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andyw
Jan 20, 2004, 2:59 AM
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I have only jst taken up the sport and i enjoy it alot, however i am unable to walk along the line after taking one step. I am quite good with balance and able to stand on the line and control if i want to sway side to side, "surf Style" but unable to walk any tips?
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scrux
Jan 20, 2004, 3:04 AM
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Try walking on your arches, toe to toe, and try it with someone walking on the ground beside you, hold on to their shoulder. Start with a tight line, then gradually go slacker...
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deadpointman
Jan 20, 2004, 3:54 AM
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Slacklining is too hard and scary. Go climbing instead. :wink:
Yes, it's true, I'm more afraid of slacklines than of most highballs. :oops:
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slacklinejoe
Jan 20, 2004, 4:18 AM
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Well, usually the biggest part of starting is trying to let go of any fear, move slowly and calmly. Fear makes you tense up, breath fast and move jerkily - do the opposite of that.
If your having problems swaying side to side, there are several things you can try. Throw one leg out as a counter balance, stay really low and suprising walk with more downward bounce.
When you bounce downwards it eliminates the side to side swing - seems contrary to motion that being less gentle in your step would produce a more controlable motion, but up and downs aren't that bad to control compared to side to side.
Other than that, I have some very general tips at: http://www.slacklineexpress.com/tips.htm
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andyw
Jan 20, 2004, 7:56 AM
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well i have no problems with standing and swaying just need to know how to walk on the line, and i have th rope quite close the ground so i dont have a hard fall so there is really no fear .... YET....lol
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japhyr
Jan 22, 2004, 8:35 AM
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For me, the line got squirrely as soon as I took my back foot off to take a step forward. I got better when I started making quick deliberate steps forward and get my foot back on the line quickly. I'd lose a bit of control to take the step, but as soon as I got my foot replanted I got that control back.
You also say you can take one step, but nothing after that. Most of us seem to have a preferred foot that likes to be in front, for me it's the same way I would stand on a skateboard. The other orientation just takes a little more practice. So as soon as you get that second step taken, I bet the third step will be easier.
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climbingurlie
Jan 27, 2004, 5:00 AM
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I was on a slackline for the first time today :D , and after about an hour, I was able to walk half the line. I had it set up in my backyard and I took a handle from a broom and kept it on the grass. I held onto it to help my balance. By the end of my session, I was almost able to get up and walk without it. I also considered setting up a rope above my head so I can hang onto the rope.
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pinktricam
Feb 25, 2004, 7:14 PM
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In reply to: I was on a slackline for the first time today :D , and after about an hour, I was able to walk half the line. I had it set up in my backyard and I took a handle from a broom and kept it on the grass. I held onto it to help my balance. By the end of my session, I was almost able to get up and walk without it. I also considered setting up a rope above my head so I can hang onto the rope.
WOW, pretty good CG!
With a lack of vertical adventures here in South FL, I jumped on the slacklining bandwagon this past weekend...after finally getting a tight enough line to hold up my big fat butt, I kept at it until I well past dark Monday night and could only get about 5 ft. behind me before coming off.
The neighbors think I've "lost it", but I'm going to get this thing down 'cause I want to be just like rrradam 8) .
The broomstick idea was pretty good, but I just couldn't stop depending on it, so I soon opted to just keep getting up on the line and just focus on staying in place and balanced for as long as I could before moving forward. Phew! This isn't easy! How long would you veterans say it takes before you actually got the kinks worked out enough to make real forward progress???
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ipsofacto
Feb 25, 2004, 8:13 PM
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23456789
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rope_burn
Feb 25, 2004, 8:35 PM
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Try starting on a shorter tighter line.
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overlord
Feb 25, 2004, 9:25 PM
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"practice makes perfect"
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jacob
Feb 25, 2004, 10:06 PM
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Author Message
overlord
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2004 3:25 pm Post subject: Re: Slacklining + Balance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"practice makes perfect"
If practice makes perfect, and nobody's perfect, then why practice? jk. Just keep at it. It took me about 4 hours of actually "on line time" before I could walk a 30 footer. I'd ditch the broomstick before you start becoming dependent on it. My friend was getting really frustrated because he couldn't take more than 2 steps, but then one try he just did it and went a full seven steps. Eventually your sense of balance will just wake up and go "oh I get it!" Good luck man, and make sure you stretch before you slack it. Dislocated shoulders are zilcho funno.
