Page 142 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART TWO
I’m sure you would have thought about in your own skating or when viewing skate photos and videos. There are environmental factors that influence the cause, such as the terrain and whether the ground or surface is cracked, smooth, rough or slippery, the pedestrian security guard and overall traffic situation and the times that these places can be skated. For the skater, there are personal variables such as approaching angle and speed, height and length of the object, skateboard ability, confidence and trick selection.
Considering all these different variables, there really is a lot going on when it comes to skateboarding. Much more than we realize , yet we are able to weave these factors altogether and one’s ideas and movements merge with the en- vironment.
While skateboarding itself happens quite quickly, the learning process will certainly show you that changes to your foot placement, body weight, ap- proach and timing will bring you closer to or further away from your desired effect. I know the frustration in learning new tricks or skating new spots or having those days where skateboarding doesn’t seem to be flowing. Think about the things that you can control instead of the things that you can’t con- trol and work on them. Change it up, simplify your approach, clear your mind. This is your responsibility, to change your input.
It certainly isn’t your board’s responsibility to flip slower or faster. Try chang- ing your foot placement, flick your board with more control. It’s not the spot’s responsibility to change its surface so that you can roll there smoothly. Deal- ing with pedestrians and traffic, you’re going to need to take responsibility for that by making wise decisions about when to go, perhaps having a friend to look for those perfect gaps in traffic for you to skate through.
As much as you’d like to make the security guards vanish and not care about where you’re skating, it’s not going to happen but if you’re willing to skate at a spot with that potential, be responsible by being respectful, argue intelli- gently and in a non-threatening way, prepare to leave and try work out a more suitable time to return. There is a perfect time and place for everything, if not today, then maybe tomorrow or another time.
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