I feel really self-conscious of my tricks like I don't feel that some of my tricks aren't good enough or I take like 30 minutes to do a simple combo that other people can do in 5 minutes. Any tips on fixing this?
I'm right there with you, totally feel the same way a lot of the time. Just keep jamming, have fun, and don't compare yourself to other people. If you want to get better, your main competition and baseline is yourself. Just keep getting better and more consistent by small increments against yourself. If you compare yourself to others it is pretty easy to get discouraged. Anyway, just my 2 cents.
Absolutely agree with this. If you can just have fun messing with stuff you know you can do, it tends to get you back into it (worked for me).
Fix which part of it? Landing tricks more consistently requires mindful practice. Not comparing yourself to others is important too. Like @Ben Lowe said, your main competition and baseline is yourself. Look to others for inspiration, but don't get down because you aren't as good as pro players. You'll never win that game, Bonz is too far ahead
I would suggest that if it's possible, try to jam with others. I feel like I'm in a slump more times than not and jamming with other players with different styles/skill levels always helps. If you live in an area where you are the only player for miles and miles, then try to set up a Skype or Google Hangouts session.
I was in a HUGE slump over this past summer. Didn't play dama for over 3 months. I pretty much had to almost restart kendama at this point. If you don't play for a while its really weird playing again. I was hella rusty and a big factor that got me out of my slump was playing with other people. I have friends at school that I play with everyday during lunch. We are always pushing each other to do better. getting out of a slump can be hard but I suggest going over the basics. (spike, around the world, Jumping stick, spacewalk in etc.) practice those tricks you know you can land. Anyone hope this helped, get out of that slump soon bro.
I usually try to link up with some homies and have a good old fashion dama sesh and get hyped. Nothing will hype you up more than your homies
Hmm, usually when I'm in a slump, I just take a little break. When I realize I'm in a slump, I come to terms that I'm burned out a bit creatively. (Happens quite a lot tbh) Personally, nothing reignites the fire inside of me more than playing with friends, watching some really good edits, or just taking a break for a while before playing again!
Dude I'm currently in a gnarly slump. Best advice I've been given is to watch old edits, new edits, the ones you got most stoked on. Find tricks you really liked in them and build on it from there. Obviously don't copy the trick but you get my point. Also playing with other people and going to events seems to help a ton too.
Some tips if you can't seem to hit anything : - Play with jumbos or Vikings. They help loads. - Take a break physically, but never stop playing in your head. - Play with music (preferrably relaxing, and with no lyrics), before you sleep. Studies have shown that this helps train the subconscious. - A tub of ice cream helps loads. Or beer, or whatever your poison is. - Coming over to Downspike and chilling out with the homies and watching ill videos.
i just search for tricks that look rad and try those or yoyo. its easier on the knees and can have some crossover into your dama game