^ Yeah that's how I've tried describing it on here before too, before you even pop you should sense whether or not the pressure on the right spots of the board feels right and you're actually going to form the trick, in reality that's true for every trick (even kickflips) but especially for those that are about building then releasing tension at very specific spots like 360 flips or hardflips. Every time I've lost 360 flips before it was the sense and sweet spots for the trick that had started eluding me, not necessarily the muscular technique in itself (that I was then just applying wrong for some reason), I just had to find 'that' pop again. It's pretty funny how when you're really paying attention to someone skating, those tricks are the kind where you can tell whether or not they will successfully form and land that attempt just from the way they're set up before they pop (so in a way, before they even know it themselves).
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i'm trying to relearn most of my fliptricks, even the ones i already can do, trying to break them down and do them better. now i already unlearned a few bad habits but also have to relearn to do them a little different. i kind of try to skate like i am 16 again but at this age takes a lot of effort to not just give in to just cruise around anddo no complies, ollie and wallie stuff.
Also this is cool, I've been on a similar boat for a few years now and I think it's a healthy personal challenge - and it also helps jettison the horrible (and often unrealistic) 'I'm too old and washed up for that shit' cliché excuse some people can be tempted to fall into the trap of as soon as early adulthood.
Tension and release - once I understood this I managed to get my kickflips much more consistent over the past few sessions. Having this mental framework helped me work on new tricks I didn't consider before; I used to think of trick very static and sequentially. For example on backside flips:
1) Set feet up
2) pop ollie and start rotating 180
3) flick your toe at the 45 degree mark
4) continue rotation
5) catch board and roll away
When the reality is much more fluid.
@silhouette posts and this video helped me think of skating differently:
Just stoked on having a good weekend of skating. The BS 5-0 is a basic ass trick but doing it on a higher ledge has been a real mental battle for me the past few month. So many sessions just rolling up to it, doing 1/2 assed pops and not committing to it. I see it as a gateway to me getting other BS tricks on the ledge, especially since I suck at BS trick. Like doing BS Smiths and Tailslides feel closer to being a reality now, hence the stoke.
A homie who i grew up skating with came back to skateboarding with me around 2 months ago. He's never been really good but he's got heart. This year he committed to learning kickflips and while he's not landed one yet we can all see he was closer yesterday than he was ever was 10 years ago. I'll be working on ledge tricks and he will spend hours just trying to kickflip, minimal frustration and always smiling. At the end of the session I asked him how he kept going for hours and failing; he said my determination was inspiring to him. That got me in the feels and I'll be over the moon when he finally lands it. Skateboarding is funny - you can have a session where you don't land anything but it's still the best time of your life.
Sorry to ramble guys, happy for everyone with jobs, poker, birthdays, sponsorships. Stoked for you guys and skateboarding, shalom.
@Justis @RCB3 @Adam Abbas @Stu Pickles @