ChiPushing and ChiSkogging

When I started to make this "project" public by going online last year in November 2015, I used the Name "ChiPushing". This term reflects my idea to transfer principles from the ChiRunning-technique (developed by Danny Dreyer) to pushing a skateboard, as the movements of running or jogging have a lot in common with the pushing done by skateboarders. The name ChiPushing refers to the basics of how to push more effortless and injury free while using the whole body holistically and in an attentive but relaxed way; creating the conditions for the Chi to flow. From the very beginning it has been obvious to me that using both legs had to be an essential part of the method of ChiPushing. Only this way it would be possible to create a balanced workout and skate in the most efficient way. So I started to develop a footplant or footslide method (whatever you want to call it), that allowed for an easy and seamless switch between goofy and regular.


At that time I asked myself, if it could be possible that I am the only one seeing the need for using both legs equally for pushing? So I searched the internet if I could find something about pushing with both legs. Of course I discovered that I was not the first one with this idea. Pushing with both legs alternately even had a name and was called Skogging (skateboarding and jogging). From this day on I was always drawn to the Skogging-pages and the videos on YouTube about Chris Yandall (the skog-father) and Steven Meketa skogging. But since alternating both legs for pushing was only a necessity for me to avoid overuse of one leg, I usually switched sides only after a longer time of pushing with the same leg. That's why at first I didn't really associate myself with Skogging. Especially when I saw that skogging also involved pushing mongo, which was a move that didn't seem efficient enough for me to be integrated into ChiPushing.

With time passing I found it to be fun to switch stances more frequently. Eventually it became obvious to me that what I did could actually be called a form of skogging. I just didn't know if I should still call it ChiPushing or give it another name. One day I was posting on facebook and got a reaction from Steven Meketa. He wrote something like: "Go on and let the world know about ChiSkogging." And I thought: "Yes that's it. This is actually a nice name for it."


But it still took me some more time to realize that ChiSkogging can describe more than just a way to do ChiPushing with a constant change of your pushing stance. After getting familiar with the basics of the technique you can transfer the ChiPushing-principles to cruising and pumping as well (which can all be performed pedidextrous by alternating between goofy and regular stance). When pumping for example you can try to let the movements start from the center of your body down through your legs, mainly using your abdominal muscles while relaxing your legs and the rest of the body as much as possible. The same is true when performing other skogging transitions to change sides while pushing. You can use the moving principles from Tai Chi even if pushing mongo, which actually is a nice practice as it will challenge your ability to keep balance in a new way.


Although ChiSkogging is a term people outside the LDP-Community will not understand without further explanation, the combination of the wordparts is a nice expression of the fusion of components from the three types of bodily activities that make this style of skateboarding unique and ensure it's effectiveness: Tai Chi, Skateboarding and Jogging.