[eternityforest]

I've always been curious about what it's like for other people to watch something like this.

Can you watch a dance or a trick or something and feel what it would be like to do it yourself? Do you see this stuff in your head as a sequence of frames? Or a movie? Or do you somehow have access to the whole thing at once like you're thinking in 4 dimensions?

When I watch any kind of instructional video for even something very simple it looks like a total blur, one of those "Wow that's impressive, I can't even tell what happened" things, and I usually don't see or feel anything in my head at all, I'm just saying "Ok he moves his arm up at the same time as his foot goes back away from the camera towards the hand with the stick" and trying (And failing) to copy things one piece at a time.

[TechBro8615]

This is how I learned to swing a baseball bat. I remember my dad bought some VHS tapes with a swing coach who broke it down into stages "one, two and three." And then he showed the slow motion swings of major leaguers and pointed to where the three stages were. Then he gave a drill for each step. And you were supposed to practice each step in isolation, then put them all together.

I remember thinking it was ridiculous, but it was somewhat effective (I was never a great hitter, but I think that was due more to the lack of a batting cage in my backyard than it was to the poor teaching skills of some mustached guy from the 70s). It's "good enough" for beginning instruction because it gives you a way to break a complex process into smaller discrete steps that you can practice in isolation. Are professionals thinking about their swing in three parts? No, definitely not, but you've got to start somewhere...

My piano teacher had a similar way of teaching, breaking each song into small pieces and making me practice a few notes dozens of times, then gradually growing the size of the pieces, and then putting them all together. He was an expert, so you could put a sheet of music in front of him and he'd play the whole thing on the first try. But I couldn't do that, so I needed to learn step by step.

There is something to be said for this technique, at least until you become an expert at something, to the point that it's second nature to swing the bat or play a full sheet of music. At that point you probably have more effective ways of teaching yourself. But you've got to start somewhere.

[bravetraveler]

The four-dimensional thing is better than any explanation I can offer... as a skater, with skating things at least.

It doesn't translate to other things at all for me, but this was the most active thing I ever did...

I can watch Rodney Mullen do things I could never physically do, but 'feel' things you wouldn't expect. Examples would be where I'd put my weight, where the board would be pushing back, and how much I should lean forward/back to not slip

It's kind of like when zoning out while driving, in some ways. You go through the motions because you've done all the various pieces before. A kickflip is an ollie with a slide to the side, for example

But, because this process is new, it does take a lot of trial/focus. You get a good idea, but... theory/practice

[benoit_cotte]

Totally. I see that it can get a long way for the aspect of "cherish" this tricks it took so long for you to master. For example, I lost my kickflips after a 10 year hiatus. I am still trying to recover from it. Once, I ll be there, I want to never forget them again, or at least having a solid proof I perfected it once in my life.

[wkdneidbwf]

a lot of tricks have subtle bits around foot placement, how and when the board is flicked, etc. even the same trick can be done in different styles.

someone learning from this is paying attention to detail on body and foot positioning that someone who doesn’t skate wouldn’t see.

[DANmode]

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3924058/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4826257/

3. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysio...

The last one was cool, and new to me.

[benoit_cotte]

the last one is a 404

[benoit_cotte]

That's an interesting point. It is highly likely for someone who does not skate that you would not feel anything much that some sort of satisfaction (if anything at all). This is all the more intriguing that for skaters though, it lights up so many different things in your body and brain, that you could literally stay watching a simple trick forever. It is probably true for a lot of sports with some artistic vibes. Vibrating to the perfect moment, the sound, the touch, all happening at speed.