Visualization June: Tricking my brain into landing that trick
Every time I send a kite trick and almost land it (or just try it and nosedive into the water), I think: Surely my body just needs a few more reps.
But what if, hear me out, the reps didn’t have to be physical?
Welcome to Visualization June: a weird, slightly woo-woo but actually science-backed experiment where I close my eyes, imagine myself stomping kite tricks, and call it “training.”
Why am I doing this?
Because I’m tired of wiping out in the exact same way 17 sessions in a row. Because I’m weirdly good at imagining myself crashing, so hey — why not imagine myself nailing it instead? Because I want to land that handstand 360 (or downloop transition, or whatever your personal white whale is) without relying solely on muscle memory, bruises, and broken self-confidence.
And mostly: because I genuinely believe our minds are more powerful than we give them credit for. If top athletes visualize before gold-medal performances, why shouldn’t we?
Wait… what even is visualization?
Visualization is like watching your own highlight reel, before it exists. It's mentally rehearsing a skill in vivid detail, as if you're actually doing it. The wind. The pull of the kite. The board under your feet. The takeoff. The landing. The proud little happy dance.
You run it like a movie in your head, over and over again.
It’s free, it’s portable, and it doesn’t even require wind. Perfect for no-wind days, injury recovery, or when you’re "working".
But does it actually work?
Short answer: yes.
Longer answer: yes, and it’s kinda wild.
Research shows that mental rehearsal activates many of the same brain regions as physical practice (Decety, 1996; Jeannerod, 1994). Athletes who combine visualization with real-world training often outperform those who only train physically.
In one famous study, people who only visualized lifting weights increased their actual strength by up to 13.5%, compared to 30% in the group that trained physically (Ranganathan et al., 2004). Not bad for doing biceps curls in your imagination.
Surgeons, skiers, gymnasts, golfers, they all use visualization to sharpen skills and boost confidence. So… why not kiters?
Fun fact: your brain doesn’t know the difference
What’s also cool (and slightly spooky): your brain often doesn’t distinguish between real experience and vividly imagined ones. So if we can trick it into thinking we’ve done the trick a hundred times… it might just believe us.
So how am I gonna do this?
Good question. Honestly? I’m winging it.
Every day in June, I’ll take 10 minutes to visualize a specific trick. Eyes closed, body relaxed, and full mental focus. Will I float off into a random daydream halfway through? Probably. But we try anyway.
Pro tip: Figure out how you want to see yourself in your mental movie. Are you watching it on a screen? Seeing it from your own eyes? For me, choosing one perspective, like first-person POV, really helps. Otherwise, my brain turns into a chaotic mess: GoPro footage, side view, top-down drone shot, or full-on Donald Duck camera angles.
What to expect from this series
Over the next four weeks, I’ll be sharing:
How I’m visualizing tricks (step-by-step)
What’s changing in my confidence, mindset, and performance
Tips to try it yourself
And probably some light self-mockery along the way
If you’ve got a trick on your wishlist, a fear you want to work through, or just want to see if your brain can do a backroll before your body does, stick around.
Let’s make June the month we land it in our minds…and maybe, just maybe, on the water too.
xox Berito