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Jeff Lenosky Jeff talks about the making of Tricktionary

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Tricktionary is a great idea.  Take two of the most progressive street, dj and park riders around and have them instruct riders on the basic elements of street riding.  There's no doubt that Jeff Lenosky and Aaron Chase have the cred and Don Hampton can handle a camera - seems like a bomber plan. 

I asked Jeff if he would answer a few of my questions about the project and he was stoked.  Here's what he had to say along with some screen shots from Tricktionary.

Cam McRae

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nsmb - How did Tricktionary come to be?

Jeff Lenosky - Me and Aaron travel around quite a bit, and everywhere we go people are usually asking us how to do certain tricks. We figured putting out a DVD which breaks down the basic moves could be really helpful to riders who are just starting out or looking to improve their skill.

nsmb - I've heard it said that slow learners make good teachers. Many of the skills you are teaching probably came to you and Aaron fairly easily. Would you say that's true - and if so does that make breaking down a skill more difficult?
JL - I don't think any skill really came to me or Aaron too easily since he was up in New Hampshire doing his own thing and I was down in New Jersey. Nowadays I see kids learning stuff so fast it's crazy, but we didn't really have anyone to learn from, that makes it so much easier.

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nsmb -Which of the moves in the DVD did you find most difficult to master?
JL - The were all a little tough the first time you try them, but the more tricks you learn, the better feel you get for your bike so you begin to understand how something is going to feel before you try it. Once you start to get to that point, moves begin to get a little easier to learn.

nsmb - Do either of you have experience coaching or teaching?
JL - I've done a bunch of trials clinics, and I've shown lot's of people how to bunnyhop, but teaching tricks is all new to me.

nsmb - How long did filming take and where did you shoot it?
JL - We actually filmed it twice. The first time, Aaron had in a palette expander in his mouth and pretty much couldn't talk. After a bunch of delays, we figured we might as well re-film it since the footage we had was so old. The whole process took a long time, now that it's all done we're pretty psyched.

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nsmb - How did you decide which skills to cover in Tricktionary Volume 1?
JL - We decided to stick with the basics and choose tricks that are building blocks and that can be combined with other tricks into more advanced moves.

nsmb - What skills can we expect to see in T2?
JL - T2 will be the next step in the series and will focus on the next level of tricks. It will also explain how to link some of the fundamentals that were taught in T1 together into more advanced tricks.

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nsmb - I used to practice manualling all the time but I eventually seemed to hit a plateau. How do you get over the hump when your skills don't seem to be improving?
JL -Hitting a plateau is common because it's always easier to learn the basics of a move rather than trying to refine the technique once you've learned it. Learning to bunnyhop a foot or two is relatively easy compared to trying to squeeze out extra inches once you're there. The key is trying not to get frustrated, and keeping it fresh and not getting hung up on a specific trick that might be giving you a hard time.

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nsmb - You manage to bunny hop up some amazing stuff. What's the secret to getting all that loft?
JL -The good thing about bunny hopping is the more you do it, the stronger you get, the better your technique gets and the higher you can go. I think the fact that I'm so tall helps a little, but I love trying to jump up and over stuff so I practice it a lot.

nsmb - Why does Aaron spend so much time on his knees? Is he a religious lad?
JL -He wears knee pads so he can spend time praying that one day he'll be as nasty as me.

nsmb - What's it like working with Don Hampton?
JL -Let's just say that the set reminded me of the Three Stooges.

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Thanks to Jeff for hooking us up with his wisdom and to Don Hampton for the vid caps.

Check out Tricktionary in our online store.

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