Your thoughts?

[JonnyBravo]

I snapped my knee 7 months ago, and I had my third ride today. Up until my first ride back, I was feeling like I was going to be psyched out or that I wouldn't be able to do the things I used to. Well I landed a kickflip today (was soooo happy) and it got me thinking....
Anyone else witch an injury and how did it affect your riding? I think cause when I was injured, I just kept watching as many videos and just thinking about my tricks so so so much every day that I got into the right mindset to be able to go out and put it to practice.
Anyones thoughts?

JonnyB

[mergeleft3]

a year and a half ago I blew out my knee on a 3 shuv. Since then I have not landed one, every time I try one all I can think about is my knee. Its really psyched me out and sucks

[Raven]

johnny B, i snapped my femur on a w2w indy shuv. i was so psyched to get back on the water.....i did lots of rehab, and that first day back on the water is amazing........... i still do them i/o, but never tried em wake 2 wake anymore. i pretty much gave up my w2w game and went for more techhy tricks, this was before i could 3 shuv, now i must say i am landing tricks that i never thought i could land like back bigs and varials. i feel stronger than ever. i had this mentality, that if i was gonna do a trick, i was going to pop it big and catch it high, if it's not there on the catch i pretty much run for cover and don't attempt to pull off a sloppy landing just to save my fall. letting go is a biggie........my one buddy who was teaching me to fly a heli(actually his name is Ken and he is an awesome aussie) he said, don't hold on to tight. treat her gentle.......like a clitoris. that is a good mentality not just for helis, and wakeskating, but for life in general.

ride free and be easy my brew. welcome back.

kickflip what

[-=AlexXx=-]

I stretched my medial ligament pretty bad on a w2w something 5 years ago, my back foot slipped off the board and went straight into the water when my front foot just kept going on my board so needless to say i collapsed and my left pretty much hit me in the face I couldnt wake for a few weeks without crutches and i couldnt skate for about 4-5 months, but the day i got back i hit all my hammers and felt better then ever! Much like your time back. I think maybe your spend so much time dreaming about it while your down and out and as soon as you get out there to live it you kill it! At least thats what i felt like!

[ShutItDown]

It's pretty much the same with any sport.. I snapped my foot doing a slide tackle back when I played club soccer and never really had the nerve to slide the same way again.

[Evan71]

JonnyBravo, after i broke my leg trying frontside flip i landed one like my 3rd time back riding.

i think its because all you think about when your hurt is getting back out there so when the chance comes to ride your so focused and having so much fun things just click

[theSAVAGE1]

JonnyB, there's a lot to be said for the mental side of riding. Kind of stupid to reference, but good golfers and bball players visualize their shots before they go for it. They focus on the end results, making the basket or striping it down the fairway, until it just comes naturally. It's all about getting yourself in a positive state of mind and something every rider should do because you're not going to land anything if you're constantly thinking about falling. As they said above, you probably spent so much time visualizing your tricks while you were out, it dialed your mental game for the real deal. Good vibes and a positive focus are more important than you think, so keep it up!

Stoked for you!

[miller]

We live with this type of situation 6 months of the year.
With frozen lakes from October to April, it is just part of how we ride.
It gives us lots of time to think about riding and really value our time on the water.

I have also had my share of injuries that have caused my season to suddenly end.
It sucks going from riding to be unexpectly layed up.
Once again, you get time to reflect, think about your riding and expierence the joy of returning back to the water

[RC]

i tore my acl & meniscus in june of 08 on a heel 7 (wakeboard obviously) off the double up directly after i had just landed my first switch whirly. It was like i went from the high of my life to a low i didnt know existed. i had surgery in july and rode again for my first time jan 1 '09 and retore it jan 13 rehabbing on the tramp too soon. had my surgery redone and wasnt able to ride again until august. I def feel you on the whole mental side of it. i bet i watched every video i owned 50+ times. When i was hurt and then rehurt again, i got really down and depressed but when i was finally able to ride again, it changed my life. I cherish riding my wakeskate more than anything in this world now. I feel like i may have been too much on the competitive side of wakeskating and wakeboarding before and now i really see it as my life style 100%. itll be a part of my life til the day i day even if hurt myself tomorrow and never get to ride again. i wouldve never felt this way, and may have been burnt out by now if i had never gotten hurt.

[Classy]

I blow my knee up on an i.o front big. After all the rehab I went through, I went directly to boot camp. so it was over a year before I could ride again. By the time I got back on the water, My Doc said the knee brace wasnt needed. I still find myself putting it on. That is the worst mental game to get over. Hopefully this year I can finally get away from that. I have gone back and dont i.o front bigs, that didnt trip me out badly. But I cannot get over riding without my knee brace. This wil be my year though, I can feel it!!!!

[JonnyBravo]

Thanks for all the input guys, its really good. I just thought that cause i snapped my knee really bad that the psyche out of the injury would over come my thought processes about it, but what you guys said is so true.

I snapped mine when I hit a rooftop at cable too quick. I boosted off the top of it like a kicker and landed one foot on one foot off and my right foot ended up at my right hip and I had to pull my leg back straight, I snapped every ligament in my knee. It hurt more than anything... Ever

I think what Raven said about holding the handle lightly and not trying to save a trick by sketching out it, is the go (hahah love the clit reference BTW). I always knew the mental side is what makes any sport, but I love how this drilled it into me and forced me to really sit back and think. I definately do not recommend breaking a knee, but it did seem to make me understand this amazing beautiful sport so much more

JonnyB