While writing yesterday’s blog on progression vs. style, I started thinking… what’s ‘style’?
I stumbled upon the video above, with the quote: “Style is the art of making something that’s difficult and unnatural look easy.”
I have to say, it’s a good definition, but what about guys like Travis Rice, who have that raw and powerful style? He doesn’t have that standard smooth Mikkel Bang type of style. You could say that you don’t like his style, but I wouldn’t want to say that Travis Rice has no style.
So what is ‘style’?
Some words are constantly thrown around when we talk about style:
- Composure
- Easy
- Natural
I think we’ve become too used to the competition definition of ‘style’. We’re told that style has to be that relaxed, no movements, long grabs type of riding that you see from the top competition riders. That is style, but that’s not all there is to style.
We need to remember that ‘easy’ doesn’t always mean relaxed or no movements. For me, I’d say that style is the ability to add your natural movements and flair to your riding.
Whether you’re a Mikkel Bang or you’re a Travis Rice or some other variation, for me, style is the ability to ride exactly how you want to ride, without letting difficulty or fear dictate your movements.
I want to leave today’s blog short and leave you guys with a question: Tell me, what’s your definition of style?