How watching X-Games taught me to skate better - A lesson in comp lines
Want to learn how to skate like Nyjah Huston and Shane O’Neill?
I’ve never been into watching the X-Games contests, I’d never given them the time of day. I was too busy watching short skate clips, getting a quick bit of motivation before heading out for a skate. I’d go for a skate, try and warm up, then try some tricks I was feeling motivated for. No real direction, no plan, and not much consistency. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
Watching X-Games is like imagining the best tricks you could ever do, then seeing someone string them all together in a 60 second line. It’s incredible. The consistency these skaters have is next level. It got me thinking, maybe I need to skate more like that. Not timing out 60 second lines full of bangers, but stringing together lines. Forming lines whilst at the skatepark, linking 5 tricks together rather than the usual 1-3.
So I started skating multiple obstacles in lines. Backside flip the hip, fakie flip on flat, switch ollie the 3, switch back tail the block. Focusing on nailing the basics, with a harder trick at the end. I gave it a go, and got a heap of benefits. Here’s what you can expect:
Improve consistency across basic tricks.
More motivation to land each trick.
Skating in lines helps you get into a better state of flow than trying to do 1 trick then stop then try again.
It’s a better cardio workout and less stop start on your body (minimising injuries).
Builds confidence as you land each trick.
Sounds good right? Give it a go next time you’re out skating.
It’s a technique I wish I’d started doing years ago. I’m already feeling 5x more consistent and confident at different skateparks. Allowing myself to do simple tricks by putting them into lines is actually helping me improve quicker and enjoy my skating more.
So go watch some X-Games footage, then get out for a skate.
The recent Sydney X-Games contest was insane, well worth a watch below! Enjoy.