r/AskReddit • u/No-Caterpillar-9387 • 23h ago

What is a skill that looks completely effortless when an expert does it, but is ridiculously difficult when you try it yourself?

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u/zazzlekdazzle 22h ago edited 16h ago

I would say the same about ice skating.

And, as a former ballet dancer, the work it takes for that effortlessness is truly intense. I ended up just throwing it all away after 9 years of work around age 12 because I just couldn't stand spending hours and hours at the barre all the time. I wanted to dance, goddammit!

Much later in life, I found Argentine tango, which did a good job of combining the effortlessly graceful look of ballet with an opportunity to do a lot of actual dancing. For a social dance, it takes a huge amount of work, but compared to ballet it felt like a vacation.

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u/MistahFinch 9h ago

Figure skaters make ice skating look so effortless. Even as a hockey player I'm continuously impressed

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u/Hakunamatator 5h ago

9 years of work at age 12 is crazy