Mental rehearsal is great because you do everything exactly as you need and when you need in your minds eye, feeling, seeing, hearing and doing everything you would normally do in actual physical reality and getting it right over and over again.
Your mind takes these images and sensations and when you do them in reality it makes the adjustments to help you get the end result you want.
So if at some point in excuting a back flip you need to grab the board (you know this from observing others do it) you'll see, feel, hear and do it in your mental rehearsal too.
Mentally you replay successful attemps whether your own or someone elses, from the point of view that you are doing it. The more often you rehearse the easier it becomes to feel it as an experience. When you go out an actually do it you'll pull in the successful parts and keep adjusting until the timing of all your actions is right. That's why it's best to alternate between mental rehearsal and really doing it. Really doing it makes your mental rehearsals more real and your mental rehearsals train you to take the right action in the right order at the right time to get the end result you visualise.
Alex
