Can you give me suggestions on learning skateboarding?

[littleBIG]

I want to learn skateboarding tricks. Often I can do a trick very well, I even think I have learned/mastered it and I always lose it, for absolutely no reason. I just can't do it anymore, and then I'd have to relearn it.

I've read that there is 4 steps for learning things:

1. unconscious incompetence

2. conscious incompetence

3. conscious competence

4. unconscious competence

To me, I feel like I get unconscious competence before conscious competence. Sometimes I just feel it, but I can't explain exactly how, which i guess is why I lose it. And then I'd have to figure out exactly what I'm doing right, after figuring it out I practice to drill it into my subconscious mind. But after that, sometimes I forget the skill, and so I have to figure out what I'm doing again. So it kinda goes from unconscious competence to conscious competence, and then back to unconscious competence, so on and so forth. I don't lose it completely, I just can't do a trick consistently every time.

I'm so sick of constantly losing my skills. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any books that would help? Thanks in advance

[Truth]

@littleBIG

As a skater for 15+ years I can tell you one thing that skateboarding is not a logical thing, it's an emotional thing. Also it's a 200+ failure to 1 success rate. Meaning you are going to fail THOUSANDS of times. (I say 200+ because it depends on the trick)  

These are the right expectations to have. It will get easier. But the beginning is a long road.

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Truth

[Soulbass]

Balance, timing, space visualization... those are skills you learn since you were born. It's not supposed to go away.

I would suggest the book "Mastery" by George Leonard.

Edited March 17, 2018 by Soulbass

[littleBIG]

@Truth Hey dude, it's sick that you skated 15+ years! I don't mind failing at all. My concern is how do you go from failing 200 times to land it once, to failing 10 times to land one, to landing every try?

[Truth]

31 minutes ago, littleBIG said:

@Truth Hey dude, it's sick that you skated 15+ years! I don't mind failing at all. My concern is how do you go from failing 200 times to land it once, to failing 10 times to land one, to landing every try?

That's good to hear because you're gonna fail a lot lol. What tricks do you know? are you more vert? or flatland type stuff? 

I think you'll like this dude, he has a ton of video's showing the process. Of course the tricks he's trying are a lot more technical but it's the same basic gist as far as the big picture goes

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Truth

[littleBIG]

@Soulbass I'm reading this book right now, it's really good. I think you're right, I might have tricked myself into thinking I've learned something when I really haven't.

[littleBIG]

@Truth Chris Chann hell yeah, i already watch his videos. The tricks I can do consistently with good style are only ollie, heelflip and pop shuvs. I can land a bunch of other tricks if I tried a bunch of times but I wouldn't say I "have" them until I get them consistent.

[Truth]

40 minutes ago, littleBIG said:

@Truth Chris Chann hell yeah, i already watch his videos. The tricks I can do consistently with good style are only ollie, heelflip and pop shuvs. I can land a bunch of other tricks if I tried a bunch of times but I wouldn't say I "have" them until I get them consistent.

Probably one of the best strategies that I've found that help me get it consistent and help it get easier and easier and becomes just really fun to do is creating a routine. For example, every time I'd come to the skate park I'd do my usual tricks, but I'd also do a routine --> Melon grab over a spine, front side ollie on a vert ramp and nollie inward heelflip over a hip bank. (these were all right after each other)

This routine was so fun for me to do, and it always allowed me to switch things up. Obviously do what's within your skill range but it's the same basic principle. Find a routine, get consistent with that routine and take it to the next level when you feel conscious competent. Forget conscious incompetence, that's the "Ugh! I suck!" mentality which has NO use for you other than taking the lessons (there's nothing more painful that the feeling of hitting your head against a wall or being stuck on a plateau). Your unconscious incompetence are the things you're messing up but not sure why yet, and your unconscious competence are the things that are already a habit (staying stuck in the routine and not moving to the next level)

 

"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit."

Edited March 17, 2018 by Truth

[littleBIG]

@Truth ah so I'm gonna create a little line to do everytime too. I think conscious incompetence helps me too. I notice things that don't work and avoid them. For example to do a 180 I know I can't start turning midair, i have to be turning before I'm off the ground.

[Key Elements]

It's a sport with this type of attitude:

 

[littleBIG]

So I think I figured something out. When I think I learned a trick, I really haven't. When I'm able to do a trick, it's because I've tried so many times and failed so many times, and just happen to have hit the right combination, like the "give monkeys a typewriter" type of thing. But I don't really understand how I made it happen. So my strategy now is to skate with more mindfulness. Every take I take I will try to figure out in my mind exactly what works and what doesn't. Hopefully I'll see good results soon.

[Truth]

5 hours ago, littleBIG said:

So I think I figured something out. When I think I learned a trick, I really haven't. 

Yep, that's conscious incompetence at work. 

5 hours ago, littleBIG said:

But I don't really understand how I made it happen.

And that's unconscious incompetence, mindfulness is the best strategy for sure.

Conscious competence feels like total control, it feels like Confidence, it feels like Steez. 

Unconscious competence feels like second nature, or doing it first try.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Truth