How to improve style?

[metchup]

I feel like a lot of comments in here could lead to having fake style or at least faking aspects of your style. Faking it is easy to spot and ruins otherwise good styles for me. My thinking was always to let your body do what it needs to do.  If you have diaper butt when bombing a hill so be it and own it and it may or may not look sick but it’s what defines your silhouette.  I think Nick trappaso and Stefan Janoski are good examples of this (not diaper butt).    Nick leaning forward super hard on that nollie tre landing is what made it memorable and good.  And janoski has some crazy hunch back going on in some clips but it is unique and looks good on him

[elegant_fox]

I think one thing I read awhile back that’s been true in my experience is to skate to and in-between places. When you’re on a board like that, it builds confidence and helps you form a connection to how you naturally move.

I’m not a big street skater, but one of my critiques of a lot of street style is it looks stiff and that usually comes from riders that focused on tricks day one onwards and they can’t actually ride the board without looking weird.

[backinaction]

I look stiff because I am stiff.

I went to the chiropractor this weekend and he said I was so tight that 4 of my vertebrae were effectively moving as a solid unit.  Fuck, getting old sucks. 

[modern life is war]

I feel like a lot of comments in here could lead to having fake style or at least faking aspects of your style. Faking it is easy to spot and ruins otherwise good styles for me. My thinking was always to let your body do what it needs to do.  If you have diaper butt when bombing a hill so be it and own it and it may or may not look sick but it’s what defines your silhouette.  I think Nick trappaso and Stefan Janoski are good examples of this (not diaper butt).    Nick leaning forward super hard on that nollie tre landing is what made it memorable and good.  And janoski has some crazy hunch back going on in some clips but it is unique and looks good on him

Yeah i sort of agree with this which is why i'm of the opinion that if you let your body do what it needs to do and you still have bad style then your only option really is to just skate as fast as you can lol

[Made In China]

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If im working on making a trick more stylish I usually just do the same trick over and over again until you can figure out a tweak that either makes it look better or makes it more comfortable to do (less effort involved compared to technique), then I work on upper body later (if at all possible) and try to keep my arms down. Fuck else can i do out here

[close]

The above is gospel.

Also, yoga. After I watched the Peralta doc on surfer Gerry Lopez I felt compelled to blatanly copy the following idea from Gerry: I can learn to do these difficult yoga poses and learn this control/balance and the bring THAT energy to the surfboard.

So yes, you read right, you must pose more - yoga pose.

I've gotten into trying to do a short youtube yoga video 5-6 days of the week over the last year or so and I honestly think it's helped improve my skating and style. The added flexibility it's given me has definitely helped, plus it's nice to not be sore and have back pain all the time. I would definitely recommend trying this to everyone.

Another thing that I think has helped me improve my style a little bit is having more confidence on the board. I used to think it was a miracle whenever I landed anything, and that shit showed in my skating. I still think it's a miracle for me to land shit, but way less than before and I think that's helped too.

Also bending your knees when you land. I have a bad habit of landing stiff legged on my tricks and it not only looks bad, but is bad for you.

[RichardBarkley]

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If im working on making a trick more stylish I usually just do the same trick over and over again until you can figure out a tweak that either makes it look better or makes it more comfortable to do (less effort involved compared to technique), then I work on upper body later (if at all possible) and try to keep my arms down. Fuck else can i do out here

[close]

The above is gospel.

Also, yoga. After I watched the Peralta doc on surfer Gerry Lopez I felt compelled to blatanly copy the following idea from Gerry: I can learn to do these difficult yoga poses and learn this control/balance and the bring THAT energy to the surfboard.

So yes, you read right, you must pose more - yoga pose.

[close]

I've gotten into trying to do a short youtube yoga video 5-6 days of the week over the last year or so and I honestly think it's helped improve my skating and style. The added flexibility it's given me has definitely helped, plus it's nice to not be sore and have back pain all the time. I would definitely recommend trying this to everyone.

Another thing that I think has helped me improve my style a little bit is having more confidence on the board. I used to think it was a miracle whenever I landed anything, and that shit showed in my skating. I still think it's a miracle for me to land shit, but way less than before and I think that's helped too.

Also bending your knees when you land. I have a bad habit of landing stiff legged on my tricks and it not only looks bad, but is bad for you.

Any yoga vids to recommend?

I've never done it before

[Made In China]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

If im working on making a trick more stylish I usually just do the same trick over and over again until you can figure out a tweak that either makes it look better or makes it more comfortable to do (less effort involved compared to technique), then I work on upper body later (if at all possible) and try to keep my arms down. Fuck else can i do out here

[close]

The above is gospel.

Also, yoga. After I watched the Peralta doc on surfer Gerry Lopez I felt compelled to blatanly copy the following idea from Gerry: I can learn to do these difficult yoga poses and learn this control/balance and the bring THAT energy to the surfboard.

So yes, you read right, you must pose more - yoga pose.

[close]

I've gotten into trying to do a short youtube yoga video 5-6 days of the week over the last year or so and I honestly think it's helped improve my skating and style. The added flexibility it's given me has definitely helped, plus it's nice to not be sore and have back pain all the time. I would definitely recommend trying this to everyone.

Another thing that I think has helped me improve my style a little bit is having more confidence on the board. I used to think it was a miracle whenever I landed anything, and that shit showed in my skating. I still think it's a miracle for me to land shit, but way less than before and I think that's helped too.

Also bending your knees when you land. I have a bad habit of landing stiff legged on my tricks and it not only looks bad, but is bad for you.

[close]

Any yoga vids to recommend?

I've never done it before

This one is one of my favorites, it's simple and quick but still hits most parts of the body. Yoga with Adriene in general is great too. She has a done of videos that range in length, intensity, and theme. I'd recommend checking her channel too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7xsYgTeM2Q&ab_channel=YogaWithAdriene

[Thom]

I think the key thing in having style is not letting fear or apprehension show in your skating

Just refuse to think about what you’re doing and let it happen

And of course bend your knees

[Plan9Customs]

It’s been said many times, but again, spend more time on your board. The more comfortable you are the more it shows, then add another push before tricks, avoid tic tacks, and bend your knees. Don’t fake it though(you might look like you were in an 80s punk documentary if you do).

[elegant_fox]

I found this style breakdown on Mikey Feburary's surfing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA4lz4-PjUw

Some of the concepts transfer over well to skating I'd say.