Ow, my knees.

[inferis]

I think I've been trying to do too much too soon on the longboard, so I've been practicing simple things like balance, posture, turning and kicking off. I've been attempting to analyse each aspect so that I can tell what I need to do to get it right. Carving on my toe-edge (particularly at speed) has been the biggest problem so far - I really need to work on keeping my hips forward and bending my knees. It's all very well for someone to tell or show you how to do something, but feeling when you have it right that first time gives you a benchmark to work towards. After that first breakthrough, practice actually seems to mean something - you no longer feel like you're just flailing randomly and you know when you've actually improved, and I definitely have improved over the last few weeks. I can now get on the board, kick off and keep my balance fairly easily for a start.

I think I might need to borrow a video camera so I can analyse my posture more objectively though. There are times when I know I've done something wrong but I'm not entirely sure what it was. It might also help me better define what it is I'm doing right.

Next up, now that I feel my balance is almost good enough, I might revisit foot-braking. I may have to master this before I try hills again.