how to commit for skaters, but it’s a tedtalk

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[tnuoccaeht]

mechanically overthinking physical activity gotta be my favorite activity honestly

[skelovade]

great video and totally relate to what you’re saying. The more grown up we are the more we all develop a sense of danger and defensive automatic mechanism that makes us hesitate to let go, thats why only skaters know what it really feels like to learn by lowering all your natural body defenses that limit your potential movements and embrace some pain to eventually make progress. The landing of a trick is a both a mental and physical barrier that you must go through. Non skaters will never understand. And when you succeed you know yourself better and your body too. Skateboarding is the best therapy ❤

[okosakaroklenni]

I learned that overcoming fear is a thing you can practice by itself. Each session of every boardsport I do something that forces me to overcome my fear. It's the same as practicing movements, but here you are practicing emotional control and focus. Probably in skateboarding it takes more time to get to a level where bailing out of a trick becomes dangerous, but still its a nice skill to hone.

[barisharslan]

What a breath of fresh air. People who have been skating their whole lives really simplify the sheer amount of mental, physical, and emotional effort that goes into skateboarding. As someone who was never athletic and started skateboarding at age 24 their tips really don't end up helping me, even when they are genuinely trying to help.

"Just commit" is useful when I'm trying to ollie a 2 stair where I know I already have the height and speed for my ollie, I just need to prevent my shoulders from turning and not let myself bail.

It's not so helpful in learning something like a kickflip where the technique is so precise that its difficult to understand what exactly you are doing wrong without deeper analysis. I'm glad these guys were able to just blunt force their way into landing their tricks as children, but it doesn't just "work" for me.

[SeanDalyDJ]

Currently in the middle of working on my kickflip and this video really made me feel so much better, i was telling myself i wasn’t committing when really i need to just practice as much as i can until i’m comfortable ❤

[AlexNiedt]

I've been skating since 1995, and this video is still useful as a calibration of my headspace when skating. Good stuff 👍

[gregmossed]

Wow, I had the shove it experience you use as an example just last week. I didn't want to commit to shove its so I stopped and thought about what was scary. It was landing on the board! So I've been practicing just hippie jumping nothing, and I'm surprised by how hard it is for me. No wonder shove its were scary! But the jumping is getting easier, so I'm making progress.

Similar for doing cavemans, I have been doing them with a piece of cardboard and then a chunk of wood to work up to it.

Your videos are interesting and encouraging, thank you for continuing to make them.

[guzzigal]

I think you've hit the nail on the head! Without a strong foundation, confidence and skill will be hard to achieve. I've tried many instruments and never progressed beyond being a rank beginner, even with years of daily practice. I'm hoping that isn't the case with skateboarding. I practiced daily for the first 10 days I had my board, then suffered an odd ankle/heel annoyance to both feet, which put me mostly off the board for the past month and a half. Now that I'm back to normal, I hope to use your balance practice techniques to build a strong base for future learning. My goal, for now, is to carve with confidence by summer.

[Leachima]

you are absolutely right I noticed this too as an older beginner skater (I started 2 years ago almost following you that long). I noticed in some situations it is a fear problem and mind game. for me it was ollie up a curb. but yes mostly it is a skill problem and maybe the body notices it subconsciously and makes you not commit fully😅 maybe it's also the way of learning. the "only commit" phrase can be suitable for kids who learn to skate more playful by testing and just doing it without thinking too much, while the older folks need to approach a trick step by step, learn every tiny muscle movement (which we know is harder as an adult). so breaking the trick down into steps or going an mini obstacles is so essential (*cough* for ex. mini ramps who are mini and not sky high) I stopped pressuring me since I noticed the teens in my skategroup were learning twice as fast 🙄yes skating more times a week is so essential (sometimes problematic when the old body is injured constantly 😅)

[mantypet]

Well this was one of the best TED talk I've ever heard 🔥 I just love your methodological approach. That seems rare in this niché. I began to skate at 36 as an early midlife crisis. Couldn't afford a Porsche. Your vids have turned a new leaf to my skating and now that I have a ”curriculum” — a process to follow, I'm not that shy anymore of practising in public. Thanks, much love! ❤

[StuffnThings]

Fantastic video! I love how you broke Commitment down into components that you can actually work on. I also love how you connected skateboarding to your guitar playing. I used to be a music teacher and there are so many parallels between becoming proficient at an instrument and a skateboard. They both take lots of time and practice just to get to the point where certain skills become automatic. Once you get to the point where some basic skills become automatic and you can do something without thinking about it, you are then ready to move up to new skills that weren’t really accessible before.

[thebeastaround]

i’m not an amazing skater by any means, however there is a huge aspect of skating where it is just about commitment. But it’s mainly when you progress to a point where you can do a trick, but throwing it down a staircase or ledge is scary for you. some skaters who are really good give the advise “just commit” because that is something they tell themselves because they can already do it. Keep it up, amazing video!!

[phillipkelley]

Yes! I feel like when I talk to other skaters about the mental gymnastics i go through to get to the point of commitment, they don't usually seem to understand what I'm talking about. glad to hear I'm not the only one :D lol.

[zuzuthefirelord]

was really nice to hear your thoughts about this topic, cause I've used to put myself down, thinking I can't commit, but the issue was in my board control and, when I've learned easier tricks and some days just rode on the board, to be more comfortable on my deck, this really started to pay off and I'm noticing, that I can do practiced movements a lot easier this way, so, once again, thank you for that talk, it's really important

[Boardriderx]

Dear Sarah, apart from all your other great tutorials, this might just be the best/most useful one for me personally. Thank you for reminding me/us about the basics and steps to really progress. Thank you and all the best!

[ryonmcdermott]

Great video! Those automatic connections are definitely hard to unlearn if you learned the wrong way. Many years ago, I learned to kickflip by doing it with a body varial. This meant that I learned to flick down instead of up and out. I've had to relearn how to kickflip. It's taken years to get it right.

[DJeloBot]

i remembered when I tried caveman for the first time. there's the fear that blocks me from doing it. i practiced jumping on my board often and somewhat mastered it. but throwing my board under my feet is difficult.

one time i just closed my eyes and threw my board under and jumped, surprisingly I landed good. i gained the confidence that you are talking about. then i tried it again and somewhat failed, but my confidence is still there. done it for the third time and landed good again. the fear is still there sometimes but by just remembering that I did it once, the fear goes away.

[kylespevak]

I completely agree with everything you said. I've had the exact same realizations through parkour. Keep up the great content!

[Eve.with.a.Y]

this was such a great video! genuinely this principle is so applicable to so many areas of life, I taught myself guitar too (it was my bounce-back hobby when I gave up on skating as a kid haha) and just building comfort and familiarity is so key to growth. I absolutely refused to let my dad teach me for years because I wanted to be build confidence in my own ability first, I wouldn’t even watch tutorials, but once I had enough familiarity to feel comfortable on guitar, I finally let him teach me, and I was able to learn so much faster than I ever expected, because I already had the guitar equivalent of board control loll

[sergioo.]

props to you friend!!! aside from your skate talent and skill set, you have a very calm and cool way of sharing the knowledge and concepts you have gained through the time you put in. Thank you and keep it up for sure!!!