laurapaves.mov
yoga squat:
www.balance360.com/yoga.php
16 clips of another board that rolls in every direction, averaging 20
seconds long
http://surfball.net/surfballvideos.htm
An acrobat doing tricks, including skipping rope, 6:48
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/alicja-and-sascha-gasser-rola-bola/
318839442
Acrobats doing the gold-prize-winning act of the 2008 International
Circus Festival of Budapest, 9:55
http://www.videosift.com/video/Phenomenal-Rola-Bola-Gold-Prize-2008
BongoPong, a simple homemade video game connected to a balance
board by its rider, and notes on its creation, 1:32
http://www.imagitronics.org/?page_id=8/
Nintendo's Wii video game connected to a balance board by its rider,
0:48
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXYlmTR7m6o&eurl=http://www.holoholo.tv/
(Or at <www.holoholo.tv> click on the image of a YouTube screen above a cap-
tion that mentions a wireless remote.)
 Photos of Feats Online
Among the 125 photos at <www.indoboard.com> that were sent there by cus-
tomers are ones showing these achievements: someone standing on his hands
on the board, pairs of people standing on it together, someone playing guitar
while standing on it with one foot, someone sitting on a bar-stool on it, some-
one standing on it with its roller atop another balance board (which is atop its
own roller), children who look four or five years old standing on it. The path to
the customers' photos is the "Gallery" tab near the top of the page and then
"Fan Photos."
 Models That Roll and Rock and Their Online Sellers

