how to commit for skaters, but it’s a tedtalk 

great video and totally relate to what you’re saying. The more grown up we are the more we all develop a sense of danger and defensive automatic mechanism that makes us hesitate to let go, thats why only skaters know what it really feels like to learn by lowering all your natural body defenses that limit your potential movements and embrace some pain to eventually make progress. The landing of a trick is a both a mental and physical barrier that you must go through. Non skaters will never understand. And when you succeed you know yourself better and your body too. Skateboarding is the best therapy ❤

I've been skating since 1995, and this video is still useful as a calibration of my headspace when skating. Good stuff 👍

you are absolutely right I noticed this too as an older beginner skater (I started 2 years ago almost following you that long). I noticed in some situations it is a fear problem and mind game. for me it was ollie up a curb. but yes mostly it is a skill problem and maybe the body notices it subconsciously and makes you not commit fully😅 maybe it's also the way of learning. the "only commit" phrase can be suitable for kids who learn to skate more playful by testing and just doing it without thinking too much, while the older folks need to approach a trick step by step, learn every tiny muscle movement (which we know is harder as an adult). so breaking the trick down into steps or going an mini obstacles is so essential (*cough* for ex. mini ramps who are mini and not sky high) I stopped pressuring me since I noticed the teens in my skategroup were learning twice as fast 🙄yes skating more times a week is so essential (sometimes problematic when the old body is injured constantly 😅)

i just landed my first running Ollie because of your video! thank you Miss! the fear of been thrown out has been the barrier along ththe way

I didn't know I needed guitar playing Sarah, but I'm so pleased we have her :DDD Also I loovveee this diagram. Building confidence by building on base level or "like" skills. But seeing it all in a near triangle 🧑‍🍳💋 My mate has 100% confidence, and I swear he's swapping out skill for beginners luck. I h8 him. Reset his stat tree plz >:(((

Thank you so much for this video! You bring everything back into the right perspective. I have been really annoyed by my lack of commitment regarding landing the shuv it on concrete as well as the fakie shuv, but your video gave me more understanding of the steps I need to take first in order to be more comfortable commiting to the tricks. And I understand that I have to be much more patient with myself. Your videos are sooo helpful! Thank you so much! ❤

It’s been a struggle to find “dry land” training for movements to dial in off of the board, or how to break down foundational movements into bite sized portions. Example, I was working on 180 pivots. I found it easier when I pressured the toe side on my back foot. But it came down to timing. When I accidentally had more even pressure on both wheels I could rotate slower and further by pivoting around the center of the axel vs around the wheel. Coming from skiing and snowboarding, initiating rotations with my upper body feels weird. For my learning style, “wax on, wax off” tutorials so solidify the motions so I don’t have to think about them are what work best. I coached mountain biking and that was a key structure. Small skills until they are second nature, then implement them.

Thanks for your vids and especially this too, because of skill and confidence, I learned how to drop in🎉❤

This is good advice. Also, you could be John Lennon's child and then you brought out the guitar. And a Martin no less!

"Just commit" is how I broke my radius lol

I think the actual form of just commit is pretty useless for most situations, but it does apply to some. As you said, saying "Just commit" is like the worst piece of advice for most situations, especially skaters just starting to get a mechanic. I think the advice works when you have a certain mechanic, and you start applying it to something bigger. For example, I know how to kickflip well, but I always go through this phase trying to kickflip off anything where I'm choosing not to land the trick I know I can land. At that point, it's not a learning process, it's me having to drill into my head "committing is always easier". Saying this to someone learning a new mechanic though can actually deter them from learning. I have a good friend, and no offense to him if he somehow sees this and knows it's him, but I would always get angry in my head and it would keep me from learning a new trick even more when he would tell me "It's because you're not committing" when in fact, I actually am and my body is just going through the process of learning. I'm glad this video seems to be getting a lot of traction and I hope you hit the algorithm. I loved everything you said.

