Rediscovering Free-Style #One — Thiago
Well hello there!
Welcome to the first part of this new series — Rediscovering Free-Style
First things first. What do I mean by Rediscovering Free-Style? And why is the title typed as such? Why am I trying to rediscover freestyle ? Was it ever lost? So many questions!
Okay. Let me begin by briefing what is this title. Rediscovering Free-Style basically means the search for true meaning of Freestyle in freestyle football which I believe is getting somewhat lost in today’s world. Somewhere between all the combos and transitions the word ‘Free’ of Freestyle football is fading away slowly. So that is why the title is as such.
In the ever booming social media frenzy world of today, new clips of freestyle football are available at every click. So instead of thinking about a new trick or transition we are much likely to go and just find out a new cool trick doing rounds on social media.
Hey! There’s nothing wrong in doing a trick that is already out there or even building upon it. Greatness is achieved by mastering upon the work of your masters only. New tricks are actually just old tricks done in a new way.
This is not an article on the topic of ‘biting’ or copying others. This is more about one’s liberation of his mind to create his own style rather than replicate what he sees in the ocean.
Somewhere on the internet, the meaning of freestyle is given as,
a performance or routine featuring relatively free,unrestricted movement or intended to demonstrate an individual’s special skills or style.
You notice the part where it talks that it’s about the individual’s special skills? That is where most of the people have been lagging off now. If you see in other sports also, for example swimming or wrestling, freestyle term is added before the competition where one is allowed to use any style he wants to.
Thinking how far would your own style would take you into a competition? Not much maybe. As all round is one of the main aspects of freestyle football competitions these days, it is more natural for people to train all round stuff rather than things that they would really like to train.
Again, not saying you should not train anything. But how far are you willing to suppress your feelings to train something just because it is not appropriate for the next competition? Is coming first in some random competition better than finding satisfaction through your own creation of freestyle football ?
Hey but don’t listen to me! I have got someone else more qualified than me to do the talking. Here he comes!
So those of you don’t know who Thiago Saltori is, you probably are not a football freestyler. Thiago is one of the pioneers of the sport who has been freestyling since 2005 in Brazil. Even though he really understood the meaning of freestyle football in 2011, he was always passionate about it nevertheless.
According to him, the way that freestyle gives a chance to explore the limits of one’s body and mind is the most intriguing aspect of this art-form. In a way, freestyle football acts as a medium to expand your vision and way of acting in your life.
So how did he connect to freestyle football at such a deep level that led to the creation of such a unique style that remains unparalleled till date?
Thiago says — ‘I was able to see that I wouldn’t be able to do everything. I was seeing better than others, that my nature us to express my character through my actions, like when I do freestyle, creating and reacting to my environment.’
Having your own unique in freestyle football is important in recent times for many reasons. But I think it is the best way to discover yourself and who you really are, not reproducing what is supposed to be cool or adequate. — Thiago
Being a football freestyler does not mean having a really high level or having all the hard tricks in your artillery. It is just another medium to discover oneself. Following the crowd will cause you to be mediocre always. If you do what the majority of people do you will get what the majority get.
So go out there, and put a little heart into your next training training session. Find out who you are and what you like to do. Then go all in with full power!
Thiago Saltori is a 32 year old Brazilian freestyler who lives in Hong Kong. He is still a professional football freestyler and makes a living out of it only. Being a freestyler is a constant struggle for him, but he has learned to pay the price to do something that is priceless to him.
For all the young and aspiring freestylers out there, he’s got a ton of advises. In his words — ‘I can say that freestyle is the thing that makes me special, otherwise I’m just one in the crowd. So the better I become,the more impressive I become, and more possibilities show. Get your training every day,it is not easy! But if it was easy, then it wouldn’t be special, would it? Take life easy and the training you go beast mode!
This is the first part of my new series for my publication Freestyle Works. It is the only independent freestyle football publication right now in the world and I run it to spread new and unique ideas about freestyle football.
Give a clap if you liked what you read. Follow this publication for the next part of this series. Talk to me down in the comments section if you have any suggestions or a demand for me.