Prices are in U.S. dollars. Shipping costs are for destinations in the U.S.
Most dealers call the board "the deck" and call the roller "the rock."
To try out a model, phone health clubs, skateboard stores and snowboard
stores and ask what balance boards they have.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.vew-do.com
7 models, $80-$150 (plus shipping)
The roller of some of the models is tapered from the center toward the front
and back for tricks and increased responsiveness.
The most expensive model comes with three alternative fulcrums: one for
rolling, one for rocking (which is an easy and safe introduction to balance-board-
ing) and one for wobbling.
The board of some of the models is unflat around the edges to enable skate-
board-like tricks.
A 16-minute DVD is included with purchase of a board, which shows fitness ex-
ercises and instruction for tricks.
The website has videos, illustrated tricks lessons and fitness programs, a bal-
ance glossary, science articles, many sorted texts and a chart showing the price
of nine manufacturers’ models and whether they have each of 18 features.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.fitter1.com
$100 (plus shipping)
The Bongo Balance Board is very responsive to your body’s moves because the
roller is two wheels (front and back, on the same axle) that roll independently of
each other (each at its own speed, according to your lean’s direction-- the fea-
ture of a car’s left and right wheels that lets it curve without skidding) and be-
cause the wheels contain ball-bearings. The resulting speed feels scary on your
first day, and you are likely to fall if no one is holding you. After the first week,
the board's high level of responsiveness often enables you to recover your bal-
ance while staying up despite leans that you would expect to be grounded by.
The almost liquid smoothness of the ride is luxurious.
In the United Kingdom, this model is sold under the brand name “Scrub.”
Many balance-training products and a link for requesting their printed catalog
are at the Fitter website. One of them looks particularly interesting: the Trikke.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.inhomegames.com
http://carrom.com
The manufacturer is Merdel/Carrom. Their products are sold by Inhome Games.
The online path is this: >Carrom Classics >Balance Board
$50 (plus shipping)
On your first day, this model is easier and safer than the others because being
made entirely of wood slows it down. Once you can stay up (off the floor) for
15 seconds, the friction of wood rubbing against wood is a bit frustrating and
tiring because it responds less soon to your body's moves than some other
models do; those other models, though made mostly of wood, use smoother
materials (synthetics) for one or both of the contact-surfaces (where the
roller's groove contacts the board's rail). This all-wood model's lower respon-
siveness sometimes makes you need to let the board land or to hop off it (to
keep from falling) when other models, during a similar lean of yours, would en-
able you to recover your balance while staying up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.zoomboardz.com
$60, $65 (plus shipping)
Although I haven't used this model, the fact that it is made entirely of wood
makes me guess that it would present the same advantage and disadvantage
that I mentioned in the description of the Carrom Co. model. The two prices are
for different visual designs on the same model.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://wilhowe.com/balanceboard.htm
$99 (plus shipping)
A 12-minute instructional video is included with the purchase of a board. The
video isn't sold alone.
This model was designed by a horsemanship instructor to train riders for com-
petition and for riding fast horses.
Because in its photo it looks similar to the Carrom Co. model, my guess is that it
would present the same advantage and disadvantage that I mentioned in the
description of that model.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.bornagainboards.com/bongopage.htm
$150 and higher
Each board is made to order and custom-made of special hardwoods, by a surf-
board maker.
To order a board, email <norsfr@northcoast.com>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More challenging:
Models whose roller is without crosswise guiding
In the models of this section of the catalog, the roller doesn't have a groove
and the board doesn't have a rail (that fit each other), so the board can be
placed either perpendicular or parallel to the roller or at any orientation between
those two, and the orientation can change during a ride. Online videos showing
this feature are cited on the second page of the Videos section of this PDF file,
under headings that include the phrase "roller without crosswise guiding."
Forward-backward riding practices snowboarding skills. To stay balanced, don't
lean as far forward as you feel is necessary, especially when you start a ride.
Safety Issues:
Without crosswise guiding, there is a danger of the board sliding off the roller
when their lengths become (intentionally or unintentionally) unperpendicular to
each other, especially if the roller isn't longer than the board's width. This can
send the board and you into the air. So, notice in each website's photos how
long that company's roller is.
If the roller is moving fast or not in the direction of the board's length, it might
not be stopped by the guard rail at the left and right ends of the board's under-
side. Because the height of the guard rails of the models in this section of the
catalog is only between half and three quarters of an inch, you might want to
make them more effective by attaching a strip of wood along their bottom.
If the roller doesn't come with rubberized grip tape around it, you can buy that
at a skateboard shop. Another way to slow the roller down is to put some sand
or water in it and cover its two openings with tape. (The roller of every model
in this section is an open pipe.)
To choose a safer, less challenging or more challenging roller, at a plumbing
supply store you can buy PVC pipe of various diameters, lengths and gauges.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.indoboard.com
6 models
$95-$180 (plus shipping)
Four strips of non-skid tape are wrapped around the roller to keep the board
from sliding off the roller and to keep the roller from sliding too fast.
The Kicktail models, unlike the other Indo models, don't have a guard rail at
each end of the board's underside (that could stop the roller from sliding out).
The advantage of omitting that safety feature is that it enables some tricks.
An instructional DVD (sold alone for $13) is included with a purchase of a board.
The website has instructions for doing exercises, tricks and physical therapy,
other interesting texts, a few videos and many photos, including 125 photos
that were contributed by customers. Some of those photos are described in
this PDF file’s Photos of Feats section.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.wejuggle2.com/rolabola.php
$47 (shipping included)
The board and roller aren't recommended for people over 200 pounds.
To order, click the website's Contact link to ask We Juggle 2 to send you a Pay-
Pal order form.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.eastsidelongboards.com/BalanceBoard.html
$45 (plus shipping)
This model doesn't have guard rails on the board's underside (that could stop
the roller from sliding out). But the extra long length of the roller (fifteen inch-
es) mitigates that danger somewhat. The advantage of omitting that safety
feature is that it enables some tricks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.dube.com/rolabola/
$100 (plus shipping)
Rubberized grip patches for better footing are on the board's surface. Strips of
rubberized grip tape are wrapped around each end of the roller to keep it and
the board from rolling too fast.
The roller, a heavy-gauge PVC pipe, supports heavy loads and permits stacking
of rollers--alternately each one's round or flat surface facing down--without
warping them. Online video showing this kind of stacking is cited near the end
of the Videos section of this PDF file, under the heading "Acrobats doing the
gold-prize-winning act of the 2008 International Circus Festival of Budapest."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Without crosswise guiding when roller perpendicular to board;
with crosswise guiding and roller limited to a range of an inch
when parallel to board
www.holoholo.tv
3 models
$49 ($59 for a different color), $79, $89 ($99 and $109 for different colors)
(plus shipping)
To make the board suit beginning, intermediate, advanced or highly advanced
users and to simulate features of a ride on a surfboard, skateboard, snowboard
or wakeboard, the user can configure each of the Holoholo models in a variety
of ways (the same variety of ways for each of the three models).
The differences between the three models are in the size of the board and the
diameter of the roller.
When the user places the board and roller so that their lengths are parallel to
each other, the two ends of the roller fit into an indentation in each of the
guard rails in the board's underside, and the guard rails (backed up by two in-
sertable set-screws) keep the board and roller parallel to each other and keep
the roller within a one-inch range under the middle of the board. This configura-
tion enables pivoting, spinning around and doing tricks, as on a skateboard. If
the user wants to keep the board from rising off the roller (instead of letting it
rise off at either end for other tricks), the set-screws can be inserted.
An optional semi-cylinder is sold by the manufacturer for $15 that can be used
in any of five ways: replacing the cylindrical roller (parallel to the board and at-
tached to it, which is an easy and safe introduction to balance-boarding, parallel
to the board and not attached to it but constrained by guardrails or perpendicu-
lar to the board and not attached to it) or together with the cylindrical roller
(on top of and perpendicular to it and parallel or perpendicular to the board,
both of which would challenge a highly advanced user and are probably danger-
ous for anyone else).
The Holoholo website includes videos of rides, including one (in a YouTube
screen on the homepage) in which Nintendo’s Wii video game is connected by
wireless remote control to a Holoholo board, showing the Wii screen’s animated
representation of the ride being watched by the rider while he rides the board.
See the intro under the above heading "More challenging: Models whose roller is
without crosswise guiding." Holoholo's roller is a bit longer than the board width.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Without crosswise guiding, but configurable for several levels
of challenge, including beginner's
www.ajustabalanceboard.com
2 models
$125, $135 (plus shipping)
The two models differ only in the width of the board and the length of the
roller.
The level of challenge can be changed by changing the distance between the
end-stops (the guard rails on the underside of the board that stop the roller).
For leftward-rightward riding, there are six alternative distances between the
end-stops. For beginners, the shortest of those six distances leaves only
enough room between the end-stops for the roller, so that the board can rock
but can't slide sideways (or maybe can slide about half an inch). For forward-
backward riding, there are two alternative distances between the end-stops.
The product comes with an alternative to the regular two end-stops: four round
knobs that can be screwed in to any of the holes in the board that the two ends
of the regular two end-stops can be screwed into. This enables the end-stops
to be unparallel to the board's width, to the board's length and to each other.
Strips of grip tape are wrapped around each end of the roller and its middle to
keep it and the board from rolling too fast.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The most challenging:
360 degrees of tilt and roll
http://surfball.net
3 models
$159, $299, $349 (plus $40 to $50 shipping from Hawaii)
The roller is a sphere (a 12-inch basketball), giving 360 degrees of tilt and roll--
not only the left-right movement of the other manufacturers’ models, whose
roller is cylindrical or barrel-shaped. To keep the ball from moving too freely,
there is a one-inch-deep concave recess in the board’s underside.
The smallest model is plywood. The two larger models are fiberglass. The
largest model is 5 feet long, almost a surfboard.
For beginners, a ball that is a flattened oval is sold for $30.
For beginners, the Stability Bowl, a circular frame for the top of the ball that
can be attached to the underside of the board, is sold for an additional $20 (or
$50 if ordered separately). The diameter of that frame can be changed for a
second level of challenge.
A pump for the ball is included.
Online videos are cited at the end of the Videos pages of this PDF file, under
the heading "16 clips of another board that rolls in every direction."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.si-boards.com
10 models and 5 alternative fulcrums
$65-$590 (plus shipping)
45-minute instructional video included
This company's models seem the most challenging, thorough and effective bal-
ance-training devices. Its online videos demonstrate exercises that are based
on sophisticated knowledge of physical fitness.
Descriptions of this company's products should be added here in 2010.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.balance360.com
2 models
$110, $125 (plus shipping)
This listing isn't obsolete. The company returned to business in 2010.
The roller is a sphere (a rubber ball), giving 360 degrees of tilt and roll-- not
only the left-right movement of the other manufacturers’ models, whose roller
is cylindrical or barrel-shaped. To keep the ball from moving too freely, there is
a circular rail on the underside of the board. The height of that rail is an inch
and a half. Two alternative balls are included, both of them mini basketballs: a
7-inch ball and a 4.5-inch ball that prepares a user for the 7-inch ball.
A pump for the balls is included.
The manufacturer recommends the wider model for surfers.
Online videos are cited near the end of the Videos pages of this PDF file, under
the heading "5 clips of a board that rolls in every direction."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Easy
See the Holoholo boards, above. They can be configured for a beginner.
See the Ajusta boards, above. They can be configured for a beginner.
See the Vew-Do boards, above. One model can be configured for a beginner.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the next two models, the roller's small diameter (2 inches) makes them use-
able by people under age 6, over 65 and absolute beginners. But the ride ends
much sooner than is desirable, usually within 15 seconds, because of the close-
ness of the board to the floor and the lack of crosswise guiding (a rail in the
board and a groove in the roller that would fit each other).
Manufacturer of the next two models: Erzi (of Germany)
------------------------------------------------
http://thewoodenwagon.com/c-active_play.html
Name of model: Balance Rolling Board
$37.50 (shipping included)
----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.challengeandfun.com
Name of model: See-Saw Twist Articul Roller Board
$47.50 (shipping included)
The model shown in the Challenge and Fun catalog, whose board is rectangular,
has been discontinued by the manufacturer. Challenge and Fun fills orders for it
by sending the model that is listed above as the one sold by the Wooden Wag-
on under the name “Balance Rolling Board,” whose board is oval.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buyer beware: A third model by Erzi, called Balancierwippe by Erzi, called Bal-
ancing Seesaw Green by Challenge and Fun ($78.40, shipping included), called
Balancing Seesaw by the Wooden Wagon ($70.50, shipping included) and called
Seesaw Balance Game by ZebraHall.com ($53, shipping included), doesn’t roll;
its 2-inch-diameter fulcrum is glued to the board and therefore can’t roll, ex-
cept about 15 degrees; the publicity photo and texts at those companies' web-
sites don't indicate this. Even if someone can successfully pry the fulcrum
loose, it still won't roll-- because the surface that is glued to the board is flat
(the result of slicing off an arc). This model is worth considering for someone
who is under four years old or over 75. In case another seller calls it by another
name, it can be identified from its publicity photo and text by this entertaining
motivational feature: a user can try (by shifting weight) to maneuver two mar-
bles through a zigzag track in the board's upper surface.
That third Erzi model, Balancierwippe, isn’t the same as Erzi’s Balancierwippe
Pieps, which is the model listed above as the one sold by the Wooden Wagon
under the name “Balance Rolling Board.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.gopivit.com
$70 (shipping included)
Buyer beware: Clicking “Buy” brought a web browser’s warning about this
website’s security. All my email and phone messages to Pivit LLC in 2008 went
unanswered. Every business I contacted whose website advertises the Pivit
Board says it is out of stock. Calling the phone number at Pivit's website reach-
es the office of a company that takes orders for Pivit's products, but those or-
ders don't get filled (and the customer's credit card doesn't get charged). It
seems likely that Pivit LLC is no longer doing business. See the sug-
gestions for getting a Pivit or training blocks below.
This model's contact-surfaces can withstand a lot of use without wearing out
because the board is made of fiberglass and the roller is made of TPR and nylon.
Because of those materials, the board rolls a bit faster than other models, too
fast for a beginner.
For a beginner’s first session, there are two training blocks that can be attached
to the ends of the board's underside to make the ride slower, easier and safer
than the ride of other models.
Suggestion: A snowboard and skateboard store told me that in October 2007
it ordered and received a Pivit Board from a distributor. Maybe there are some
distributors or stores that still have a Pivit Board. A store might be willing to sell
its demo model. To see a list of snowboard stores and skateboard stores in the
U.S. and each store's contact info, go to <http://www.yellowpages.com/na-
tionwide/category_search/Skateboards-Equipment?search_terms=skateboard>
and to <http://www.yellowpages.com/nationwide/category_search/Snow-
boards?search_terms=snowboard>.
Suggestion: You can make training blocks for another model or pay a wood-
worker to. See the photo of a board with training blocks and the accompanying
paragraph at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_board> in Section 3.3.1 of
that webpage. Clicking that photo displays information and advice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three distributors
www.gearguys.com/all-balance-boards.html
www.gearguys.com/balanceboard-buyersguide.html
8 models by 4 manufacturers: Balance 360, Indo Board, Pivit, Zoomboard
$60-$180 (shipping included)
Six of the eight models come with an instructional DVD included.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.performbetter.com
Models by 2 manufacturers: Indo Board, Vew-Do
Also there: many other kinds of physical training and rehabilitation equipment,
videos, software, books and a schedule of seminars in several U.S. cities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.bettersportsbalance.com
Models by 4 manufacturers: Fitter, Indo Board, Pivit, Vew-Do
The website includes tips and other interesting information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A versatile model available in Japan
http://www.m-bbb.com/
Names of model: Marumitsu Body Balance Board (a.k.a. Wave Master)
Aside from a roller (which isn't attached to the board), it has alternative ful-
crums (which are stationary blocks, rounded on the bottom, which can be at-
tached to the board) for tilt in alternative directions. The positions of the alter-
native fulcrums are shown at <http://www.m-bbb.com/pd.html>.
There are three sizes of rollers (which are sold separately), whose diameters
are: 120 mm (4.8 inches), 80 mm (3.2 inches), and barrel-shaped 75 mm (3.0
inches) center with 60 mm (2.4 inches) ends.
Although the board doesn't have a rail and the roller doesn't have a groove
(that fit each other), the board shouldn't be placed parallel to the roller (or at
any orientation other than perpendicular to the roller), according to the dia-
grams at <http://www.skijournal.co.jp/balance/board/toritsuke.html>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Balance Boards That Don't Roll
Rocker Boards:
much safer and much easier than balance boards that roll

