Original von Matthew McGee
I've received some requests to make this post a sticky. It concerns kiting plateaus, those areas when we feel like we've stopped getting better. My response was written because of this post by Prism Forum member "aharleycop":
Here's my response...
Ahhh, yes... Welcome to Your First Plateau!!!
Congratulations! You've gotten farther than 98% of all the people in the world that pick up and fly a dual line kite! (you may now refer to yourself as a "2%er")
Take a moment and pat yourself on the back! You've done something that very few other people on the planet will ever do... You've found the edges of your instictive ability.
Now, wipe that smile off your face and pay attention!!!
It's been my experience over the years that flying stunt kites follows a pattern.
We all start out in the Valley. We have to claw and climb to learn the basics of controlled flight. Maybe we learn a few tricks, maybe not. (it depends on your natural ability/inclination) But at some point you'll get out of the Valley and reach your first Plateau. This is characterized by a leveling out of your progression where you feel like you're not doing or learning anything new, but don't worry because this phase actually serves a VERY useful purpose.
Here the ground levels out and you have a chance to catch your breath. You should take stock of what you've learned, and how you learned it. You should look back down to the Valley and appreciate just how far you've come. It wasn't that long ago that just keeping the kite from smashing into the ground was an accomplishment! Now you can do all sorts of things, and just keeping the kite in the air is second nature.
So, what happened? Why aren't the new things coming to you like they were before? Why aren't you continuing to get better and better and better?
The simple answer? You are, you just aren't noticing! Seriously. It's my opinion that a Plateau happens for one of two (possibly a combo of both) reasons...
1 - You aren't challenging yourself to do new and different things.
2 - The things you've "learned" so far need to be solidified.
What I mean in the second reason is that often we'll say that we've learned how to do a trick, but we really haven't. Not all the way. You list several tricks as "can fly them ok" but have you put in the time to really get them down?
You can stall and axel. Can you do them all across the window? Can you do it left to right and right to left?
You can backflip. Can you get into a backflip 5ft off the ground, or can you only do it at the top of the window?
You can side slide. How far? Can you side slide, then pop into a backflip or axel?
You see what I'm getting at? With just the few moves you listed, I can come up with a bunch of ways of stringing them together, and exploring each of these possible combinations will teach you new things about the kite you're flying and the moves themselves.
It's possible that this is what your plateau is for... To give you the time you need to really begin to understand the dynamics involved in truely controling your kite throughout the various contortions that make up slack line stunting.
So don't wallow in your plateau, recognize what it's telling you. Recognize that it's temporary, but also recognize that the free-lunch is over. You're going to get better... probably better than you even imagine is possible... but it's going to take some effort from now on in.
Oh yeah... did ya notice that I said you've hit your "first" plateau?? There are many, many more just waiting for you along the trail up the mountain. Personally, I've spent MONTHS in them. Most recently I was blocked learning to comete the QPro. I could do them, sure, but man did they look bad! Just a bunch of somewhat random looking jerks and twitches. It took some time, but I learned the dynamics of the move, and can now perform the trick from any direction, rotating either way, and can link them together with all sorts of things. My plateau was about slowing down and really learning what was going on.
Now... about the kite thing. Will a new kite help you over the plateau?? Here's the answer... Maybe. (don't ya just love those answers?)
Strictly speaking, any top line kite will perform. It's dependent on you to put in the time to figure out how to fly.
Psychologically a new kite can have it's ups and downs.
The UP'S
You're pumped about flying again! New gear is just cool, and we're all in this to have fun.
A new kite, if it's a step up into a top line model, can provide a significant performance boost.
The DOWNS
If you've convinced yourself that all your problems are linked to the kite and those problems don't "magically" fix themselves with the new toy, then you get down on yourself when it doesn't.
Any new kite will take time to get aquainted with. This means that it's going to take some time to get back to the level you're at now with the current kite you fly.
It's up to you to realize that all these factors exist and make allowances for them.
Would a QPro help you out? Probably, but I'm saying that because you don't have a top-line kite yet. The e2 is a great kite, and as you can see from the videos, it's capable of doing all sorts of fun stuff. But recognize that it's Mark Reed flying. He can get multiple wraps flying a sheet of plywood.
Basically, there is no magic bullet when it comes to kiting. Every style of kite has advantages and disadvantages. Again, it's up to you to do some soul-searching and figure out which direction to head. Any way you go, you're going to have to put in time and thought.
I used to have a stock answer I'd use when people at festivals or comps would ask "how did you get so good?" I'd say, "4 hours a day, every day."
This isn't to say that unless you devote all your free time to kiting that you're destined for failure. Just that doing the complex stuff you see featured on most videos will require practice. How you get those hours on the lines is up to you, but getting up to that level will take time, so try to keep your goals realistic.
There is just no substitue for time in the air, but the good part is that you get to be flying a kite!
Hope this helps,
Matthew
ich war in zum arbeiten grenoble, frankreich, bin aber mitlerweile wieder im lande.
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