I assume those plastic things under your board are to protect the board, but won't they make the board pop considerably less due to less travel?

mechanically overthinking physical activity gotta be my favorite activity honestly

What a breath of fresh air. People who have been skating their whole lives really simplify the sheer amount of mental, physical, and emotional effort that goes into skateboarding. As someone who was never athletic and started skateboarding at age 24 their tips really don't end up helping me, even when they are genuinely trying to help. "Just commit" is useful when I'm trying to ollie a 2 stair where I know I already have the height and speed for my ollie, I just need to prevent my shoulders from turning and not let myself bail. It's not so helpful in learning something like a kickflip where the technique is so precise that its difficult to understand what exactly you are doing wrong without deeper analysis. I'm glad these guys were able to just blunt force their way into landing their tricks as children, but it doesn't just "work" for me.

Wow, I had the shove it experience you use as an example just last week. I didn't want to commit to shove its so I stopped and thought about what was scary. It was landing on the board! So I've been practicing just hippie jumping nothing, and I'm surprised by how hard it is for me. No wonder shove its were scary! But the jumping is getting easier, so I'm making progress. Similar for doing cavemans, I have been doing them with a piece of cardboard and then a chunk of wood to work up to it. Your videos are interesting and encouraging, thank you for continuing to make them.

I think you've hit the nail on the head! Without a strong foundation, confidence and skill will be hard to achieve. I've tried many instruments and never progressed beyond being a rank beginner, even with years of daily practice. I'm hoping that isn't the case with skateboarding. I practiced daily for the first 10 days I had my board, then suffered an odd ankle/heel annoyance to both feet, which put me mostly off the board for the past month and a half. Now that I'm back to normal, I hope to use your balance practice techniques to build a strong base for future learning. My goal, for now, is to carve with confidence by summer.

Currently in the middle of working on my kickflip and this video really made me feel so much better, i was telling myself i wasn’t committing when really i need to just practice as much as i can until i’m comfortable ❤

I learned that overcoming fear is a thing you can practice by itself. Each session of every boardsport I do something that forces me to overcome my fear. It's the same as practicing movements, but here you are practicing emotional control and focus. Probably in skateboarding it takes more time to get to a level where bailing out of a trick becomes dangerous, but still its a nice skill to hone.

Well this was one of the best TED talk I've ever heard 🔥 I just love your methodological approach. That seems rare in this niché. I began to skate at 36 as an early midlife crisis. Couldn't afford a Porsche. Your vids have turned a new leaf to my skating and now that I have a ”curriculum” - a process to follow, I'm not that shy anymore of practising in public. Thanks, much love! ❤

Fantastic video! I love how you broke Commitment down into components that you can actually work on. I also love how you connected skateboarding to your guitar playing. I used to be a music teacher and there are so many parallels between becoming proficient at an instrument and a skateboard. They both take lots of time and practice just to get to the point where certain skills become automatic. Once you get to the point where some basic skills become automatic and you can do something without thinking about it, you are then ready to move up to new skills that weren’t really accessible before.

i remembered when I tried caveman for the first time. there's the fear that blocks me from doing it. i practiced jumping on my board often and somewhat mastered it. but throwing my board under my feet is difficult. one time i just closed my eyes and threw my board under and jumped, surprisingly I landed good. i gained the confidence that you are talking about. then i tried it again and somewhat failed, but my confidence is still there. done it for the third time and landed good again. the fear is still there sometimes but by just remembering that I did it once, the fear goes away.

Great video! Those automatic connections are definitely hard to unlearn if you learned the wrong way. Many years ago, I learned to kickflip by doing it with a body varial. This meant that I learned to flick down instead of up and out. I've had to relearn how to kickflip. It's taken years to get it right.