Wobble Boards:
safer but not always easier than balance boards that roll;
useful for physical therapy
Rocker boards tilt left and right (or front and back, if the user doesn't stand
in the normal orientation). Wobble boards tilt in every direction (360 degrees)
or, in some models, a little less than that and they also turn a little to the left
and right (or more than a little, if the user intends to turn, i.e., spin). The rea-
son rocker boards and wobble boards don't roll is that their fulcrum is attached
to the board. So, they are slower and more stable than the boards that roll.
So, unlike boards that roll, they are unlikely to cause a fall, and if they do cause
a fall, its impact is much less hard than in the case of a fall off a rolling board.
In different models of rocker boards, the fulcrum's shape is a rectangular
block, a rectangular block whose bottom is beveled, a semi-cylinder, a three-
quarter cylinder and a gradual arc along a long section of the board's underside.
In most wobble models, the fulcrum is a spherical cap (i.e., an outer section
of a sphere), with the spherical side facing down and the flat side attached to
the center of the board's underside.
In some rocker models and wobble models, the fulcrum is made of a rubbery
material that allows squashing, for extra tilting.
The challenge level of a particular wobble board is determined by the height
of the fulcrum, by how gradual or sharp the fulcrum's curve that touches the
ground is and by the length of the board (i.e., how close to each other the
user's feet must be). Those three factors combine to determine the steepness
of a board's incline, i.e., the angle that its flat surface makes with the ground
when the fulcrum is facing down and the board is tilted to the point that an
edge of it touches the ground. That incline ranges from 10 to 24 degrees in
different models. The ones in the least steep third of that range (10 to 15 de-
grees) and all rocker boards are less challenging than the boards that roll (the
boards whose fulcrum is a cylinder, near-cylinder or sphere that is separate from
the board). Wobble boards in the steeper two thirds of that range (16 to 24
degrees) can be as challenging as or more challenging than boards that roll in
only two opposite directions (left and right or forward and backward) because
tilting that steeply in every direction (360 degrees) demands the use of some
muscles, tendons and ligaments that aren't used for left-right (or forward-
backward) rolling boards. This makes wobble boards useful for physical therapy.
Wobble boards in the less steep third of that range (10 to 15 degrees) also use
muscles, tendons and ligaments that aren't used for left-right (or forward-
backward) rolling boards, but not as strenuously (or not as many?) as the
steeper wobble models do. They, too, are useful for physical therapy.
Models whose fulcrum is a sphere that is separate from the board (de-
scribed in the above section "The Most Challenging: 360 Degrees of Tilt and
Roll") are the most challenging type of balance board because they combine the
features of a wobble board and a board that rolls.

Buying
Most wobble boards cost between $20 and $60.
An easy wobble board (one whose incline is between 10 and 14 degrees)
becomes boring after a month if you are under age 60. So, you will need to buy
another board then and probably a third one after a while. You can save money
by buying the later sizes in advance: either a set of boards which each have a
different incline or one board whose incline can be adjusted. For example:

The Tri-Level Balance Board (also spelled online with a space instead of that
hyphen), $14, is described below under the heading “A Triple-Incline Wobble
Board Recommended for a Beginner.”
The BlueDot Trading Adjustable Therapy Fitness Stability Balance Wobble
Board (made of plastic) is configurable (by screwing its fulcrum to change its
height) for a continuously variable range of intermediate challenge levels. It is
sold for $17 by <www.amazon.com>.
The GGI International 16.5-Inch Adjustable 2-in-1 Balance Board (a.k.a. Iso-
kinetics Deluxe Balance Board) (made of plastic) can be set to either of two in-
clines: 10 or 18 degrees, $20 at <www.drugstore.com>.
The FFP Adjustable Wobble Board (made of wood) can be set to any of
three inclines: 11, 15 or 19 degrees. It is sold for $70 by its manufacturer,
Fundamental Fitness Products <www.funfitpro.com> and for $60 by most dis-
tributors.
Fitterfirst <www.fitter1.com> makes two boards (made of wood) which can
each be set to any of three inclines: the Pro Wobble Board 20-Inch, 10, 12 or
15 degrees, $80; and Pro Wobble Board 16-Inch, 15, 17 or 20 degrees, $70.
Fitterfirst's Classic Balance Board (made of plastic) can be set to 14 or 17
degrees, $35.
The Wobble Board Set (made of a high density polymer) can be set to any
of three inclines: 12, 16 or 20 degrees. It is sold for $70 by its manufacturer,
Stroops <www.stroops.com> and for $60 at <http://fitness1st.com>.
Return to Fitness <www.return2fitness.net> makes two boards (made of
wood) which can each be set to any of three inclines: the Multi-Wobble 20 Inch
Balance Board, 13, 15 or 17 degrees, $75; and the Multi-Wobble 15 Inch Bal-
ance Board, 16, 20 or 23 degrees, $66.

Other wobble board manufacturers:

