When I first decided to learn how to backflip, I didn’t realize how important having the correct mindset would be. It taught me more than just a physical skill; it fundamentally changed the way I approach things. Here’s how learning to backflip and ultimately my interest in parkour and free running adjusted my mindset.
Step-by-Step Progressions
The process of learning to backflip made me realize that almost any task can be broken down into small, achievable steps. Most people are physically capable of performing a backflip—if you can do a tuck jump, then you can probably do a backflip. The real challenge is overcoming the fear of flipping backwards over your head.
When I started, I watched numerous YouTube videos and realized that the key is slowly getting over the fear of flipping backwards by doing progressions that are less scary. My initial steps involved jumping and landing on my back on a trampoline. From there, I progressed to bouncing off my back and performing a backwards roll. This gradual approach helped me get over the fear of going over my head. I moved on to performing jumping cartwheels, each time aiming to go over my head a bit more until I was doing something close to aback handspring. Eventually, I tried to minimize hand contact with the trampoline and managed a backflip without my hands.
Once I could backflip on the trampoline without bouncing, I transitioned to the ground. I started on a bouncy mattress, then practiced doing it off various objects, and eventually, I could do it on flat ground. I wish I had a video, but I stood there for multiple minutes trying to force myself to do it. At that point, I knew I was physically capable, but I just needed to do it.
The “Just Do It” Attitude
I think that applies to many things in life. When you know you are capable of something, sometimes all you need is the “just do it” attitude. I think this can be practiced, and in my experience, extreme sports are a very practical way to train this. However, I think it can be done in other ways too. Maybe you want to grow on social media but are nervous to share content. Maybe you can start with something less scary like sharing to a private story and see what your friends think. When you get the positive feedback, all you need to do is trust yourself and just post it!
Conclusion
I realized that this step-by-step approach can be applied to more difficult tricks and skills, and that’s what got me hooked on parkour and free running. I think I got really interested because using these progressions made it really easy to notice how much I had improved, and it was rewarding to see my practice turn into new tricks and skills. Looking back, I now realize that I applied this mindset to other things in life like rock climbing, surfing, and lately beach volleyball!
In conclusion, the experience of learning to backflip showed me the power of using progressions to learn how to do something, and it helped me train my “just do it” attitude. These lessons have influenced how I approach various things in life, and I think it has helped me find more hobbies and interests that bring me the same joy of learning new things and improving. I hope this letter motivates you to learn the first progression to something new (whether that’s a backflip or something else). Just do it.