Overcoming Tricking Shyness

Avoidance strategies:

1. Trick in the privacy of your own backyard if you have one.

2. Trick with a friend if you have one.

3. Seek out empty fields and parks.

Know when your favorite places will be clear or crowded. It will depend on factors such as time of day and year, purpose of the location, weather, etc.

Reducing tricking shyness:

4. Sign up for a tumbling class or a kicking oriented martial art.

My friend Taegashi and I did Taekwondo before we discovered tricking. Taekwondo was awesome because it allowed us to get into tricking without being shy about it.

5. Find a gymnastics gym where tricking is appropriate.

These places are great to improve both your tricking skills and confidence.

6. Create the appearance that you are doing "sports" or "fitness" when tricking at a public park.

When you're at a public park, you look really awkward when you crash b-twists over and over again: So mix it up with other useful things. Static and dynamic stretches. Handstands and pushups. Pullups off of soccer goals. Shuttle sprints. Bounding exercises. Jumping exercises. This creates the appearance that you are an unassuming guy getting some exercise. And actually, that's all you are until you try some tricks!

7. Do a long warmup before throwing any trick.

I don't like people watching me when I begin tricking in a park by myself, I wait for them to pass by until I'm in the aggressive tricking zone. When I enter the aggressive tricking zone I usually time my tricks when people will see me, to scare them off!

8. Get buff or wear cool clothes.

Since I became obsessed with strength training and became a buff trickster, I'm more confident about everything in life. I use my physique as a crutch for my self-esteem, which is awesome.



The next best thing to packing on some muscle is to wear clothes you think are cool. Your favorite tricking clothes! For me, I've always liked a certain breed of green pants.

9. Regularly commune with your online tricking friends.

During my early tricking years, my tricking hero was a guy nicknamed Logan. I looked up to him a lot. And I was fortunate to have made friends with him, we chatted online a lot the following years. Everytime I went to trick, I felt like he was there supporting me.

Over the years, I've continued to feel like I was not alone when I tricked. My heroes, friends, enemies and fans I've made through the tricking community over the years, were always there with me. I've never felt alone out there. You simply MUST get involved with the online tricking community and make tricking friends and enemies.

10. Get good at tricking.

Ultimately, the better you are at tricking, the less shy you will be about it.

Proof of when you've finally overcome tricking shyness:

11. When asked what you are doing, say "It's called Tricking."

Up until recently, whenever I was asked what I was doing, I usually told people I was "just doing a mix of martial arts and gymnastics" or "just some flips and stuff". I didn't realize this was a personal failure until my friend Dave C pointed it out.

You see, when you've finally overcome your tricking shyness, you will tell people "It's called tricking" and you will tell them to youtube it. "It's called tricking." Say you're tricking. Say that word: Tricking. You are tricking!

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A positive note to depart on:

By default, I seem to suspect people are thinking not good thoughts about me when I'm out there tricking by myself. But over the past 12 years, I cannot recall even one time when I was mocked, laughed at, made fun of, or insulted about my tricking.

Instead, there have only been countless times I was surprised by cheering, from people on boats at the Marina I trick at, or drive-by-cheering from groups of teenagers in cars or municipal workers. Hundreds of times people have approached me in awe with questions, or to take a video with their camera phone.

If you believe you will be judged negatively for tricking, I'm just trying to give you some assurance that this is not the case: Because there is nothing to be shy about with your tricking. Be proud that you want to trick, and start tricking with some confidence!