Aeromat <aeromats.com>, Altus <altusathletic.com>, Cando (a/k/a Fabrication
Enterprises) <candoproducts.net>, FitBall <balldynamics.com>, GoFit
<gofit.net>, Sparq <sparqtraining.com>, SPRI <spri.com>, Videtto Enterprises
<ankleboard.com>.
A triple-incline wobble board recommended for a beginner:
The Tri-Level Balance Board ($14, made of plastic) is a good choice for a
user’s first wobble board because the ground-contacting surface of its fulcrum
is much flatter than most models', which lets a user lean comfortably without
falling or landing, which makes it less exciting and stressful than other models
and encourages a user to experiment with positions, movements and stretches
more than other models do. It can be set to any of three inclines, whose chal-
lenges feel like 12, 13 and 14.5 degrees but are actually 18, 21 and 27 de-
grees. (Those three discrepancies are explained below under the heading “Why
the Incline Isn't a Perfect Measure of the Challenge.”) It is sold at <www.sup-
plementwarehouse.com>, where it can be found by typing “balance board” in
the searchbox. It is the exact same model as the Cando Plastic Wobble Board
that is described below under the heading “The Lowest-Priced Wobble Board”
except that it includes an extra fulcrum that adds the two steeper settings.
The steepest (therefore, most challenging) wobble board:
A model whose incline was 24 degrees was made by Fitterfirst <www.fit-
ter1.com> until 2007. Maybe there are some distributors or stores that still
have one. A used one might be findable at <eBay.com>. Model's name: Wobble
Board 16" Limited Edition. Material: medium-density fiber board.
The lowest-priced wobble board:
The Cando Plastic Wobble Board costs $10.49 at Best Priced Products
<www.bpp2.com>. Its incline is 18 degrees, but its level of challenge feels like
about 13 degrees because a one-inch diameter area that is the lowest section
(i.e., the center) of its ground-contacting surface is almost flat. The product
described above under the heading “A Triple-Incline Wobble Board Recommend-
ed for a Beginner” is this exact same model plus an attachable alternative ful-
crum that makes it more challenging and versatile.
Why the incline isn't a perfect measure of the challenge:
Although the angle of the incline is a good general indicator of a wobble
board's challenge level, it isn't an absolutely reliable indicator. In some models,
the size of that angle undervalues the main factor: how gradual or sharp the
fulcrum's ground-contacting curve is. An extreme example that demonstrates
the comparison is a cone-shaped fulcrum whose base is the cone's point. No
matter how short the cone is--even if it's only half an inch high--and no matter
how far apart the user's legs are, it would be impossible to balance on the point
of a cone. The shape of manufacturers' fulcrums can be seen in catalogs' pho-
tos.
Other rocker/wobble boards:
A combined wobble and rocker board is the Extreme Balance Board, which is
made by the Best Sport Toy Canada Co. <www.extreme-balance-board.com>.
Its price ranges from $110 to $150 at online distributors. It can be set to
move in any of these ways and in almost any simultaneous combination of
them: tilt left and right, tilt forward and backward, turn (as opposed to tilt) left
and right in addition to tilting along one of those axes, tilt 360 degrees.
Three models that are each a combined wobble and rocker board are made
by Chango Balance Boards & Products. Their prices are $65 to $75 at several
online distributors. I can't find any Chango URL.
The Zone Balance Pro model made by Vew-Do Balance Boards <www.vew-
do.com> comes with three alternative fulcrums: one for wobbling, one for rock-
ing and one for rocking and rolling. It costs $149.
The Balancierwippe model made by Erzi that is described above under the
heading "Easy" in the paragraph that starts with "Buyer beware" is a rocker
board. It tilts left and right on an attached fulcrum. The fulcrum of the other
two Erzi models under the above heading "Easy" is a cylinder that is separate
from the board.
A motorized attached-fulcrum model is the iJoy Board. The user can set it
to 3 speeds. It is sold at <http://www.sharperimagebest.com/hw565.html> for
$400 and, when on sale, for $300.
 To search online for balance boards

In the search box at any of the following listed websites, type "balance-
board -wii" or "balanceboard -wii" or "bongo-board" or "wobble-board" or "rolla-
bolla" or "rola-bola" or "rolo-bolo" or "rolobolo" or "rolabola" or "rollabolla" or
the plural of any of those terms (except "wii").
If you type "balance-board" in a search box, almost half of the resulting
links will be to webpages about Nintendo’s Wii video game, and they will be
mixed in with the links that are about real balance boards (not listed
separately). To avoid being shown those irrelevant links, type also "-wii” in the
same search box, with “wii” as a separate word, preceded by a hyphen. A hy-
phen preceded by a space is understood as a minus sign, meaning “without the
next word.”
Google and YouTube can search for more than one term at a time if you
type “OR” between words or between phrases or between a word and a phrase,
e.g., "balance-board -wii OR balance-boards -wii.” If the term after “OR” is more
than one word, type parentheses or other syntax to indicate where it ends. A
webpage will be listed in the results as long as it includes either the term before
the “OR” or the word (or indicated term) after the “OR” or both of them.
A hyphen immediately between two keywords (as in “balance-board”)
makes them a phrase, so that the search’s results won’t be cluttered with links
to irrelevant webpages in which each of those two words occurs without the
other as the preceding or next word.

To search for SELLERS

www.google.com/products Typing the singular doesn’t find the plural here.

But that’s OK because typing “x OR y” finds webpages with either x or y here.
http://shopping.yahoo.com Typing “x OR y” here finds only webpages with
both x and y. But that’s OK because typing the singular finds the plural here.
www.amazon.com Typing “x OR y” here finds only webpages with both x and
y. But that’s OK because typing the singular finds the plural here.
www.ebay.com Typing “x OR y” here finds only webpages with both x and y.
But that’s OK because typing the singular finds the plural here.

A list of links to companies that make or sell balance boards that includes each
one’s phone number and mailing address is at <www.skatelog.com/balance-
boards/manufacturers.htm>.
To search for PHOTOS

http://images.google.com Typing the singular doesn’t find the plural here.

But that’s OK because typing “x OR y” finds webpages with either x or y here.
www.altavista.com/image A hyphen doesn’t turn adjacent words into a
phrase here; typing quote marks around them does. Typing the singular here
doesn’t find the plural; typing “x OR y” here finds only webpages with both x
and y; so, you need to do two searches to find both the singular and plural hits.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images Typing the singular here doesn’t
find the plural; typing “x OR y” here finds only webpages with both x and y; so,
you need to do two searches to find both the singular and plural hits.

To search for VIDEOS

To see rides by acrobats, jugglers and circus performers, type "rola-bola" or any
of the alternative spellings of that word that are in the first paragraph of this
Searching Online section.

http://video.google.com Typing the singular doesn’t find the plural here.

But that’s OK because typing “x OR y” finds webpages with either x or y here.
www.altavista.com/video A hyphen doesn’t turn adjacent words into a
phrase; typing quotation marks around them does. Typing “x OR y” here finds
only webpages with both x and y, but that’s OK because typing the singular
finds the plural here. Typing a minus sign before a word doesn’t work here.
http://video.yahoo.com Typing “x OR y” here finds only webpages with both
x and y. But that’s OK because typing the singular finds the plural here.
www.youtube.com Typing the singular doesn’t find the plural here. But
that’s OK because typing “x OR y” finds webpages with either x or y here.
 Tips for Getting the Knack and Avoiding Injury

Empty your bladder

Wrist - guards

A helmet that protects your nose– but not a batting-practice helmet

A brace (of the flexible, soft kind) for each ankle and knee

Remove eye-glasses

Barefoot or shoes with dust-free rubber soles; no shoeless socks

Within 6 ft.: no furniture, wall, glass, hard/pointy stationary object

No concrete floor, no alcohol, no drugs

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The board parallel to the wall you will be facing

Heels: to know if they’re on, see distance of shoes’ toe from board edge

Neck vertical

Useful: a window at night, mirror or lamp that shows your silhouette

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When starting: Roller’s center 1/4 of the way from board’s center
to board’s end

3 seconds before you start leaning, start focusing on a perfectly hori-

zontal or vertical line near eye level and keep looking at it

To start, lean as slowly as possible toward your higher foot; to get slow,
first make 5 false starts, each increasingly closer to a start
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 1: If standing on the board scares you, first sit on it, rocking left
and right. Then kneel on it, with your back straight. For the first 3 min-
utes of standing on it, have someone behind you hold your sides, just
under your armpits. For the next few minutes, do it in a doorway that
doesn’t have a threshold. Nailing or screwing a block to each end of the
board’s underside makes starting a ride easier. 

