Analyzing a technique
Author: Budomaru
Published: Spring 2004
The problem :
Many new tricksters rush to perform a trick right after they've seen
a vid or read/watched a tutorial. I know cause I'm one of them ^_^ hehe.
Well the problem is most of these people end up being dependent on others telling
them what to do or giving them details and advice on what they're missing.
Most of these people don't even have camcorders, which makes things worse
cause they cannot actually see themselves and correct their mistakes. Also,
since they're newbs, they think they've got all the details down
cause they just read a tutorial and watched a couple of vids and that's
it. This eventually leads to long periods of trying specific tricks without
success simply because they're doing something wrong and they don't
know what the hell it is. Although they are frequently advised to watch samplers
and analyze the tricks themselves, they don't do it, or think they do
it while they aren't.
So I decided to write this article to give them some guidelines (hey maybe
I don't have too many tricks, but I've got 8 months of effort and
experience / that's more than you have noobz :P). Hopefully this will
reduce the barrage of noob threads a bit more (well you can't really make them
disappear now can you? :)
Before we begin :
Not EVERYONE out there needs the help of this article. There are naturals out
there that will have all the basics in a month or two. Whether you are or aren't
one of those people I cant really tell you, and only you can find out for yourself.
Also, this is an article meant to guide someone when they analyze tricks. I
don't claim to know everything on trick analysis, so trust
yourself and use your goddamn brain!
(really ^_^). I'm trying to teach you how to stimulate yourself with some
thoughts of your own through analyzing tricks.
Ok, now we can begin :
The first thing you have to do before starting a detailed analysis of a trick
is get a good feel for it. You can do this
in many ways, which are in fact one: watching tricks.
You can watch a friend do 540s, your grandma do backflips, samplers and vids
(the most recommended source), or your dog licking his balls (some claim this
is not really a trick). Whatever you do - the point is getting to see
the trick from as many aspects as possible, witnessing it being performed
by many different people, in many different places, in many different ways,
and so on.
Next you have to imagine yourself performing the
trick. Envision yourself going through it perfectly and try to experience
the feel you think it has. Also try to visualize what you would see if you performed
it. This helps to prevent misunderstanding a trick when you perform it and thinking
you are failing when you're not and vice versa. Know what you must expect!
On to the analysis :
In order to properly analyze a trick you must have as many examples of it as
possible available for study. The best way is getting vids (but don't
expect to get all the vids in the world before you start analyzing, duh) of
samplers/demonstrations and watching them. Make sure you have a good player
that can pause/play steadily without choppy motion and shit; And preferably
can also play in slow motion (like BS Player for example, or the neokarate player
although I prefer BS myself).
Now, what you have to note when analyzing a trick:
- The setup of the trick: In other
words, what the person does before they perform
the trick. For example, some people run into an aerial, others don't
(in fact that almost makes two different tricks but that's another story).
Some people do butterfly kicks with two slow steps while others swing their
legs and do it. The setup is important because it determines whether you're
going into it efficiently and getting the proper momentum for it.
- Timing and position of the limbs and body
during all stages of the trick: Make sure you pay attention to everything.
The more times you watch a trick, watching the same vid and many different
ones, the more you'll be able to recognize what's part of the
actual technique and what's part of the person's style or just
random shit they did. Sometimes things that look unimportant and just random
are in fact very important and might just be the key to the trick for you.
Pay attention to timing / proper timing
can give you +2 inches in height, and bad timing can make you crash cartwheels
and look like Bert.
- Details concerning the technique or personal
preferences/styles of the person: Try to notice
as many details as possible. Don't worry about misidentifying
something as a detail when it's just part of the person's style, cause
if you watch many examples you'll know what was personal and what wasn't.
Examples of this might be where people face during the trick or where people
grab when they do a backflip / some grab in front and others grab their
hips. It's good to know about these things so you won't get stuck with just
one way of it being done. This will help you to do it better through your
own way.
- Whether it is part of a combo or not:
This matters a lot. Don't compare an aerial after a 360 crescent with
a standing aerial or an axe2aerial without having this in mind. When tricks
are combo'd momentum and other factors work in a different way. This can also
help you get a trick because it might be easier for you to perform it in a
combo rather than simply alone.
- The environment in order to determine how
it affects the trick: Pay attention to the environment.
A backflip performed on plyometric flooring isn't like a backflip performed
on grass or (even worse) sand. Heights, ledges, etc. are also important. Pay
attention to other things like relative height
of the trick, not just height using a measuring system but height measuring
with the person's arm or leg
length / relative measurements
are much more helpful and informative.
Not to mention that it's almost impossible to use a measuring system just
by watching a vid. A good example of this is aerials. Almost everyone I've
seen does the aerial at the same relative height, so I know what to expect
(I actually discovered this today lol) and I have a greater chance of getting
it. I hadn't paid attention to this detail before today, making my aerial
attempts sloppy and difficult.
- Non visual information: It's good to
have sound with your vids, so pay attention
to the sounds when samplers have them. You might hear a breath, a noise, or
something related to the trick which you couldn't explain. A good way
to check this is asking tricksters about details on how they perform their
tricks. Such as how they breath (timing/intensity), if they close their eyes,
or if they cross their fingers. I found out that properly timed breathing
during a butterfly kick can give me extra height, which is pretty cool (I
found that out by accident but I bet there's a lot of stuff I don't
know that more experienced people know).
Additional information:
- Background information on the trickster(s) performing the trick you're
watching/analyzing: Yes this can be quite important. Ask about their trick
progression, which ones they got before and which after, and how long it took
them etc. It is also good to know their background of training, amount/time
of training, and other details. This can help you with identifying some obscure
ways of helping yourself get a trick. It's not something to base a lot of
hope on but it can solve some minor (and very rarely so major) issues. For
example, everyone knows having good basic kicks helps clean up your 540 kick,
but you might be a hippo and not know it. So what? Find out!
- The person's behavior during the trick,
before, and after it: Try to understand how they
feel and use it to help you understand
what the trick should or could feel like. Sometimes people have habits (like
Juji opening his mouth like fish and other hotdog stuff he does) that are
spontaneous and could teach you a thing or two about the trick.
- Information on related moves and prerequisites:
No, don't skip those asshole! Sure there are people that got tricks
without knowing how to do the prerequisites properly but you don't know
if you're one of them (otherwise you wouldn't really be reading
this). Until you find out learn about those prerequisites and find out how
they are related to the move you want to analyze. It sounds simple but you
might come up with something obvious you hadn't noticed.
So to sum it all up
Get some vids and watch them. Pay attention to every detail and make sure you
cover the trick as much as you can. It is best to focus on one trick each time
you analyze but it depends on what you're actually analyzing (if you're
analyzing someone's flip tricks you won't just focus on backflips
for example). One more thing that can often be helpful is knowing what you're
looking for. It's good to watch whole samplers in slow motion like 50% of normal
speed or even 30% (I prefer slow like 30% myself) because tricks last seconds
and you'll get tons of input. Just don't overdo it or confuse yourself
because then it's going to become wasted time. Even experienced and skilled
tricksters sometimes forget details and simple things that can help. So until
you get the trick, don't stop at a point where you think you know everything
about it. Share your thoughts on aspects of a trick and others might find out
new things from you!
Ok, now get some Fiji and go TRICK!
Cool, so you know some good stuff on how to analyze tricks now. Fine / what
are you so happy about? N00b. GET TRICKIN!!! Or at least analyzing ^_^
Good luck getting your tricks!!!