Thank you! I have long suspected that some skaters were rushing their development; that there is actually a benefit to taking a more measured approach. Also, great job with, "Classical Gas" from one self-taught guitar kid to another!

this was such a great video! genuinely this principle is so applicable to so many areas of life, I taught myself guitar too (it was my bounce-back hobby when I gave up on skating as a kid haha) and just building comfort and familiarity is so key to growth. I absolutely refused to let my dad teach me for years because I wanted to be build confidence in my own ability first, I wouldn’t even watch tutorials, but once I had enough familiarity to feel comfortable on guitar, I finally let him teach me, and I was able to learn so much faster than I ever expected, because I already had the guitar equivalent of board control loll

props to you friend!!! aside from your skate talent and skill set, you have a very calm and cool way of sharing the knowledge and concepts you have gained through the time you put in. Thank you and keep it up for sure!!!

i’m not an amazing skater by any means, however there is a huge aspect of skating where it is just about commitment. But it’s mainly when you progress to a point where you can do a trick, but throwing it down a staircase or ledge is scary for you. some skaters who are really good give the advise “just commit” because that is something they tell themselves because they can already do it. Keep it up, amazing video!!

Sometimes for me it is just a "turning your brain off" thing. When I'm not thinking about what I'm doing and just do it, it mostly works so much better. But turning my brain off is simply said. I just overthink so much :D

The importance of foundations can’t be overstated. I have huge gaps that I’ve been neglecting, but I’m shifting some focus and getting some good results ✌️😊

Yes! I feel like when I talk to other skaters about the mental gymnastics i go through to get to the point of commitment, they don't usually seem to understand what I'm talking about. glad to hear I'm not the only one :D lol.

Great video! It's a nice way to look at it. I'm working on ollie up a curb and it's taken me like a year, but i did it this winter! And can now do it like once every 50 tries... But that's better than one in a hundred, and it'll get better. Patience and relaxing about it is probably the best, like you say. I find that if i almost distract myself by for example saying "one" and bending down, and then "two" and ollie, then that makes me forget I'm riding towards a curb and I can easily get up! Sometimes 😅 you gotta lose respect for the curb and just not even think about it... It's funny!

Dear Sarah, apart from all your other great tutorials, this might just be the best/most useful one for me personally. Thank you for reminding me/us about the basics and steps to really progress. Thank you and all the best!

was really nice to hear your thoughts about this topic, cause I've used to put myself down, thinking I can't commit, but the issue was in my board control and, when I've learned easier tricks and some days just rode on the board, to be more comfortable on my deck, this really started to pay off and I'm noticing, that I can do practiced movements a lot easier this way, so, once again, thank you for that talk, it's really important

I completely agree with everything you said. I've had the exact same realizations through parkour. Keep up the great content!

Great video

I can Ollie and fs180 thanks to you and your advice ty bro I love your content keep it up❤

I love this video. I think it is so much more important for a beginner skater to think about their process of learning tricks before watching a trick tip video on where to put your feet for an ollie. you gotta a new subscriber

Kinda scary that you even had to make this video. If someone does not respect their own boundaries while skateboarding and start committing to tricks that they don't feel good about committing to it's probably going to scare them away from skateboarding especially if they hurt themselves. Instead of telling others to commit the better tip would be to just have fun and enjoy the exercise. Much better to have fun, build confidence and slowly, but steady get into the feeling that everything is possible. And if that means practicing a trick 5000 times before trying to land it then so be it. But we all learn differently and some people just like to take a lot of slams when learning a new trick. But i have a feeling that those are also the types of people that uses terms like "quitting skateboarding", which makes no sense cause no one forces them to skate, when they don't feel like it. I imagine alot of pro skaters have had this exact mindset that this video conveys, which is why they are actually physically able to continue skateboarding, cause they didn't completely break their body or traumatize themselves too much xD Just think that skateboarding was at a certain stage in the 90's and 00's, where pro skaters were constantly trying to push the limits of what was possible in street skating, but it might also have had the side effect, of giving skateboarding a reputation for being a reckless activity to engage in. But for people just trying to get into it as a hobby, have fun, exercise and compete with their own limitations, that mindset would make no sense to have. So i agree with the video, but crazy that it's not just pure logic :)