 Within 6 feet: No furniture, wall, glass or hard or pointy stationary objects
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your first time, it's much easier and safer if someone behind you holds your
sides or you grasp someone's shoulders or a doorway. Screwing or nailing 2
blocks to the board's underside, one at each end, makes starting a ride easier.
What to wear:
--WRIST GUARDS of the kind that are sold for doing roller-blading
--hockey or U.S. football helmet– not batting-practice helmet (bottom edge too sharp)
--a brace (of the flexible, soft kind) for each ankle and knee (to prevent a sprain)
--barefoot or shoes with dust-free rubber soles; no shoeless socks
--optional: knee & elbow pads of the kind that are sold for doing roller-blading
--No eye glasses, in case you fall on your face
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's much more dangerous than a fall from six inches above the floor. You're constantly
throwing your weight left and right, sometimes with all your strength, and the roller
acts like a catapult. So, a fall's impact is much harder than from just casually falling.
It's like diving onto the floor or flying into a wall. It's like the way a judo wrestler gets
his opponent to hurt himself by throwing his weight, off-balance, against the floor.
The floor:
--Flat, without grooves between floor tiles
--Wood or linoleum is best, without padding
--Not concrete, ceramic or stone (even if covered by wood or linoleum), not thick carpet
--The first day, a floor with a thin carpet is good, to slow the roller. I mean a very thin
carpet; if it's thick, it keeps the roller from moving freely, which makes the roller less
responsive to the weight-shifting you constantly do to prevent an excessive slide.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posture: To be sure your heel is on the board, see where the shoe's toe is when the
back of the shoe is a half inch behind the board's edge. Relax ankles, bend knees a bit,
keep hands in front of body, palms down, feet parallel to each other, NECK VERTICAL.
Put the board parallel to the wall you'll be facing.
Failure/success, 1: It's hard (and dangerous) to start if the roller is near the board's
center or far from it when your second foot steps onto the board; the roller's center
should be 1/4 of the way from the board's center to the board’s end when starting.
Failure/success, 2: Three seconds before you start leaning, start focusing on a
perfectly horizontal or vertical line near eye level: a shelf, a window frame or a strip of
something at least that long that you tape to the wall. Keep looking at it the whole ride.
Failure/success, 3: To get started, lean as SLOWLY as possible toward your higher
foot. (Doing it that way prevents the commonest cause of an unsuccessful start: the
tendency of the starting push to slide the body and board so far to one side that the
hastily attempted recovery from that imbalance is overdone, ending the ride, especially
for a beginner.) To enable yourself to lean as slowly as necessary toward the higher
foot when starting, first spend ten seconds to make five intentionally inadequate leans
(false starts): Lean 20% as far as would be necessary to bring the board to a level (hor-
izontal) position; then, after the lower foot's end of the board returns to the floor, lean
40% as far as would be necessary to bring the board to a level position; after landing
again, lean 50% as far as necessary; after landing, lean 75% as far as necessary; after
landing, lean 90% as far as necessary; after landing, lean exactly as far as is necessary
to get started-- and not a bit further. This minimum is also the maximum.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To stay up longer: Listen to music, see neck and hips in a window at night or mirror,
use a clock to keep count of your seconds or minutes, catch & throw a ball while up.

 Backward-Forward Riding: Tips for Getting the Knack
The tips on the above page, which were written for leftward-rightward riding,
apply also here, except for that page's OK'ing of shoes.
1. First learn how to ride a leftward-rightward balance board whose roller has a
groove that keeps it lined up with the board.
2. Learn how to ride a Holoholo Board Sports model backward-forward before
trying to ride another manufacturer's model in that orientation. The Holoholo
models' design keeps the roller and board parallel to each other (and attached
to each other if the user sets them that way) and prevents the roller from
rolling more than one inch.
3. Do it with bare feet. Make sure your roommates don't have athlete's foot!
4. If you stand in a doorway (or some other place where your hands can find ex-
ternal support) at your first or first few sessions, don't continue using that
crutch beyond the second day. It keeps your body from teaching itself.
5. Don't lean as far forward as feels necessary, especially when you start a ride.
When I looked at my feet for the first time, which was after several sessions, I
noticed that when the board felt level it was actually leaning forward a bit, and
that it was level when it felt that it was leaning backward a bit. If I lean forward
about 80% as far as I think is necessary to make the board level, it works.
6. Starting a ride:
After putting your feet on the board, while it's still resting on the floor, focus for
3 seconds on a perfectly vertical (or horizontal) line that is in front of you, e.g.,
the frame of a window or doorway. The line should occupy at least a fifth of
your eyes' range, the longer the better. Don't start leaning until that line seeps
into you. Keep your eyes on it throughout the ride. After the first 4 or 5 min-
utes of a session, 2 seconds of pre-start focusing on that line is enough.
You might mistakenly expect, as I did, the wall on your left or right to be the one
whose vertical (or horizontal) line can help backward-forward balancing. I found
that turning my head sideways (to look at a guideline) is a hindrance and that a
guideline on the wall in front of me is more crucial for backward-forward than for
leftward-rightward balancing.
Hanging one end of a yardstick (or something similar) from a ceiling guarantees
it will be perfectly vertical, unlike a piece of furniture or part of an old house.
If you want to time your rides but don't have a clock whose second hand or dig-
its are big enough to read when it's in a place you can see without looking away
from that vertical (or horizontal) line, use a stop-watch that you can zero with-
out looking at it. Most cell phones have a stop-watch in their Tools menu. What
made me realize that focusing on the guideline during a start was necessary was
that every ride at whose start I looked at my wrist-watch or stop-watch ended
sooner than the other rides, which made me realize that at the start of those
other (longer) rides my eyes had unconsciously been on a guideline (not needing
to look away from the line so that they could read the watch). Even when I held
a watch near my face, focusing on it broke the spell of the line.
7. Start some rides with the floor-contacting edge of the board being the edge
near your toes, i.e., by leaning backward. It may feel impossible to do, but it
soon gets doable, and the adjusting teaches something useful.
8. Start the session by standing on a wobble board for a minute. Most models
cost between $20 and $60. Information about wobble boards and buying them
is in this PDF file's "Models That Don't Roll" section.
 Variations for Developing Skill
To increase the time of a learner's ride
Once a learner can stay up for 20 seconds, catching and throwing a ball (while rid-
ing) causes a leap in balance-board skill. Using a slightly smaller ball every minute,
e.g., 5 sizes starting with a soccer ball and ending with a tennis ball, yields extra
progress; so does gradually making the catcher reach further.
I’ve seen young children need about 10 sessions to reach 20 seconds and then, af-
ter 2 minutes of ball practice, they reached an average high of about 100 seconds (on
the same day they first reached 20 seconds). One 8-year-old went from a high of 17
seconds (which took him about 20 sessions to reach) to 215 seconds soon after 3
minutes of ball practice; he reached 90 seconds immediately after the ball practice and
215 seconds about 10 minutes later.

More-challenging variations
Have someone push or nudge you from the front, side or back.
Dangerous for a beginner: Try starting a ride with the roller near the board’s cen-
ter.
Try stepping on the board sideways, one foot in front of the other (each foot parallel
to the board’s length), each foot on a different side of the roller. Easier: one foot side-
ways and the other in the normal orientation. It’s easier if you start with both feet in
the normal orientation and slowly turn one sideways.
Some people feel more control with their feet diagonal to the board (but still parallel
to each other) than with them perpendicular to it.
Two opponents on balance boards can face each other in a tug-of-war. Winning
means the other player landed or let go of the rope. Besides pulling hard on the rope,
two ways to try to win are faking the intention to pull or suddenly loosening the grip
while the other player is pulling hard. This exercise is used by the U.S. Ski Team,
with players standing on unspecified balance devices, according to the book Balance:
In Search of the Lost Sense by Scott McCredie (pub. Little, Brown and Company,
2007). In the book's appendix, McCredie lists this among several exercises provided to
him by the team's trainer, Per Lundstam. If he has the team do this on balance
boards that roll, I hope he lets them wear wrist-guards and helmets.
Photos of someone swinging a baseball bat at a pitched ball while on a balance
board and of someone playing ping-pong while on a balance board are at <www.vew-
do.com/index2.htm>.
I saw the juggling of three balls while on a balance board by an administrator of
Springfield, Mass. public schools and by a Stanford University graduate student. The
Stanford student told me he saw his biology lab’s director stand on his head on a bal-
ance board. That professor was 53 when he first used a balance board and when he
stood on his head on it. An online video of a handstand done on a balance board is
cited under “handstand” in this PDF file’s Videos section.
Turn your head or eyes or your head and eyes all the way to the left or right.
 Dangerous and for almost anyone undoable for more than 2 seconds: eyes closed.

