Author Topic: How do you practice/progress?  (Read 2819 times)

Offline hydrostyler

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How do you practice/progress?
« on: March 26, 2020, 10:35:23 PM »

     Hey guys, just wondering what some of your mindsets are before and during your riding sessions.  I'm sure that everyone has a trick list that we would love to start checking off, especially those of us that are getting up in age.  Do you show up at the ride spot with 2 or 3 tricks in your mind to work on every time out?  Do you go after one single trick over and over for most of the session or alternate 10 attempts or so per trick?  Is it better to back up and work on simpler tricks until they are completely dialed (pulling 9 out of 10) before trying a newer, slightly more difficult trick?
     I've been riding since the 80's and have always just ridden for fun, exercise, and to show off a bit. lol.  I've usually learned what comes easy to me after watching a few vhs tapes or now YouTube videos.  When the natural talent runs out and you have to buckle down and get serious, what works for you? 

Offline aliasdck

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Re: How do you practice/progress?
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2020, 12:05:54 AM »
Sometimes I do plan ahead of time, like I'll go out with a plan to work on specific tricks. Sometimes this works but often times I find it hard to stick with the plan once I get going.

I tend to do all the stuff you mentioned. Some days I will work on only one trick the entire time, or I'll work on only 2-3 tricks. I do have days where I go back to more basic tricks and focus in on improving my basic skills. Some days I force myself to work on tricks I already know but instead try them opposite, switch foot or opposite switch foot.

Mostly I just try to enjoy myself. Sometimes that means having a strict plan and sticking to it, sometimes that means just messing around doing whatever.

Offline mal

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Re: How do you practice/progress?
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2020, 10:52:48 AM »
I warm up with really basic tricks,just to get the muscles going without damaging them,then i stick on learning a trick for half an hour or something,maybe more,then switch to another trick,then back to the first one,etc.

Very few times i may spent like 3 hours doing the same thing,but this doesn't always work,because I get the same thing that you get when you are repeating a word in your head,in the end you don't understand the word anymore!

Really,this happens to me,if i try a trick for toooo long without switching to something else for a bit i tend to get worst at this trick as time passes,like i do it for the first time.

But sometimes sticking to the same trick for 3 hours works very well and you build muscle memory this way.
 
If i don't feel like committing to a trick for 1-2-3 hours,or if not in the best mood,or if i have a deadline on my riding hours,i just do whatever,old combos that i can pull easily,try new tricks etc.Of course this is not progress,just fun and maybe keeping up with were i am.

« Last Edit: March 27, 2020, 10:56:20 AM by mal »

Offline nosubsteve

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Re: How do you practice/progress?
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2020, 05:25:10 PM »
I don't have a good answer, because my 'practice routine' just consists of dicking about. One thing I'm very conscious of, which comes from skateboarding a lot, is to avoid 'bad practice'.

That happens when you end up repeating mistakes to the point they become learned mistakes. I know there's no way to only get things right, but if you notice yourself making the same mistakes a lot, leave it alone for a half hour, or even come back to it another day.

As long as I'm on a bike and enjoying myself, it's a good day.

Offline aliasdck

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Re: How do you practice/progress?
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2020, 07:42:44 PM »
As long as I'm on a bike and enjoying myself, it's a good day.

Possibly the greatest words ever spoken.

Offline Timmer74

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Re: How do you practice/progress?
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2020, 04:18:50 AM »
I too don't really have a great answer to this. Mostly because I find that when I set out to "OK, here's what I'm going to do today" I usually end up having a bad ride. I probably should try to structure my rides more though to be honest.

Sessions usually starts out with me doing some of my 'go to' easy tricks just to warm up and get limber/get my brain used to spinning. I've noticed that some days I can never really get past the 'dizzies' for lack of a better word. I hate these days :).

When I feel like I'm loose, I start to practice tricks that I am working on. I usually try them for maybe 5-10 minutes or so. At that point, I usually notice that I'm practicing more the 'bad habits' and so steer away and try something else... to where I find myself rinsing and repeating with other new/harder tricks. Before I get too frustrated with that 'man, do I suck' feeling with those tricks I go to just some old staples and maybe try to build upon those.  This is sort of where my session turns into me just trying to have fun. I will end up trying those original tricks a few times and sometimes fall back into multiple attempts one after the other (depends on my mood and how well I'm dealing with the frustration aspect of flatland that day :) ).

I do try to ride daily if I can. But, I only get to ride for maybe 1-1.5 hours. This definitely makes an already extremely time consuming sport that much longer to get better at.

and, like steve said, as long as I'm on my bike and enjoying myself (the sometimes hard part), it's a good day.

Offline hydrostyler

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Re: How do you practice/progress?
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2020, 07:01:53 PM »
Overall, those are great replies.  It sounds like most of us may start off with a plan, stay focused for a bit, get slightly burnt out or frustrated, then fall back to the comfort tricks to have fun.  That's how I've been riding my entire life and have enjoyed it this far.