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summerprophet
Feb 25, 2004, 11:06 PM
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As for the balance question. STOP LOOKING AT YOUR FEET. Keeping your head up will put your body in a better position for balance, focus at head height on the far tree, or atleast at the far end of the slackline. it is a little weird at first, but you get used to it quickly.
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maiorlive
Feb 26, 2004, 12:20 AM
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Does "surf style" mean you're facing perpendicular to the line rather than parallel? If so, maybe try standing on one foot facing parrallel to the line without taking a step and see if you can control the swing.
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rngrchad
Feb 26, 2004, 1:41 AM
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I myself being a newbie to this exciting venture of slacklining, have found that the best way to go about it is not to focus on anything. The times I have walked 30ft + are the times I've just been so relaxed that I don't even make effort to try to stay balanced. When I start "trying" hard to stay balanced is when I always fall at the 5 or sixth step. Also maybe play some tunes in the background. Music will keep you relaxed and keep your mind of pressuring yourself to succeed. Just have fun with it.... :wink:
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pinktricam
Mar 2, 2004, 4:16 PM
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In reply to: As for the balance question. STOP LOOKING AT YOUR FEET. Keeping your head up will put your body in a better position for balance, focus at head height on the far tree, or atleast at the far end of the slackline. it is a little weird at first, but you get used to it quickly.
This was the most useful advice I've gotten yet. After making a conscious effort to keep my head up, I made huge gains on last weekend's effort!
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a-slacker-in-progress
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Mar 20, 2004, 6:51 AM
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in my area, the normal way to start learning to walk the slackline was one foot in front of the other, kinda looks like tight rope walkers. It took me about 3 or 4 hours total to get used to standing on the line. I walk with my feet perpindicular to the line, and step over my feet. I start with my right foot on the line, and I step up, and rest my left down, then If i walk i step foot over foot. One thing I have noticed for myself is that I cannot jump to the other side and start with my left foot on the line and go the opposite way as well as I do with my right foot. So I am interested in balance of my strengths, so I messed around with exercises to help my left-side balancing and strength control.
This is what I've done to help my weak side.
I setup a lowline, maybe about waist high, its tight enough for about 6-8 inches of ground clearance, compressed. You want some good resistance on this line, but you dont want it too high or too tight.
I started with my strong side, my right foot. I put my right foot up on the line, and for me I usually mount the line by stepping UP onto the line. Not anymore. I put my right foot up on the line(parallel on the line), and with my arms outstretched prepindicular to the line for balance, I SLOWLY push down with my right foot, focusing on the quadriceps (front of thighs), and extending my left foot out, pointing my toes toward the ground slowly, only helping balance me from falling. So I am slowly pushing down on the line with my right quadriceps, using the resistance of the line to push my body up to a standing position. my arms and left foot only serve to lengthen the stretch/exercise.I go as SLOW as possible pushing down, and I use NO momentum, and I use ONLY the resistance of the line to lift myself. Then I repeat for the left as well, helping your upper thigh muscles learn balance and strength control.
To me balance is more important then being really good.
After about 20-30 minutes of this exercise, I have gotten a real good burning feeling in my legs, and I'm not physically unfit, so I know that it is working my legs.
This has helped me to strengthen my weak walking side.
On another note, I have found an even more fun exercise related to the above stated, and it involves the opposite of pushing down to lift youself. Immediatley after doing the push-down-start, I do a slooow sitdown. You are not getting off the line, but you are on one foot, letting your leg compress slowly down, again making sure you arent straining like your knee joint, only working the quadriceps(front of thigh, right above the knee). In order to do this on a lowline, somtimes I will tilt my upper body over my compressing leg, to give me ground clearance to compress. Other times I have tried bringing my opposite free leg behind the other and almost air-sitting on it. I have found these 2 execises have helped me with sit starts, and doing one legged sit starts on the ground. Plus when you get strong on the push stand, you dont need momentum, and I like that.