Free Downloads:
The Fitness Users Guide is at <www.gopivit.com/brochures.asp>.
At <www.indoboard.com> these four tabs lead to descriptions and/or illustrations
of exercises: Health & Fitness, Tricks, Indo TV, P.E. Curriculum: Student Assessment.
Very challenging variations are described at <www.bettersportsbalance.com> at the
"Beyond Getting Started" link.
Sold for $9:
The Great Balance and Stability Handbook by Andre Noel Potvin & Chad
Benson (pub. Productive Fitness Products, 2003) is a 62-page book of 85 exercises to
do on wobble boards and other balance devices that are more stable than balance
boards that roll. Experienced riders can experiment to find out which of those exer-
cises can be done on a balance board that rolls. There are a few photos to illustrate
each exercise's instructions.
Sold for $10:
Balance Training: Stability Workouts for Core Strength and a Sculpted
Body by Karon Karter (pub. Ulysses Press, 2007) is a 110-page book of 71 exercises
to do on wobble boards and other balance devices that are more stable than balance
boards that roll. Experienced riders can experiment to find out which of those exer-
cises can be done on a balance board that rolls. There are a few photos to illustrate
each exercise's instructions.

Less-challenging variations
Pass a stick or a ruler over your shoulder to your other hand behind your back.
Then do that again with that other hand, and so on.
Keep your hands in your pockets.
While two people on balance boards face each other, one mimics the other's move-
ments.
A spectator calls out commands for the rider to perform, e.g., "Touch your left
knee/ear/elbow with your right thumb."
A spectator calls out commands for the rider to perform verbal/cognitive tasks,
e.g., counting to 20, counting down to zero from 20, skipping the even numbers, recit-
ing the alphabet forward and backward, doing arithmetic, reciting literary texts memo-
rized in school, and doing any of those tasks in a foreign language. All those, even
counting to 20 in English (my native language), were much harder for me than I ex-
pected. They shortened my ride. They were exciting, though not to the degree of being
frightening.
 Testimonials
The following quotations are at <http://www.vew-do.com>.
"As a karate instructor I encourage all my students to ride a Vew-Do Balance
Board as often as possible. It's been an integral component of our balanced de-
velopment program since day one."
…Jon Bottomms
Sensei, 4th degree black belt
Koro Ken Karate DO

"I recommend Vew-Do Balance Board riding to many of my clients. It's an excel-
lent means of finding inner balance and peace."
…Carrie Lenhardt
Certified Massage Therapist

"Balance, coordination and agility are key to achieving grace. The Vew-Do Bal-
ance Board gives us one training device to help us get the results our clients
want. The exercises we have developed can be used by anyone looking for low
impact to high impact total body workouts."
…Radu Teodorescu, personal trainer to Cindy Crawford, Matthew Broderick,
Regis Philbin and other celebrities

"In my business balance goes beyond diet and nutrition, it's bringing together
mind, body and spirit, and Vew-Do brings it together as a whole. Joy of life is a
question of balance."
…Bruce Last
President-CEO, At Last Naturals

“Vew-Do Boards are an incredible enhancement to the Patriots Cheerleaders’

training program. It not only provides a complete and effective total body
workout, but it’s a great tool for promoting concentration and focus as well. It
has added a spark to our strength and conditioning program, creating a fun,
new challenge with proven results.”
…Tracy Sormanti
Director & Choreographer, New England Patriots Cheerleaders

"It's a great addition to our rehab and training programs, adding fun and ex-
citement to our workouts."
…Jim Ramsay, Head Athletic Trainer, New York Rangers

The following quotations are at

<http://www.balance-boards.com/testimonials.htm>.
"When people understand how a simple concept like 'balance' added to any fit-
ness program can make big changes in mobility, performance and stamina,
EVERYONE will be on the Bongo Board!" 
…Suzanne Nottingham- Balance Training expert
California Governors Council on Physical Fitness & Sport
"I love the Bongo Board for my own training, but find almost immediate results
when clients learn to use it. Adjustments made by the body to simply stand
alone on the board is valuable enough training for anyone. For athletes, the
board's versatility allows me to guide and extend their range of safe effort and
movement ability. The dynamic responses to improve balance on the Bongo
Board help bridge the transition for my less aggressive clients to break com-
fortably into sports participation. If we as fitness professionals are not consider-
ing fundamental movement skills like balance as part of all programs we teach,
we aren't presenting the whole picture to the exercising public."
…Keli Roberts
Multi-sport Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and American Council on
Exercise Media spokesperson

"Balance board training can improve your coordination as a runner and thus your
running economy, a key predictor of endurance performance. Balance boards
also increase the active strength of the muscles in your feet, ankles, and legs,
enhancing your efficiency of running and lowering risk of injury."
…Running Research News, December 1998

"A few minutes a day spent on a...Bongo board eases muscle and joint pain, and
helps people improve their efficiency of movement." 
…John Blievernicht, President of Sports Health C.A.R.E., a Chicago sports-rehab
clinic
(excerpt from Newsweek, December 14, 1998)

"Bongo Boards are fun and are used by many national ski teams for coordination
drills."
…Chris Fellows, Director of the North American Ski Training Center
(excerpt from The Edge, a PSIA publication) 
---------------------------------------------------------
Teams in the National Football League that use Vew-Do balance boards in
their players' training: Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers,
Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles.

The National Hockey League's New York Rangers players are required to use a
balance board regularly during the off season.
 Why an Athlete Needs Several Balance Boards
James Brent Klassen, in a Canadian patent application that he made in 2009
for balance boards that he designed, wrote on pp. 1, 2 and 7 of the applica-
tion’s Description section:

There are three main modes of balance correction employed by hu-

mans. For simplicity of explanation, all examples here are for a static
standing mode. Rotational acceleration of body mass is used for an-
gular attitude correction. In this mode of balance correction, rotational
arm swing acceleration is most commonly used to cause a rotational
acceleration of the body in the oppposite direction. CG (Center of
Gravity) correction is used to move the CG over the top of the de-
sired CF (Center of Force). This is commonly accomplished natu-
rally by humans at low disturbance levels by moving the hips horizon-
tally to keep the CG as directly over the preferred CF as possible. Plat-
form correction is used to keep the preferred CF under the CG without
necessarily moving the CG. At high disturbance levels, this can involve
taking a step forward or backward or sideways to move the platform
back under the user’s displaced CG to “catch one’s balance.” At low
disturbance levels, simply changing the CF of the foot contact area is
all that is necessary to keep the CF as close as possible to below the
CG. This can be accomplished by applying more pressure to the toes
or the heels or one or the other side of the foot.
Various combinations of these modes can be used at the same time.
CG correction is the most natural method of balance correction and re-
quires low amounts of energy. It is, however, not the ideal mode of
balance correction for many sport activities because it requires move-
ment of the upper or entire body system which can affect the precision
of the movement and power transfer through the upper body.
Platform correction is the ideal mode of balance correction for many
aspects of many sports such as, but not limited to, golf and basketball
because it can be accomplished by simple and precise ankle move-
ments which result in a change of the CF under the feet and cause
minimal disturbance on the rest of the body. This stable platform,
generated from the ground up, allows higher precision and power
transfer through the rest of the body. This allows the upper body
movement to be dedicated more completely to the task [i.e., the sports
task, e.g., aiming a ball] rather than detracting from the task by also
using the upper body for maintaining balance.
…The balance training system [of the balance boards invented by
Klassen] is believed to cause the user to make intuitive/instinctive bal-
ance corrections using ankle movement instead of CG or other balance
mode corrections. It does this by creating an artificial regulated insta-
bility in the direction of imbalance which, in order to maintain or regain
 balance in embodiments [i.e., balance boards] where the balance axis
passes through both feet in a normal stance (feet side by side, approx-
imately shoulder width), requires the users to push down more on the
toes or the heels or one or the other side of their feet.
Another feature believed by the inventor to occur in use of at least
some of the disclosed embodiments of the balance training system is
the minimization or elimination of extraneous horizontal movement of
the user’s feet as the platform changes angle. This is done by con-
structing the balance training system in such a way as to position the
rolling or pivoting contact of the platform as close as possible to the
vertical position of the sole of the user’s shoes or feet. This the
“ground plane” effect and it serves to train the same proprioceptive
feedback as when the user is standing on solid ground. This is the
ideal scenario for a balance training device because it simulates, as
closely as possible, the forces and movements that are required in ac-
tual life or sport performance.
Another feature of embodiments of the [inventor’s] balance training
system is a stability zone which is perceptible to the user when the
platform is at or near horizontal. This stability zone is a larger radius
curvature (as compared to the curvature outside the stability zone) that
feels similar to a flat spot to the user. It helps the user to recognize
where the desired platform position is and trains the lower extremities
to search for and maintain that position.
This “stability zone” provides a positive feedback to the users to
make them aware of when they are in the correct position. The size of
the stability zone can be set or adjusted for easier balance training
with a larger stability zone or more precise balance training with a
smaller stability zone.

