Teaching old dog new tricks...VIDEO InCLUDED! Options

[rad_dad_67]

Flatland Tricks Video

Hey Everyone,

I am participating with a Online Battle. Some how I made it to the finals. I am still waiting for my friend Brad to submit his video but I wanted to share it with everyone here. I am having the time of my life riding. Learning all kinds of new combos. 75% of this video are new links for me. I hope some of you will get inspired to get on the bike and bust some fresh moves.

41 years old and still learning!!

Who said you can't teach old dogs new tricks!!

Keep on Riding!

[race_inc]

Awesome video Mark, good on you bro!

[Axlepeg]

Mark; that video is so killer.

I don't think anyone, yourself included, could have predicted you'd have come so far in your riding when you got back into it several years ago and could do nary a single trick in that video at the time!

Keep up the fantastic work...er, I mean, FUN!

[rad_dad_67]

Mark; that video is so killer.

I don't think anyone, yourself included, could have predicted you'd have come so far in your riding when you got back into it several years ago and could do nary a single trick in that video at the time!

Keep up the fantastic work...er, I mean, FUN!

So very true Josh...I have the first video still. Nothing like this one. I really can't believe that I was really ready to stop and give it all up. Its been a TON of work riding day in and day out but yeah its all worth it. I need to dig up my first video ever....thats a classic video now.

Keep on Riding!!

Mark

[indylodown]

I'm not a flatlander but I'm impressed. Great video good luck with the battle

[Pauly]

You rock Mark! Time for another retrospective video just to show how far that you've come!

This post has been edited by Pauly: Nov 1 2009, 07:45 AM

[The R]

Very nice, Mark. You are really good -- not just good for your age, or good for just starting out -- good, period! You probably blow these young punks' minds when they see you ride!

As for not being able to teach an old dog new tricks, I had a friend working on his PhD at Columbia University, and one of his professors was mapping neurons. It's a fascinating process, but much to complicated to go into here in detail. Bottom line -- the conclusions of the study showed that most neuron development takes place by the time you're 13 or 14. If you start an activity after that, you're chances of being good at it are slim -- and get slimmer every year you age beyond those 13-14 years. There are obviously exceptions, but in general that's the rule. And athletic people can train themselves pretty decently after that to be respectable at certain skills, but never so much as to be great. So you are either one of those exceptional talented athletes who can pull it off, or you laid the foundation at an early age and were able to fire those neurons back up again.

Either way, you rule. Way to go!

[Jeff S]

Mark, very cool video. I too am amazed at the progress. Shows what dedication can do! I mean, who would have thought you'd be doing hitch hikers, no handed hang 5's, and steam rollers? Amazing.

The R... now I know why I still suck at playing guitar! I started too late! Damn!!!!

Jeff

This post has been edited by Jeff S: Nov 2 2009, 05:02 PM

[The R]

The R... now I know why I still suck at playing guitar! I started too late! Damn!!!!

Jeff

Sorry -- don't mean to discourage anyone. You can probably still learn to play fairly proficiently, but it will take a lot of practice. Also, you probably won't be on the level of say, Pete Townsend, but you can still learn to play.

Another interesting theory in the field of sport science I've learned is this: Legendary Indiana University swimming coach James "Doc" Counsilman believed you could make a poor swimmer decent, a decent swimmer good, a good swimmer very good, but you could never make a poor swimmer -- or even a very good swimmer -- great. In other words, he believed that great swimmers had innate skills that made them great. Those great skills could never be taught. Their skills could be sharpened and honed, but never taught.

I can't cite any empirical study that proves this, but I think it's pretty true. I also think it crosses over to other sports like freestyle. Think of Kevin Jones for a second. I read his story about inventing the hang five. He invented it as a means for getting into another trick. He tried it the first time and went 10 feet. He tried it again and went another 10 feet. Again and went an additional 20 feet. Within a very short time -- half hour, hour -- he was cruising hang fives down the street. I don't know about the rest of you, but it took me quite a while (days, weeks -- not minutes, hours) to learn hang fives -- even to go 15-20 feet. He had something when it came to doing tricks on a bike that most of us -- not even the top pros BITD -- did not. I think Mirra has that, too. He does some insane stuff and picks out lines in the park the way the rest of us pedal down the street. It's fascinating.

Anyway, don't mean to hijack the thread. Mark, as I've said before, whatever the reason, you are awesome!

[troy4243]

Very Nice Mark, wish I had the time to put back into the sport. Great stuff.

[upsetbmx]

. . . Their skills could be sharpened and honed, but never taught.

