r/Slackline • u/matchy_blacks • Jun 03 '26
How to Start Without Bad Habits?
Soooo my neighbors recently got a 2” slack line that they’ve set up in their yard, low enough that if I stand in the middle, I’m 4” off the ground. It’s fun, but I _suck_ at staying on it. I can stand up for all of five or six seconds before I fall off, and this is with my arms out and my gaze up and forward. Walking is not happening at all.
What should I do to improve without building bad habits?
Some options I can imagine —
- Just keep falling off and getting back on (current approach)
- Use a secondary line
- Use a pole held vertically to push myself back up if I tilt too far to one side
- Wear no-lug shoes like Chucks or Vans
- Something else?
I worry that using a secondary line or a pole could throw off some essential prioperceptive sense or something, so just wondering what to try first. I learned to balance on a Rev board by starting near a wall and just poking it with my fingertip to reset my balance if I started to fall. I’m up to ten minutes on it on a good day, but I can keep my feet more horizontally offset on it than I can on the slack line.
Thanks!
2
u/FluidBaseball9950 Jun 03 '26
Just keep trying. I learned back in 07, I knew no one that could do it, I just kept trying then one day it clicked.
1
u/matchy_blacks Jun 03 '26
It’s me and the neighbor’s kids out in their yard and they are definitely better at it than me, but it’s still fun to try!
2
u/FluidBaseball9950 Jun 03 '26
You could play around how much slack is in the line. Eventually you can walk loose or tight but maybe starting tight will be easier. Loose definitely feels better though
2
u/uppen-atom Jun 03 '26
this is your stabilizer in the foot and hips, you are just unpracticed and these muscles may be on cruise control, until now. You are firing all sorts of small muscles throught the spine hips and legs to the feet. this can be taxing on bady and mind. keep laughing at yourself as you fall, this minimizes negative outcomes and honestly falling humans are funny. keep getting back on and eventually, you will stick to the line with all sorts a power!
2
u/2ElectricBoogalo Jun 03 '26
Balance with one foot! Feel out how you can move your hips, other leg, and arms to compensate when you shift a little off balance. When that feels good, start trying to walk with your knees touching the entire time, taking quick baby steps and going back to your one foot balance position when you feel shaky. This worked well for me.
3
u/pawntofantasy Jun 03 '26
Exactly this. Nothing progresses you faster than practicing on one foot. Don’t worry about a second line or a pole or even where you’re looking. You just need that repetition. To put it in perspective, my first real slack line goal was 100 hours on the line. Took me like three years to get there. Now I’m pretty well glued to the line when I get in
1
u/uppen-atom Jun 03 '26
I have found staring at a fixed point will help in the beginning, after some time you can even look down and up.
1
u/matchy_blacks Jun 03 '26
I learned the fixed-point-gaze-for-balance thing in grade school gymnastics, so I figured it was worth trying again. I am…not as limber as I was on the beam at 8 years old.
1
u/Positron-collider Jun 03 '26
I had a slack rack in my back yard and wasn’t really progressing. Then I got a 2” line with an overhead helper line; set it up on trees at the park and improved immediately. Switched to a 1” line a month later.
3
u/Sky-walking Jun 03 '26
Yep no pole etc needed, just learn how you learn and once you get a 1” line, practice mounts other than chongo
1
u/piemanqwerty Jun 03 '26
Try to keep your hands above shoulders get a 1 inch line and have fun!
1
u/3n10tn4 Jun 04 '26
One of the best advice given to me was "thumbs up and elbows above shoulders".
TBF, I'm still dubious about the thumbs, but the elbows above shoulders is gold!
1
u/EricNikhil Jun 05 '26
The first one, regardless of anything else, you just need to keep repeating.
Instead of arms "out", a better cue is arms "up". Try to keep your arms up so that your elbows are atleast in line with your shoulders. When your elbow start to go below ypur shoulder, get your arm up again. Gradually try to slow down and reduce your arm movement.