Why does an athlete need to practice on several kinds of balance boards?

Answers to that question that are each specific to each kind of balance board
are indicated in the drawings and descriptions of James Brent Klassen’s 24 bal-
ance board designs, which he included in the abovequoted Canadian patent ap-
plication. Each kind of balance board simulates a different subset of the forces,
circumstances and purposes that change an athlete’s CG and CF.
That patent application’s official number is 2732384.
It can be downloaded here: http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/
eng/patent/2732384/summary.html?type=number_search
 Brains, Balance Boards, Music and a 2007 Book

In the British journal The Therapist (Spring, 1998) there was an article
<www.voicetraining.co.uk/doc_canaries.htm> about an opera singer, Angela
Caine, who lost her ability to sing after an injury, who then regained that ability
through the use of a balance board, a treatment that her trainer based on the
Alexander Technique's explanation of the role of neck posture in use of voice.
An article <www.voicetraining.co.uk/doc_thenote.htm> that includes infor-
mation about Angela Caine's use of a balance board in the training of her music
students (singers and instrumentalists) was in The Note, the newsletter of the
Royal College of Music (Spring 2003).
That balance board use can develop not only a musician's performance skills
but also musical abilities that are more fundamental than performance can be
understood from the paragraphs that follow here.
A balance board that rocks but doesn't roll (whose fulcrum is stationary) is
used to develop reading and cognitive skills in children who have developmental
disabilities: autism, dyslexia and attention disorders. This balance board was
designed by Frank Belgau, Ed.D., formerly director of the University of Hous-
ton's Perceptual Motor and Visual Perception Laboratory. The article "Balance
and Sensory Integration Program" at <http://autismcoach.com/Sensory%20In-
tegration%20Program.htm> explains how cognitive skill depends on sensory in-
tegration and how sensory integration depends on development of the sense of
balance. The Belgau Balance Board and the accessories to it that are used in its
educational program are sold at that Autism Coach website and at Belgau's
website, <www.balametrics.com>. Here are five excerpts from that article,
comprising about a tenth of it:
1. "…The three-dimensional model of the world provides the frame-
work into which all other sensory data must be integrated. Because the
vestibular system is the basis of this three-dimensional model of the
world, the effectiveness of the various senses in communicating infor-
mation accurately to the brain is limited by the precision of the
vestibular system.…"
2. "Studies have suggested a link between a well-developed sense of
spatial awareness and artistic creativity, as well as success in math. It
can also be important in the development of abstract thought. The
ability to organize and classify abstract mental concepts is related to
the ability to organize and classify objects in space. Visual thinkers, in
particular, will tend to use their visual imagination to organize abstract
thought.
"Because spatial awareness is so important in all activities of human
life, from the most basic to the most advanced, deficiencies in spatial
awareness can hold people back from achieving their true potential.
However, because spatial awareness requires integrating the informa-
tion from the different senses into the three-dimensional model of the
world provided by the vestibular system, activities which refine the
vestibular system and develop sensory integration can refine all as-
pects of brain processing.…"
3. "The first sensory system to develop and provide the brain with
meaningful information is the vestibular system or balance sense. Soon
after conception, the human brain begins developing an intelligent re-
sponse to its environment by utilizing its ability to sense three-dimen-
sional movement and reference it to the force of gravity. The ability for
an individual to perform motor actions, control various parts of the
body in space, and project objects into visual and auditory space is
possible because of the ability of the vestibular system to overcome the
inertial and gravitational problems encountered in these types of activ-
ities.
"The motor system and other brain systems that control body, limb,
finger, tongue, lip, jaw, and eye position, and which are responsible for
gross and fine motor skill, also sense movement and position in space
utilizing gravitational and inertial information. These senses, as well as
the auditory and visual systems, are built on, integrated with, and
highly dependent upon the inertial and gravitational foundations pro-
vided by the vestibular system.
"The three-dimensional referencing system provided by the vestibular
system allows our brain to develop structures to create language, to
think and create linguistically, and to read and write. The coordination
of all of the brain's timing processes is probably dependent upon and
referenced to inertial gravitational information provided by the vestibu-
lar system. In order for the brain to successfully integrate its many
senses and systems, it must depend on a stable, highly evolved coordi-
nating mechanism. It is most likely that the mechanism the brain uses
to accomplish this task relies heavily upon the information provided by
the inner ear with regard to the acceleration of gravity. The brain's
ability, or inability, to achieve the necessary resolution required in this
process determines the resolution and efficiency of all other brain pro-
cesses. The resolution of this calibration is also relative to the resolu-
tion of an individual's balance. To put it simply, the individual's ability
to balance is indicative of the efficiency of his or her brain processes.
…"
4. "Sensory integration activities that require individuals to balance
precisely, make spatial judgments and provide a means of allowing
feedback are the most powerful and effective activities available for
maintaining and improving brain-processing efficiency and allowing an
individual to become an efficient learner and improve academic suc-
cess.…"
5. "We understand that the complexity of the task dictates the level of
neural involvement required. Balance activities that incorporate in-
creasing levels of difficulty on the Belgau Balance Board have the effect
 of constantly building and creating more extensive neural networks.
Because the neural networks that are created in this process are the
same ones that are responsible for the resolution and efficiency of the
brain's visual, auditory, motor, and sensory processes, balance activi-
ties improve the efficiency of the brain.…"

The role played by sensory integration in a child's cognitive development

and the primacy of the vestibular system in that process were first explained by
Anna Jean Ayres, Ph.D. (1920-1988), a psychologist at the Institute for Brain
Research at the University of California at Los Angeles who was also an occupa-
tional therapist. She identified the condition that she named Sensory Integra-
tive Dysfunction. Her book Sensory Integration and the Child, originally pub-
lished in 1979, was reissued in 2005 by Western Psychological Services in an
edition revised by ten of her colleagues. The reaction of the neuroscience
community to her theory and Belgau's, which is based on hers, has become
gradually less skeptical as increasing numbers of therapists who treat children
with disorders that they find more acutely characterized by the term Sensory
Integrative Dysfunction than by any other term base their treatment on the
theories of Ayres and Belgau and report impressive results with tens of thou-
sands of children. Ayres' theory was based on the brain research of educational
psychologist Marianne Frostig (1906-1985).
In the book Balance: In Search of the Lost Sense by Scott McCredie
(published in 2007 by Little, Brown and Company), 17 pages are devoted to
Belgau's ideas and treatment methods, the work of clinicians who have made
use of them and adapted them and the work of researchers who have tested
those adaptations. The author of the book, McCredie, isn't a scientist. He is a
nature journalist.
McCredie's book's contents: a survey of scientific understanding of the
sense of balance in the 19th through 21st centuries; descriptions of people
(e.g., pilots, toddlers, patients, acrobats) and animals whose normal or abnor-
mal sense of balance enables the reader to understand and feel what scientists
have explained; analyses of the constant and mostly unconscious operations of
the sense of balance in the management of many of a person's basic activities
and functions; descriptions of how sophisticated, limited and precarious the
normal human sense of balance is; current theories of the influence of the sense
of balance on a child's cognitive development and on human evolution; a survey
of prostheses and other bio-engineering solutions currently being developed to
restore the ability to sense balance input in people whose injuries have damaged
or destroyed that ability; and how-to information for the general public on im-
proving one's balance skills. McCredie's book isn't as lush or playful as Diane
Ackerman's Natural History of the Senses, but it belongs with that book in its
ability to portray a fundamental aspect of human biology and life with the clari-
ty, accuracy, empathy and energy that come of reading and talking to re-
searchers and paying attention to one's own inner reactions to events. For ex-
ample, on p. 92:
Karen Perz's patient Kate, you'll remember, was vulnerable to dizzy
 sensations when shopping in places like Home Depot, where the envi-
ronment is full of unusual visual motion. She was prone to a type of
illusion called vection, the perception of self-motion induced by visual
cues. As I described before, this phenomenon can also occur when
your car is stopped, and the car next to you rolls forward slightly. You
may mistakenly sense that your vehicle has rolled backward and in-
stinctively step on the brakes. If you had closed your eyes, you'd sense
no illusion, for the vestibular system and proprioception would have
correctly informed your brain that there was no motion. Why they
don't in this case has to do with your experience and expectations; be-
cause you know it's possible for a car to roll backward when stopped,
your brain overrides the correct vestibular and proprioceptive inputs
and instead believes the false visual input. This phenomenon would
seem to mean that vision, of the three sensory inputs for balance, is
the one the brain relies on as the most "trustworthy," at least in certain
conditions. In this particular case, because your brain holds powerful
memories of times when your car has rolled backward when stopped,
the combination of memory and vision is enough to override the other
two inputs.
Vection can also occur while you're watching an IMAX movie in which a
camera is mounted to an airplane. You're seated in a chair with your
feet firmly on the ground, yet when the plane banks to the left, say, as
it soars across the Grand Canyon, you catch yourself leaning to the left.
Your eye perceives that you're "inside" the plane. After a while you may
perhaps even start to feel a little queasy, the first sign of motion sick-
ness. Those sensations are coming from visual input alone, because if
you close your eyes you no longer feel the motion and thus don't feel
sick.