I can't cite any empirical study that proves this, but I think it's pretty true. I also think it crosses over to other sports like freestyle. . . . .

i think you're right when you're talking about the Mozart kind of situation. that every now and then someone comes along and becomes amazingly good at a young age and then is completely on another level.

but i would argue there are a lot of pros in freestyle, who if you ask them and look at their riding progression, yeah they were riding at a young age, but they also were incredibly determined and persistent. mat hoffman described himself as being accident prone. i think he said he earned all his big tricks through scars and concussions or something. kevin, chase G, and other pro flatlanders, put the time in. (you hear stories of all night riding sessions focusing one 1 combo having to be pulled x number of times). rodney mullen best freestyle skater in the world talked about his o.c.d. habits where he had to do each one of his tricks x number of times in a certain order and if he messed up had to start over again. etc. for a large majority of riders, if they spend 6+ hours a day riding every day for a year, they WILL get good fast. you get in a zone you can just think of combos and pull them. persistence, commitment, effort are the great equalizers for the huge number of riders in the middle of the bell curve.

maybe if BMX ever became ultra competitive with gymnastics-like programs talent searching all across the world, you start to see a weird elite of truly next level riding coming from groms. and maybe things are kinda going that way with the number of skateparks multiplying, there are more little 'genius' riders showing up....

i like bmx for not being that way. it's more about freedom to ride whatever and however and doing better than you personally have done before.

i think what mark's showing is that most people can do a helluvalot more than they think they can (or other people think they can) if they actually get out there and do it.

[Jeff S]

Interesting sub topic here.

Mark, I guess the question for you is, what kind of rider were you when you were younger?

I think a lot of it has to do with fear and being able to overcome it. I always found that when I got the guts to try a trick, even if I crashed, if I just tried it, I was usually able to pull it within a reasonable time. But fear always got in the way of me progressing. And that was when I was young. Now? Forget it, LOL. So I have a lot of respect for Mark in that sense.

I forget the specific names, but I've heard of the rare pro football player, or basketball player who didn't play at all until college..

R.. Tiger Woods is a perfect example of what you're getting at. He had "it" at a very young age.

[The R]

I didn't mean to say it didn't take practice -- I'm just saying the same amount of practice and dedication will not get all people to the same place. For example, you mentioned those guys getting 6+ hours of riding in a day. I never really counted the hours we rode, but I think it was pretty close to that in the summers, and none of us ever came close to Kevin Jones or Matt Hoffmann status. A kid can practice basketball as much and as hard as any NBA player, but only a small percentage will actually make it in the NBA. Same for football, baseball or BMX.

There are some other factors beyond raw talent that play in the individual's success, as well. A competitive environment is one. If you constantly ride/play/compete/whatever with people who are always pushing the envelope, who are better than you, innovators or whatever, you are going to get better.

Another factor is a love for your craft. If you love to ride, play guitar, play football, etc., you are going to get better at your activity. You will never practice anything for 4, 5, 6 hours a day unless you really love it.

In the end, I don't think the level of your achievements affect the level of rewards you reap from the experience. Some of these pros and legends might have garnered some fame and a little fortune for their talents and abilities, but I believe I got just as much out of the sport as they did -- I, like they, made lots of friends while riding. I, like they, experienced the same frustration of not hitting a trick, and the same elation at finally nailing the trick I had been working on for so long. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

[jonfaure]

Awesome video and I don't do flatland. I am very impressed that an old guy can still progress. You just never see that these days. Old riders just tend to go down hill the older they get. I am 45 yo and I mainly ride dirt and also ride park when I can't ride dirt. I have been riding now for about 6 or 7 years after not owning a bike for 27 years. Started riding when my son got interested in bmx. We ride together almost daily. Really thought the scientific stuff was interesting. However riders like you are proving that there are exceptions to the rule. I still feel like I am getting better everyday. Just got the new Sunday Model C and it has me more pumped than ever. I feel like I can continue to progress into my 50's

Here is a shot I got last saturday riding some of the biggest jumps I have ever ridden. It's proof that your never to old to start riding.

Attached File(s)

 king_of_dirt_1.JPG ( 86.28K ) Number of downloads: 3

 

[rad_dad_67]

Sorry the email noticifation must be on Delay. I just got an email yesterday. Thanks for all the great comments.

Jeff- I pretty much sucked as a teen. I could do squeakers and tailwhips and Bar endos. I learned how to get into a cherry picker but never rode out of one. I was not rolling around as a youth. That scared me to roll around. I didn't know how to do it and ulitmatly that was one of the reasons why I stoppped riding so many years ago.
I would have NEVER EVER EVER imagine doing the things I am capable of doing now. Even when I wanted to learn a hang 5 I was just pleased as punch and thought it was the coolest thing in the world to do. Now I am linking to tricks I have only dreamed of doing before. Now that I have reach these goal other goals like crackpackers,deathtrucks,timemachines,turbines all seem with in my grasp as long as I keep riding and pushing my self harder each time I ride.
I ride about 1 hour a day if I am lucky. On the weekends I have been known to ride 5-8 hours. My progressin happens when I ride alone. I become OCD focused on doing something. I keep trying over and over agian and again. I get frustrated and I move on to other tricks but I always go back.

I will post up a older video and you can see how I was riding before how I am riding now. Most of the tricks in the new video I can pull most of the time with the exception of the Meshia Link. I still only pull that maybe once in a session if I am workin on it.

Thanks again for so many nice comments! It is really encouraging to read such positive feedback. Makes me want to go out and ride!!

http://www.bmxfreestyler.com/raddad3.wmv

Back To Life

Here is a video from 2004 when I just got back into riding all over again. Picked up a few tricks and even starte some harder ones...WHooo that was a long time ago!!

Thanks again.

Keep on Riding!

[donvader]

Great stuff man!!! You make me want to go ride every time I read one of your posts. Thanks!