Mountainboarding progression
Been thinking about how mountainboarders learn and progress again today. A while ago I wrote an article for Remolition about how mountainboarders learn their skills, and what they can do to improve the way they learn. I want to add to that with the idea that progression happens with a sudden and often very noticeable jump up and then continues at that level, rather than in a steady constant progression. This ratcheting mechanism applies across the board, to individual riders, to a discipline and to an entire sport. Some examples:
I was riding with a Grove today who’s at the point of wanting to push himself and move on to the next level. He’s a good rider whose riding has plateaued recently and as quite often happens, he pushed himself a little too far and paid the price by leaving little bits of himself on Cleeve Hill. He will progress and improve.
Whilst this was going on Brindy and Dicko were stepping up Freestyle by stomping double backflips. Andy Milenkovic did one not so long ago, and more recently Brindy and Andy Packer nailed 900’s within minutes of each other. Just goes to show that the discipline of Freestyle progresses in the same fashion with periods of fast improvement which will then slow to intervals of almost no improvement.
So, apart from well done to Matt and Joe, and get well soon to Grove, it’s good to know that mountainboarding is in a healthy state of incremental progression and that it will all only get better.