Slacklining is a fun activity that does take significant practice before you master it. But you can start to get comfortable with slacklining and have fun doing it in a shorter period of time.
Given that you are balancing yourself on a slackline that is typically 1″ – 2″ in width, it will take practice to get comfortable. Certainly your natural sense of balance, flexibility and athleticism will play a part in your success. Your determination and persistence will, too.
Slacklining For Beginners
As you begin slacklining, there a few important things to keep in mind as you familiarize yourself with the slackline but also the reality of how getting on the line, balancing, stability, concentration, and falling off the line all come into play.
Start At The Middle
To climb on the slackline to start with, start at the middle of the line and straddle it standing up so that one leg is on either side of the line. Take your dominant foot and place it parallel on the line but don’t put all your weight on your foot yet. Ensure that your leg is close to your body. Raise your arms over your head so that your biceps are parallel to the ground and look towards the end of the line. Don’t look at your feet. Transfer weight to your dominant foot which is still resting on the line and stand straight up. Use your arms, legs and entire body to maintain your balance.
Don’t Look Down
One rookie mistake new slackliners make is to look at their feet when slacklining. You should always be looking straight ahead towards the end of the slackline, maintaining your balance and allowing your feet to guide you along the line.
Arms Out, Back Straight
Think of your body like a giant steering wheel when slacklining. Use your entire body to maintain your balance and adjust your arms and legs as needed to maintain balance. Your center of gravity should be over your feet. Keep you head centered and as mentioned above, always look forward. Use your hands, hips and ankles to maintain your balance. Keep your knees slightly bent. But always keep looking forward towards the end of the slackline, not down at your feet.
How Can I Improve My Slacklining?
Practice. It may not make you perfect but practice will make you better.
Don’t give up. Don’t be surprised if after one hour or more on your first day of slacklining, you can’t even stay on the line for more than a second or two if at all. Sometimes when learning a new skill, you will need a few experiences over a period of days or longer to start getting the hang of it. Slacklining is no different and might even be more difficult given the balancing act you’re trying to accomplish.
You know when people say that they “will sleep on” a decision? That’s when you think about something overnight – or longer – before making a decision, rather than deciding on the spot. It gives you a chance to ponder the decision in your head, relax and think of other things that you might not have initially considered. With slacklining, you might need a few tries over days or weeks before you really start to notice an improvement.
If on your first day of slacklining you aren’t having much success, take a break and come back and try again. If you’re still not having success and are getting frustrated, come back the next day and try again. Don’t frustrate yourself to the point where you don’t think you’ll ever get better and quit.
Use A Training Line
Choose a slackline set for beginners that comes with a top line which is a line that is set up over your head to hold on to. So as you’re getting comfortable balancing on the slackline you can hold onto the overhead top line for support. Think of it like training wheels on a bike.
As you get comfortable over time, you can use the top line less frequently until you no longer need it. It beats giving up slacklining completely because you get frustrated when you first start.
Another option is to get help from a friend. You can help each other climb on the slackline and use each other for balance as you’re walking.
How Long Does It Take To Get Good At Slacklining?
Author Malcolm Gladwell suggested that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master something. As with many things in life, it’s a nice round number that we can easily remember but doesn’t really apply to slacklining. In fact, you can start to get a sense of slacklining with 2-3 hours of initial practice. That’s not to say you will master it that quickly but after attempting to climb on the line numerous times, you will begin to get a feel of the line, your ability to balance, your skill at remaining stable, your level of concentration and you will learn to fall in a controlled manner.
As you practice, you might also experiment between slacklining barefoot and with shoes. If you are slacklining on a beach with sand, you may choose to go barefoot. If you are slacklining over a rough surface you might wear flat-soled athletic soles to protect your feet and ankles.
Conclusion
- Learn how to use your whole body to balance yourself as you climb on and walk along the slackline.
- Always look forward towards the end of the slackline and not at your feet.
- Learn how to fall controllably because slacklining does involve falling from time to time. Roll your ankles in the direction that you fall and move away from the slackline.
- Get help from a friend if required to help you keep your balance as you’re learning to get on the slackline but don’t grab them tight. Just hold a few fingers to stabilize yourself.
- Also consider using a top line as mentioned above if you can’t get a friend to help. It’s like training wheels that you can get rid of once you’ve gotten comfortable.
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