Two chapters of McCredie's book and the book's index can be read online
for free:
-- The index of the book is linked to at <http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/
0316011355/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link>.
-- The chapter on circus performers ("Extreme Equilibrium") in its entirety is
linked to near the top of <http://www.balancethelostsense.com/insidethe-
book.shtml>.
-- The chapter on aviators ("'Ear Deaths' and 'Graveyard Spirals'") almost in its
entirety is in the May 2008 issue of Lost Magazine at <http://www.lostmag.-
com/issue24/balance.php>.

The last words of the book’s subtitle allude to three phenomena that are
discussed in the book. The traditional list of five human senses overlooks this
sixth one, which was actually the first one in the evolution of the species and is
the first one in the development of each new member of the species, in the
womb. Guessing the causes of this long omission is easy: Because the informa-
tion that the balance sense processes feels less specific and less external than
the input that the other senses perceive and because we don’t feel the recep-
tion of the input in a particular organ that we can consciously engage or disen-
gage (other than the balance input that is received through the eyes), we don’t
notice that our balance systems are operating (receiving external facts, making
calculations about them and engineering reactions to them). The second allu-
sion to the lostness of this sense is to the fact that at about age 55 it begins
to atrophy gradually and with consequences that are more severe than from the
average loss of the other senses in old age. The third allusion is to a new trend.
Because cars, TVs and computers are making our lifestyle increasingly seden-
tary, the lack of opportunities to stimulate and cultivate this sense is causing it
to be lost at an earlier age and more thoroughly than for earlier generations, as
is indicated by statistics of injurious falls per capita.
So, hiking on uneven ground (e.g., in the woods), buying a balance board or
standing on one foot while brushing your teeth before getting old will pay off
handsomely later.
Sports vs. Balance Board vs. Life fem. pron.

From the point of view of a workhorse, what it's all about is catching up to
the carrot that is dangled in front of her. If you ask a galloping horse, it's about
the spur that she is outrunning. If you ask her rider or driver, what matters is
not those two motivations but just the motion in the right direction. When ath-
letic competition heats up, the ferocity is a thrill. Whupping an opponent into
the dirt is a sublime delight, especially when it means getting even. Self-identi-
fication via partisanship is a sweet dose of righteous zeal that speeds through
the veins. But the opponent isn't the adrenaline. The opponent is what the
adrenaline is injected by. Like the carrot and spur, the opponent is only an in-
strument. How does adrenaline operate? Where is the fiercest athletic drama
performed? What challenge is the most unrelenting?

Sports, even when involving interaction with opponents, pit a player ultim-
ately against herself-- against her own limitations, such as her weakness, clum-
siness, laziness, excesses and inability to judge realistically. The role of the op-
ponent or the non-human opposition (such as gravity and the wind) is to con-
front a player with her limitations and provoke and activate her against them.
How obvious this dynamic is varies from sport to sport. In basketball and ten-
nis, this ultimate, underlying dynamic (the fact that a player is playing against
herself) is obscured by, varied by and complicated by the role of the opponent,
whose presence is right in your face in the former and whose response is fre-
quent in the latter; in swimming, this ultimate contest isn't only an ultimate fact
but is felt as a constant fact. On a balance board this ultimate struggle against
oneself is played out more simply, blatantly and consciously than in any sport
I've tried or imagined. No circumstances intrude. No bumps, no mud, no glare,
no slopes, no advantages of size or strength, no cheating, no faking. A balance
board offers no help, no unfair surprises and no excuses. The opponent and
oneself switch roles more often than once per second. The opponent is entirely
oneself (or one's recent self): one's excess. Every effort in self-defense be-
comes, within one second, an attack against oneself from the right or the left.

Trying to stay up on the board for two seconds or an hour is like an x-ray or
pantomime of one's inner life-- that other constant fight (and eventual defeat);
maybe not only an image of it, but also an influence on it. On a balance board,
as on other stages, the realization that the key opponent is part of oneself can
turn a child into more of a person and turn an adult into more of a person. This
intuition sometimes lets you sense where a spur that pokes your flank is coming
from with pinpoint precision. You can keep trying to outrun it or you can reori-
ent your haunches acutely enough and briskly enough to flip it off along with its
unseen source. That's an efficient way to get even: poise.
Sports vs. Balance Board vs. Life masc. pron.

From the point of view of a workhorse, what it's all about is catching up to
the carrot that is dangled in front of him. If you ask a galloping horse, it's
about the spur that he is outrunning. If you ask his rider or driver, what matters
is not those two motivations but just the motion in the right direction. When
athletic competition heats up, the ferocity is a thrill. Whupping an opponent
into the dirt is a sublime delight, especially when it means getting even. Self-
identification via partisanship is a sweet dose of righteous zeal that speeds
through the veins. But the opponent isn't the adrenaline. The opponent is
what the adrenaline is injected by. Like the carrot and spur, the opponent is
only an instrument. How does adrenaline operate? Where is the fiercest athlet-
ic drama performed? What challenge is the most unrelenting?

Sports, even when involving interaction with opponents, pit a player ultim-
ately against himself-- against his own limitations, such as his weakness, clumsi-
ness, laziness, excesses and inability to judge realistically. The role of the op-
ponent or the non-human opposition (such as gravity and the wind) is to con-
front a player with his limitations and provoke and activate him against them.
How obvious this dynamic is varies from sport to sport. In basketball and ten-
nis, this ultimate, underlying dynamic (the fact that a player is playing against
himself) is obscured by, varied by and complicated by the role of the opponent,
whose presence is right in your face in the former and whose response is fre-
quent in the latter; in swimming, this ultimate contest isn't only an ultimate fact
but is felt as a constant fact. On a balance board this ultimate struggle against
oneself is played out more simply, blatantly and consciously than in any sport
I've tried or imagined. No circumstances intrude. No bumps, no mud, no glare,
no slopes, no advantages of size or strength, no cheating, no faking. A balance
board offers no help, no unfair surprises and no excuses. The opponent and
oneself switch roles more often than once per second. The opponent is entirely
oneself (or one's recent self): one's excess. Every effort in self-defense be-
comes, within one second, an attack against oneself from the right or the left.

Trying to stay up on the board for two seconds or an hour is like an x-ray or
pantomime of one's inner life-- that other constant fight (and eventual defeat);
maybe not only an image of it, but also an influence on it. On a balance board,
as on other stages, the realization that the key opponent is part of oneself can
turn a child into more of a person and turn an adult into more of a person. This
intuition sometimes lets you sense where a spur that pokes your flank is coming
from with pinpoint precision. You can keep trying to outrun it or you can reori-
ent your haunches acutely enough and briskly enough to flip it off along with its
unseen source. That's an efficient way to get even: poise.