This has been such a wonderful video to watch. I'm almost 39 and trying to get back into learning to skateboard after about a year or so off because of mental health issues. I struggle with commitment and putting a decent amount of time to practice. But I've always loved flatland skateboarding ever since watching Gleaming the Cube when I was little. Hopefully I'll be able to build up the confidence to practice more. I loved your breakdown of practicing a trick into small steps. 👍

i learned to drop in recently. i took my a very long time to overcome my fear of leaninng forward and commit to it. i have done about 80 drop ins now.... and i am still afraid of it! i am actually shacking when i am on the half pipe. i am streetskater. half pipe is new to me. i have more than enough skill and confidence for stuff like kick flip to FS tailslide. tre flip down a 5 stair... but a drop in or getting my wheels over the coping in a mini ramp is just something i am deeply afraid of and i dont know why.

You are absolutly right. But I would add one thing I noticed for myself over a long period of riding different types of boards: At some point turn off your brain and just do it. And if it does not work then just go skating and have fun. 😀 I think that's something people forget often, that you can ride a skateboard not only at a skatepark and doing tricks there. You can do them everywhere. I also recommend to listen to music. Hip hop for example has a very good rythm to reflect skateboarding.

And as you grow up (or start old like me having the great idea of starting at 30) the fear factor become one of the most painful experiences as you know how to do the trick, you have the perfect rotation, you understand it, yet....the body wants to protect you from getting hurt -__- and then you hear homies "Whyyyy didn't you put the other foot dude you had it!" "I don't understand why you didn't land this trick yet everything is perfect, you are a mystery of skateboarding" "I wish I could be in your feet to let you feel the trick" Uuuurrrgh

Thanks for the great analytics and the well explanation. Big up from Germany 👍🔥🙂🇩🇪

how tf do you make a 14 minute video on how to commit like its not that hard just trust yourself and focus on landing on the board by any means nessescary

This is the best video about commitment to skateboarding. In depth and informative. I feel I know what I need to do for a lot of tricks, but I’ve been trying to tell myself that I’ll just land it eventually, and letting myself not commit. I had a bad fall recently and it’s only made me want to skate more. My brain made a “land everything to tail pathway though lol”

this actually applies to so much in life. like so many skills. your tutorials are the best on youtube imo, not just for skateboarding but learning new things in general. thanks for the uploads, keep it up.

You have a great perspective l, Sarah! Thanks for sharing!

I'm trying to learn how to Ollie over an obstacle this is very helpful

I don’t agree with the kickflip part u can definitely sit for hrs on one trick and gain skill

I cant even ollie skating makes me very fucking mad and makes me feel left out.

awesome vid!!!! i always beat myself tellin why dont i just commit!!!

Very much this, I very much agree that foundational skills are going to be paramount in anything moving forward. I spend quite a bit of time just doing balance stuff (especially when it's raining here in the Pacific Northwest), they may not translate 100% over to my skateboard directly, but I have 3 different "balance boards" that are essentially 32" boards but move around a bit differently. They just help with my general balance and on days I can skate I do spend a good amount of time just skating around (along with practicing ollies and starting to get muscle memory for shuvs and kickflips, using what you mention, practicing individual steps in the process). Anyways, great vid, lots of skaters could really use this info~

More like "just keep your legs in the air longer" easier said than done 😂

I don’t care how badass anyone thinks they are. They’re not as badass as Sarah. The way you break these things down is truly revolutionary. I don’t know how much you’ve studied psychology, but you have a graduate degree level understanding of it. In addition, I think your progression is unbelievable considering that it does not appear that any of this came naturally to you. I hope someday you have the most subscribers out of anyone teaching skateboarding on RU-vid becauwe you deserve it and everyone would benefit from it. Learning from pros is kind of dumb when you think about it. Someone capable of that level has to he a natural to some degree and they’re not going to he able to relate to what your average skateboarder is going through when learning tricks. Use pros for inspiration and to motivate yourself or to grow your love of skateboarding, not to learn tricks or get tips. I promise you’ll learn much faster from someone like Sarah.

