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Mental Blocks, Sidehops And Other Moves


Alex Berman

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Do you guys have "mental blocks" with sidehops or straight to backs or other trial moves? It always happens to me that I progress and I do sidehops for example really easy and quite high for my level and from one day to another I just cant do them anymore. Its so frustrating. Im not scared but its like I have a block and I cant do them anymore.

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I used to have a mental block when learning sidehops but after a while I got a bit better and stopped putting my foot down. But now i've just got to a constant 39" sidehop but anything 40" and I just can't do it, instantly put my foot down. So strange, I think its just practise mate.

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I struggle going up to rear on walls and such, it's the one move that I've got considerably worse at over winter. Every single day it's like starting again, I have no confidence in that particular move. Probably just need to man-up.

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I struggle going up to rear on walls and such, it's the one move that I've got considerably worse at over winter. Every single day it's like starting again, I have no confidence in that particular move. Probably just need to man-up.

I struggle going up to rear on walls and such, it's the one move that I've got considerably worse at over winter. Every single day it's like starting again, I have no confidence in that particular move. Probably just need to man-up.

Same here, i struggle with it as well. I got better the last months, managed a good sized wall and after it was like starting again.

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I have always had this problem with sidehops and no other move no matter how much I keep telling myself I'll just slip to chain stay if I don't make it I still worry about pushing myself altho I'm slowly getting over that fear and going a lot bigger than I thought I could. I even tried playing about on little walls and deliberatly failing just to prove to myself nothing bad would happen haha.

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I used to have a mental block when learning sidehops but after a while I got a bit better and stopped putting my foot down. But now i've just got to a constant 39" sidehop but anything 40" and I just can't do it, instantly put my foot down. So strange, I think its just practise mate.

I do exactly the same. I've even considered taping my foot to the pedal but I'm not sure its the best idea.

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I used to have a mental block when learning sidehops but after a while I got a bit better and stopped putting my foot down. But now i've just got to a constant 39" sidehop but anything 40" and I just can't do it, instantly put my foot down. So strange, I think its just practise mate.

With sidehops I have this problem,even though I know I can go 4inches higher,it just feel wrong all out of sudden,or I just think about every aspect of the move to much when preloading and don´t even take off.Hate those days.

The block with me and sidehops is my bars, I know I can do bar height so if I pull alongside anything that's higher I can guarantee I'll put my foot down!

Same problem for me... anything above 40" I cannot do, but I can fly up 40 with ease. As soon as the wall goes above bar I feel like I'm just going to sidehop into my legs, or land on my hands.

Edit: If anyone thinks of a way to get around this block, or ways to work on it besides keep trying to go a little higher i really would love to hear it !

( I'll happily chuck myself into a gap to front, or a tap though :S )

Edited by Alex Dark
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You do have natural talent on a bike though, looked very smooth when I saw you in Leeds

You sir, have made my day <3

Alex, If you can find a wall that has a very gradual increase, that helps. Literally inch your way up. Its a confidence booster.

Edited by Echo Lite 09
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The only thing that goes through my head if I'm going to try and sidehop something is 'dual disc, dual disc, dual disc, dual disc...'

That's 'cos you're baller as f**k on your expensive Danny Mac bike ;)

Same problem for me... anything above 40" I cannot do, but I can fly up 40 with ease. As soon as the wall goes above bar I feel like I'm just going to sidehop into my legs, or land on my hands.

Edit: If anyone thinks of a way to get around this block, or ways to work on it besides keep trying to go a little higher i really would love to hear it !

( I'll happily chuck myself into a gap to front, or a tap though :S )

In my savage TGS days I got that. Basically, bar height was like the limit and I found I was plateaued at that mental point for a while. Then one day it just sort of clicked and I got over it. I don't really know what changed, but I just sort of forced myself to realise it wasn't a big deal and that it's all just progression. There was a time when you could only sidehop axle high, but you overcame that - it's no different when you're getting up to bars height, nipple height, shoulder height, etc. It's been the same for me and riding brakeless. I used to find bunnyhopping bar height stuff sketched me out, but now it's cool and I don't mind trying bigger stuff. Sort of getting it with hooks now too, but that's mainly 'cos I have no idea what I'm doing and it kinda feels like I'm just fluking it. As soon as walls get high enough I can't see the top surface of whatever I'm going onto, I shit one.

I'm massively reliant on confidence for stuff. If I don't feel confident I just can't do anything at all, but then I have days where I just have that ability to make myself think I can do things, and then I can kind of make it happen. Those days rule 'cos it sort of makes me feel like what it'd be like to actually be good at riding :P When things sort of feel effortless and it's just fun to do lines, rather than struggling like a b*****d with your brain because it's telling you you're going to crash...

When I'm having an off-day and trying to do stuff, I usually find repetition helps me get over any blocks like that. If you keep going at it and keep trying to get your head to let you do it, you can often find you'll get nearer and nearer. So you'll be backhopping next to a wall but thinking "f**k, that's not on" and you'll put your front wheel back down. If you keep at it you'll get to that point when you sort of start getting that "This'll go" feeling. Keep at it again and you'll start getting to the preload point, and once that's on it's just a case of persistence. If you know you can do something but you're bitching out, it's just a case of erroding whatever fears you have until it seems feasible. Making yourself keep going at stuff helps do that, at least in my experience.

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It's just practise really, I tell myself all the time just to keep my feet on. I kept my foot on during a failed sidehop and it wasn't that bad, just land on your butt on the wall. And you're way more likely to land it.

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