If you try these, I would like to know how these have worked out for you. If my wording is unclear to you, I will try to take pictures/video of what I mean and post it so you can see what I mean.
I hope you enjoy ever progressive safe-slacking!
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a-slacker-in-progress
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Mar 27, 2004, 2:22 AM
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just a question, has anyone tried this? I was wondering if worked for other people? thanks.
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japhyr
Mar 27, 2004, 7:17 AM
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The method you described, of pressing one leg down and slowly stepping onto the line with the other foot, is the method I first used to stand on the line successfully. I've discovered the weakness of my quads in trying to learn sit-starts. I cannot press myself to a standing position on one leg very well, so sit-starts are rather difficult. I can manage it by dropping one leg off the line and swinging slightly to start, but I know my sit starts will get much smoother by developing the kind of strength you are describing. And I agree, that is a very useful kind of strength.
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a-slacker-in-progress
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Mar 29, 2004, 5:55 AM
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cool man, ive noticed it helps my sit starts as well, and now I can do it on the ground, sit start on one leg, with the other stretched out. That's a good burn ;)
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arun
Apr 26, 2004, 8:42 PM
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Yesterday I tried walking/balancing for 4 hours. At the end I was feeling not too bad, but couldn't keep my balance without either 2 trekkingpoles or using a 2nd line above my head. But I did start to feel a lot more in-balance. At stages I was hardly having to use the poles to weight. Just minor balance corrections :oops:
So its good you guys didn't all manage to slackline afte the first session. So I am not the only unbalanced person out there ;-)
Worst was I was practicing here in ZHR, Switzerland, where NOBODY knows or has seen it before. I had a father and 2 kids come by. I offered them a go, and I couldnt end up getting them off my line ;-) The one daughter ended up being pretty good. She even actually asked her dad, if they could get one for her birthday! So that was pretty cool. Some other guys thought themselves smart @rses and said I shouldn't use the line above to balance. So I told them they should have a go. Nearly busted myself laughing, after the first second on the line, the bloke hit the desk solid. He then apologised for being a smart @rse and admitted it was darn hard.
anyway happy slacking ;-)
Arun
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cliffhanger9
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Apr 26, 2004, 8:57 PM
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haha cool story arun! :lol:
even here in the states there are alot of people that give you funny looks and ask what the hell you're doin! haha
yea it just takes time and alot of practice...i dont think its possible to be able to keep perfect balance the first time you try to get on a line. everyone is different. some peopl it takes a week month whatever to get decent enough to make it from one end to the other let alone pulling tricks
good lucky! keep practicing and you'll no doubt get it soon!!
rock on!! :mrgreen:
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cliffhanger9
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Apr 26, 2004, 9:06 PM
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In reply to: i...If my wording is unclear to you, I will try to take pictures/video of what I mean and post it so you can see what I mean. I hope you enjoy ever progressive safe-slacking!
your wording is clear but on a side note we'd love to see some slacking pictures if you have any!! post em here ---> "Got pics of YOU "walking the line" ???"
cheers :mrgreen:
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a-slacker-in-progress
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Apr 27, 2004, 6:50 AM
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yah i need to post some pics,
on a side note, I snapped a line today, right at the clove hitch, too much force on the line, and *SNAP*, just when I had it tight enough, it cracked, no fatalities. Now I KNOW no one will agree with what I did, and I do NOT advise using such a tool, but my goal was a tight lowline about 2 feet off the ground, its about 35 feet, and i wanted this sucker TIGHT, so i wouldnt bottom out. Well I do have a nice pully system that makes it easy to tighten, but im a featherweight at 140lbs, and 140lbs dont pull much. But my CAR DOES! Needless to say it pulled an inch to far, and snapped my 50' to a 24 & 26 foot. Thankfully I will still be able to use them, not that I really intended to have them. I'm depressed and a bit ashamed, but I always have my 70' and I'm never using my car on it. Promise!
Anyways, I'll shoot some photos out sometime this week.
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