I'm 35 now and have spent the last 15 years pushing mongo. I never bothered trying to learn to push regular as I knew it would be an extremely time consuming commitment, and I just wanted to skate. After breaking my ankle, I decided to teach myself how to push regular. I practiced for an hour every day, just pushing and jumping on the board and pushing again. It was awkward at first, which I expected but I was surprised that it only took me a few weeks to get pretty decent at pushing regular. I kept practicing, and within 3 months I was 100% confident cruising the streets pushing regular. At that point, I told myself that from now on, if I push mongo by accident I have to nullify it by putting my foot on the front truck and jumping on switch. Well it happened a few times, and again it was super awkward but this really piqued my interest and so a couple of months later, not only have I completely eliminated my 15 year habit of pushing mongo, but I can now pretty confidently cruise the streets switch!

Really great video🙏 in regards to getting over the fear of falling, i think i tend to stiffen my legs and not bend my knees enough when landing, which if my balance is off, can cause the board to shoot out quick underneath me, and i slam hard..(just sprained my wrist pretty bad falling on a stationary flatground trick because of this). So im thinking i should really try to keep my legs much looser on landing, and letting my knees bend much more, kinda like really loose shock absorbers, so hopefully my falls arent so bad, and i can build up confidence quicker. Any thoughts on this?

I did finally got rock to fakie about a year ago. I always have trouble the first like 20 times. After I get it I start landing them again pretty good. I have done them a lot they are still scary. I think it's just a confidence thing at this point. I usually start on a bank to warm up again. It could be a little skill too. I started bending my knees more and I felt more confident on the coping. Just have to keep pushing it. I remember the first time I dropped in axle of a 4 ft quarter. It was the scariest thing I have done. You look down and it makes no sense the angle your seeing. Anyway skating is hard. Thanks for the good video have fun skating 👍🤙

34 and this is a video I've needed to watch since I was 13-

Im glad you posted this, I can kickflip and do all the other basic tricks, yet I can't do a heelflip because I can't commit. I keep telling myself if I can commit to a kickflip I can commit to a heelflip but It doesn't help 😂, I'm gonna get back out there now and try harder.

Wise words! But sometimes it is a very nonlinear path of muscle memory. That is, working on a skill 500 hours wont make you better! Sometimes just waiting doing something else for some time is what you need

You have beautiful hair oh an d ofc ty for advice

Ummmm… yeah committing is literally half the battle 🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

Me being scared to jump on the shuvit “ *so if you’re scared to jump on the shuvit* “

Excellent!! Apllies to everything in life..

I’ve been skating for like 2 and a half years and I still have trouble committing even to the simplest of things and I feel that I need to get over just the feeling I get when I want to try something new which would be fear I guess, but the trouble committing really slows my progress down so I’m just lookin for tips and or advice to help me get over that hurdle. I Appreciate the Support you give to all the other people here including me

love the channel keep up the awesome work

What a nice compilation of your progress over the last 2 1/2 years. And again there is so much you can take away from the video that you have to watch it several times straight away. Do you actually have harder bushings in your freestyle set up than in your street skateboard set up? I'm building my first freestyle board and I've often heard that you should upgrade to 100a hard bushings. Thank you for all your work and the wonderful videos.

i really hope i can commit to my tircks this year

As someone that took a 30 year break from skating, I can totally relate. I also played guitar and took some time off from that, only to get into both again with a little more " commitment ". I feel like the things I had " locked down" as a kid, I still can lock down, Stuff I was close too or was hit or miss, I still am close, and hit or miss. If I didn't have those things I was good at, I don't think I would continue to try and progress, now into my midlife. I appreciate all of your videos as inspiration, you do some tricks I really aspire to(your caspers and finger flips) You can definitely teach this old dog new tricks, but foundations make the hard learning all that more enjoyable. Thanks again for your commitment.

