Colin's one to one

Colin made his way up from Deal in Kent. Once I had ran him through the skills check I had a clear picture of what was missing in his skill set but also what is present. The first technique we covered was the technique that Colin had most trepidation about, drops.
Colin's natural push was applied with the new looking skill and he was landing perfectly.
He rode all 3 drops with commitment and confidence over and over until it was time to move onto the skills trail.
On the trail the first technique we came across was the pumping technique which set up the whole trail and enabled Colin to harness the trails energy.
We then linked it into off camber, switchback, bermed and flat corners. We linked them into steps, rock gardens, jumps and drops too.
We worked our way methodically along the trail , linking the next to the previous section using the correct braking areas.
We rode the entire trail end to end a few times and with each run the flow and fluidity of Colin's riding developed further.
The final technique I covered was jumping the tabletop. Colin never thought in his wildest dreams, well maybe not that wild, that he could jump a 6ft table top but in A few controlled steps he flew over and landed on the downslope perfectly, over and over again.
To cap the session off, he also rode the gap jump too with a massive smile on his face as he did!
Fantastic session!

Claude and Rudi's session

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Claude and Rudi came to me wanting a skills session before they return to the alps. They wanted to actually get comfortable on small drops and jumps. During the skills check I found what was missing in their skill sets and also that we needed to work on corners too!
We began on the 3 drops and I worked on looking and footwork first and soon they were becoming more and more confident on drops. I also worked on their body position in flight too. They rode all 3 comfortably and I then got them to follow each other over the drops to get used to having a rider in front obscuring their looking.
I then moved onto berms and linking drops into berms.


I worked on looking and body position in berms and with each run they went faster and faster.
We then moved onto the jump technique on a 6ft tabletop and I removed any trepidation by demonstrating in 3 easy steps. In no time at all they sailed over the 6ft tabletop and Rudi in particular really got to grips with the technique and rode the gap jump side loads too!
I then moved us onto a wooden berm to get them comfortable on riding into what looks like a wall closing in and once again they got to grips with it and Claude really overcame a protective mechanism here which made him switch feet, so great work Claude!
Lastly, we moved onto a larger gap jump and applying their mental skill set Claude declined and Rudi said he was good to go, so flew over it first time.
Great session lads!

Consolidating Dans skills

Dan came back to me for a one to one session after previously attending public sessions. This enabled me to focus on his learning style and work on his body position and also his mental skills in corners, jumps and drops.
We began on the drops and Dan began riding far more confidently and landing smoothly.
I worked on linking drops into corners but found he needed work on berms so that's exactly what we did.
On an isolated berm, I worked on carrying speed into and out of corners and body positioning. By gradually adding speed Dan became more and more confident and began really flowing through it fast!
I moved us back to the drop into the berm and he linked it perfectly, time and again.
We then moved onto the tabletop where Dan was quite protected in his riding on a previous session and after a demonstration by myself, he was flying over with renewed confidence and commitment.

Dan rode the gap side smoothly and easily too over and over again.
I then brought Dan to a large wooden berm to work on the claustrophobic feel of them and to show that they are treated the same as any other berm. After some trepidation, Dan began riding it fast and smooth and carrying enough speed to ride the entire length of it too.
Lastly we moved to the 9ft gap jump but Dan was too mentally tired to ride it as he added up his mental skill set to make that decision.
Fantastic session!

Ben, Cam and Mike's skills session

The lads made the trip down from the Malverns to me for an overall skills polish.
Once I had discovered the present and also the missing skills We then began to apply them to techniques.
During the skills check I found that all 3 had an awesome push that was natural but bogged down. Once I had corrected it things really began to take off, quite literally.
We began with drops and I worked heavily with Mike here as he had crashed 18months ago and badly injured himself so I worked on his psychological skills set . In no time at all they were ALL riding the 3 drops and landing correctly.
We next moved onto the skills trail itself and worked on linking the 14 sections that it contains together using the exits and entries as braking areas.
Pumping, flat,bermed,off camber and switchback corners were linked with rock gardens, steps, drops and fly outs on the trail. The end of the trail requires the drop technique and the corner technique to be linked and I worked hard on braking techniques and line choice here.
To end our session I moved them onto the tabletop and the lads all looked sheepishly at it and I could feel the lack in confidence in their ability for jumps.
I demonstrated as always and the simplicity of it struck a chord with them and they all agreed to go through with the technique as they applied the skills to it.
To their surprise they were sailing across the jump and landing on the down slope perfectly, time and time again!
The smiles were beaming across their faces each time they walked back for another run. I ended the session there as mental tiredness began to show.
Great session!

Justin's one to one session

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Justin came to me from Cheltenham and on meeting i gave him the outline for the session and immediately began to discover the good and bad in his riding during the skills checks. I found missing footwork, looking and a body positioning fault in corners but uncovered a natural push technique that we'd use heavily.
The first technique we applied it to was the drops. In no time at all I had matched his push to a speed and he was landing perfectly.
We moved onto the trail and worked on pumping bumps and mounds on the trail before using this gained speed and linking it to corners.
We worked on off camber, bermed, flat and switchback corners. Rock gardens, steps, fly outs and drops. Each was linked by the correct braking zones and as we worked down the trail we linked it to the previous section and the speed really began to pick up. I worked hard on drops into corners with Justin as I found and had to remove a protective mechanism but soon he was riding the whole trail top to bottom faster and faster. With further tweaking on his complete run time, he took a further 4 seconds off for a top to bottom time of 29 secs. awesome!
Lastly, Justin wanted me to teach him to jump as he was going to Glentress at the end of the month and was sick of rolling over them.
In a few graduated steps he was sailing across and landing smoothly on the transition. Justin then even chose to use his mental skill set and apply it to the gap jump as he rode his first ever gap jump too.
Great session!!

Dave's freeride session

Dave came to me wanting a drop and jump focus session and once I had ran him through my skills checkI discovered what was holding him back in his riding. Once corrected I moved us onto the drop technique to make sure there were no errors and then onto linking drops into corners.
Things were moving along fast and we rode the tabletop and 6ft gap jump in no time at all as Dave really got to grips with his new skill set.

After getting Dave comfy on ladders we moved onto a drop and linked it into a wooden berm and then into a step up and down. Dave was railing this line smoothly and controlled.

We then moved onto another segment where i worked on style in the air and also linking drops into either a drop or gap jump then into another corner.


I worked with Dave on straight drops as well as hip drops where the bike turns in the air and we linked them into a 9ft gap jump.
Lastly, I showed how the skill set applied to a 14ft gap jump from a half cut tree and as before, Dave sailed over with ease.
Awesome session Dave!

Developing the racer in Matt

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Matt has ridden for yonks and felt that the time had come to find out what he was doing wrong.
Wrong?? Riding a bike is the right answer to begin with and I soon uncovered some great habits bogged down by missing skills. Once corrected, We move don and applied the skill set to various techniques and I also worked with Matt on racing techniques too.
We applied the skills to drops to begin with as later on we'd have to link drops into corners. I also covered the application of the mental skills too as Matt flew off all 3 drops and was landing perfectly.
I moved us on the the skills trail and we began working on linking the 14 sections within the trail together. I worked on techniques required in riding singletrack.
Flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns. We linked them to rock gardens, steps, pumping, drops and fly outs. each was linked to the next using the correct braking zones.
I worked on looking and body position heavily and soon the flow began to happen and the speed came naturally. I worked on climbing and recovering on the downhills to make sure you Matt was using the trails energy.
After a few runs of the complete trail the session ended as menatl tirdness crept in.
Awesome riding Matt!