Written by Jerrod Fassler, SI Ambassador 

As a teacher of slacklining who has had 5000+ students with different life experiences, previous injuries, and coming from all walks of life, I’m often asked “how do I get better faster?!?” 

Keep it simple. These are the three HUGE tips that make slacklining for beginners a lot easier.

Keep your gaze up 

Find a focus point to look at that’s up far past the line in front of you. Looking down at the line is going to cause extra shaking and over compensation from the brain to body relay. If you want more success keep your gaze up at eye level.

Make yourself as wide as possible 

Making yourself wide as possible allows your motions to slow down and have more control. Imagine a figure skate. When spinning upright they are slower. As they make themselves smaller the spins become faster. If you make yourself wide with your arms you’ll have more success.

Breathe 

Sounds simple right?! But next time you’re on a slackline and step off notice your breath.  If you are panting or have a rapid heartbeat chances are you are holding your breath. Breathing to slacklining is like gas for your car: no gas, you’re not getting anywhere. Same for slacking. If you’re not putting gas (breath) in your car (body) you’re not going to get far. 

If you can get two of the three of these things, you’ll see a lot of improvement, but the sooner you can master all three, the sooner you will notice improvement. Finally, you need to spend time on the line practicing these tips to get better. The more you practice the quicker it will happen.

And please don’t forget to wrap your trees.