This is such a good explanation of what actually goes on when you try learning a new trick, top stuff

Hi Sarah, I’m a beginner skateboarder and I am currently working on these skills but I’ve been experiencing a lot of fear: -Kickturning (ramps/banks) -Riding off curbs (and higher objects) -Dropping in (small banks) Based on this video, here’s my question! How would you break down each of the things I’ve listed into the smallest of steps if you were, for example, learning them for the first time? I'm having a hard time figuring it out. Thank you:)

Are you rockin the new balance 440 highs?

Seriously you learned classical gas to the point of muscle memory that's dope

Thanks i needed this😣

This is so incredibly helpful.

You articulated something so well that I started thinking when I was learning heelflips but couldn’t really explain. I had to build up “commitment” in a number of ways. One was doing ghost flips to familiarise myself with the feeling of landing on the board after a flip (kinda like the confidence element you described) The next was exactly as you said: skill. I had to train myself to pull my legs up after the flip mentally. In a sort of “flip the board then get your feet over the deck. But don’t even worry about landing, just get the legs up”. I ended up committing to my heelflip after this but it made much more than just making a mental decision, my brain had to become familiar with all the elements of the trick. (Ironic part though is I lose and regain my heelflips seasonly over the last few months 😅 so time I imagine is also a factor)

GREAT POINTS!!!! True, right, and correct! many thanks for the details.

Love your vids sarah...what did you do to your hair? Jeez!!!

Brilliant!!!!! totally awesome video. Thank you!!!

you are an educator!

great video! I’m all about baby steps whenever I’m taking on any challenges - haven’t been skating for months and will get back into it soon, thanks for the solid advice

Beautifully said!🌸❤️

Puedo escucharte por horas.

Thank you so much for all your videos that are nice to watch. I learn a lot thanks to you. Have a great day, Cheers from France ✌

I think for me, a big part was also wearing a helmet and pads, getting the feeling and experiences of falling without getting hurt. Still, every now and than I need to remind myself that I won't die everytime I Slip out for example. So wearing protective gear is like another part of confidence for me

I’ve been watching your videos while re-learning skateboarding after 20 years off. Keep up the good work. 🤘

Wow… this was such a good explanation. 😊

I want to give this a dozen thumbs up!

Wow! That was very helpful. Thanks for sharing your insight. I can’t wait to put this into practice

10:14 that varial flip was way too cool!!!

Awesome video!!!

Great video!

this is such a great vid!!!!!!!! thank you!!

I think the advice to "commit" is valid for tricks you're trying to relearn. Great video.

Yeah Science!

She’s easy to listen to and learn from, smart as they come🤙🏼😎💯

As a guitar playing who is trying to improve my skating, you nailed it 💯

Genius!

Awesome!

You might really enjoy the book Peak, by Anders Ericsson! It focuses on how we learn, and how the brain literally changes to gain new skills (very literally, different areas of the brain will grow larger if we are using them more). The fancy term for this, which you might already be well aware of, is neuroplasticity. I have really felt this in learning to ollie, then shuv, and kickflip… things just happen way too fast for my brain to perceive at first… but over many many hours of practice, and many not-landed attempts, my brain has slowly adapted to being able to tell my body how to move to actually commit to landing these tricks. I guess this is what you call “skill” here, but to me it makes more sense to think of it as something different. It is a very deep understanding, much deeper than an academic understanding, that allows for the brain and body to perform a complex motion and react to many the many variables almost instantaneously. Also… awesome job on the varial flip! I would love to hear more about what you found helpful for figuring out that trick.

This video made me realize a lot about my own skating thank you 🙏