With so many trickers leaning toward the daredevil end of the risk-demeanor spectrum, I’d like to mitigate a lot of senseless crashing. Seriously, it’s 2019. We’ve got pits, resi mats, trampolines, and air mats. Even gymless tricking communities have sand pits, beach balls, diving boards, and mattresses. A slam here and there is fine, but it should not be the norm. Simply being ready for the skills you are attempting will do wonders for your longevity.
“Whoever fails the most wins.”
Seth Godin
This is such a profound quote because it most simply encapsulates the balance required for this sport.
- You gotta fail more to get better
- You can’t fail so hard you get injured
The person failing the most will have been doing the most at the edge of their comfort zone where progress is made. Here comes the “The master has failed more times than the novice has tried,” quote. But you know it’s true. There is ample failure on the road to success. Yet, failure should not always mean crashing harder. Attempts on easier surfaces all count as more (albeit easier) repetitions. Fail in constructive ways.
Secondly, crashing is part of the game but if you fail so hard you are out of the game, you lose. When you’re out for months at a time, you don’t get to fail the most. I’m talking concussions, sprains, and even chronic pain from short landings when they are a result of a poor training regimen. Tricking will always have a non-zero risk of injury even with perfect preparation, but let’s not pretend there’s not a crash culture problem in tricking. Excessive crashing is unsustainable as it exponentially increases your injury-risk. If you want to be the best and fail the most, your training has got to be sustainable.
Mercenary Tricking 
