Skating on streets, curbs, benches, handrails, jumping up and down, and riding in the air; what could be better than this? But, when you are just a beginner, you need a lot of confidence. Confidence is 90% of your skating success. Confidence in skating consists of conquering your fear and believing in yourself, falling experience, daily practice, time and patience...
1.Conquering your Fear: I was very afraid in the beginning. I pushed myself too hard and tried jumps too soon. Then, I saw my dog trying to skate with great ease and no fear at all. I have realized that the trick is to be relaxed. It is said in the old Chinese tradition that the body is very smart. There is a very important rule for jumping: you usually break your bones when you are afraid because each part of your body becomes tense and tight. Therefore, before jumping, try to relax, release and let go of all your fear. Also, learn to maneuver the board at your own pace. Ever since my dog taught me that lesson, I have tried to be loose and relaxed. It helps me to concentrate on my skateboarding skills versus focusing on skateboarding fear. However, if you cannot relax and are still scared, it means you need more time and more practice.
Beginner Trick Skateboard
2.Falling experience: What I personally learned from my life experience is that those who are naturally or genetically confident are not afraid to try new things, fall a few times or even break some bones. Although I would not want you to break anything and there are plenty of tricks to avoid breaking them, to tell you the truth, falling helped me improve my skateboarding skills. With each fall, I became a little bit better and more confident. My skateboard falling experience is a big part of getting better and being more confident.
3.Practice: Skateboarding practice makes perfect. The point is not to give up and try challenging yourself until you get it right. The more you practice, the more confident you become and confidence frees your body and mind, relaxes your muscles from tension and lets your mind concentrate fully on gaining the skating skills you need. You can then learn to anticipate problems faster, confront obstacles and to be brave. My dog and I practice our skateboarding skills on a daily basis: riding, dropping in or falling, learning how to land. Of course some pain might be involved, but in the end, it is all worth it. It is like everything else in life: walking, swimming, writing, driving, or learning a new language. Start with small ramps and small hills. Become comfortable with them and then work your way up. Don't rush; if you can't get it right today, you will get it right tomorrow.
4.Time and patience: Every new skill requires time and patience in order to learn all its secrets. It will take time to learn tricks, become engaged, balanced and masterful. It will take a lot of patience to learn from your falls and be the best skateboarder.
5. Believing in yourself: But remember you cannot skateboard or try a trick and drop it half way. You should pursue it until you get it right. If you don't believe that you can do it, do not even try it. You will never get it right because your mind is already set up to fail. Believing in your skateboarding ability is 90 % to success. Every time I was not ready, I would fail. Try to stay positive; do not let negative emotions enter your brain. Every time I prepare myself to jump or do the tricks, I would say and repeat the following:
I am brave, I am fearless, I can do any tricks Nothing can hurt me
It may sound funny but it actually helps me to overcome my fear and build up the right state of mind.
In conclusion, it is all about building up your natural confidence through 5 important steps which are: conquering your fear, falling experience, practice, time and patience, believing in yourself. In the end, it is what you bring to a simple board with 4 wheels- a very simple tool to endless creativity.
New Skaters - Building Up Your Confidence
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