The secret of pumping was revealed unto me.
Yesterday I earned two sticker badges on my skateboard: I figured out the pumping thing and learned the basics of kickturning on a transition. I had a lesson with Mandy Esch and she's just awesome... I was stoked the whole day and can't wait to go back to skating today.
On Sunday we had the etnies Girls Get on Board event at Lake Forest. I wanted to learn to pump and Quynn showed me that I was extending and flexing at the wrong time. She also helped me with a wheel that wasn't turning well - it was rusty inside, so she showed me how to put some soap, turn it around to use the other side, and how to put it back without locking it.
After I knew where I was supposed to extend and when to flex, I just couldn't stay on the board. Quynn told me I was moving my head out of alignment, and that our heads are pretty heavy... Tell me about it, I wear a men's XL helmet that fits snuggly, and I can't hold the weight of my head in most yoga poses.
Anyway, later Mandy came over and asked, "is there anything I can help you with, are you looking at learning anything specific?" and I said "yes, but I don't think anyone can teach another person to skateboard, really, and you just got to figure it out by yourself..." Mandy said "oooh, I can teach you, believe me!" And she showed me some additional things when trying to pump - that my toes were way out of the board and that would make it more difficult (that was the thing that did the most impact, so much easier when I let my heels hang out instead) - also to go down like you want to break that board (I still can't do that, but I got the idea) - and to put my back feet further back, which is also what Quynn keeps repeating to me every time. Anyway, all of a sudden I was going up and down! And she said "you're doing it!" And I said "well, I think this is some kind of magic and after you're gone I won't be able to do it anymore!" lol - she said "I'll wait for a bit to see if you got it." Later by myself I didn't rock like when she was helping me, but still better than before.
Then next day (yesterday) I went to Vans. I had two hours to skate before a lesson with Mandy. I was trying to pump but couldn't build any speed... I stopped and thought about how a swing works. When you're on the top, you extend your legs (move your weight) BEFORE you start going down. A fraction of second before, as you're still floating. And I had been moving my weight (flexing) together with going down, not before.
So I was done with the theory and went to practice, to test the theory. It worked immediately and I was laughing out loud... awesome.
And the lesson with Mandy was just as awesome. I learned little things that were stopping me from kickturning, and I got more confident about it - I could finally do it!
Now I just have to combine the pumping and the kickturn (backside). That's my homework. And practicing frontside on flat.
On Sunday we had the etnies Girls Get on Board event at Lake Forest. I wanted to learn to pump and Quynn showed me that I was extending and flexing at the wrong time. She also helped me with a wheel that wasn't turning well - it was rusty inside, so she showed me how to put some soap, turn it around to use the other side, and how to put it back without locking it.
After I knew where I was supposed to extend and when to flex, I just couldn't stay on the board. Quynn told me I was moving my head out of alignment, and that our heads are pretty heavy... Tell me about it, I wear a men's XL helmet that fits snuggly, and I can't hold the weight of my head in most yoga poses.
Anyway, later Mandy came over and asked, "is there anything I can help you with, are you looking at learning anything specific?" and I said "yes, but I don't think anyone can teach another person to skateboard, really, and you just got to figure it out by yourself..." Mandy said "oooh, I can teach you, believe me!" And she showed me some additional things when trying to pump - that my toes were way out of the board and that would make it more difficult (that was the thing that did the most impact, so much easier when I let my heels hang out instead) - also to go down like you want to break that board (I still can't do that, but I got the idea) - and to put my back feet further back, which is also what Quynn keeps repeating to me every time. Anyway, all of a sudden I was going up and down! And she said "you're doing it!" And I said "well, I think this is some kind of magic and after you're gone I won't be able to do it anymore!" lol - she said "I'll wait for a bit to see if you got it." Later by myself I didn't rock like when she was helping me, but still better than before.
Then next day (yesterday) I went to Vans. I had two hours to skate before a lesson with Mandy. I was trying to pump but couldn't build any speed... I stopped and thought about how a swing works. When you're on the top, you extend your legs (move your weight) BEFORE you start going down. A fraction of second before, as you're still floating. And I had been moving my weight (flexing) together with going down, not before.
So I was done with the theory and went to practice, to test the theory. It worked immediately and I was laughing out loud... awesome.
And the lesson with Mandy was just as awesome. I learned little things that were stopping me from kickturning, and I got more confident about it - I could finally do it!
Now I just have to combine the pumping and the kickturn (backside). That's my homework. And practicing frontside on flat.
Labels: skateboarding
posted by Claudia Hoag at 9:04 AM
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