Want to learn skateboarding? Well. In the present time, it is one of the famous street sports. It doesn't matter if you are young, old, skinny, overweight, skateboarding can be your best choice for sporting along with fun.
Learning skateboard takes time, guts and dedication. But, following some rules and tips keep you a step ahead about learning skateboarding.
Today in this guide, I will explain the detailed steps and some tricks about riding a skateboard. If you wish to learn skateboarding, then this guide is for you.
Find a Skateboard
Your first step should be finding a skateboard. In general, skateboards are cheap and available in variety of designs. You have to find a board that suits you the best. I have also reviewed some good cheap skateboards, you can get one from there.
Generally, the classic skateboard comes in a curved shape. Performing trick is easier with such skateboard. On the other hand, Longboards come with a flatter shape which is better for maintaining balance.
Get Safety Equipment
After getting the skateboard, make sure that you are arranging all the safety equipment. Safety equipment includes skate shoes, hand gloves, skate helmet, elbow and knee pads. As a beginner, there is a good possibility of your falling down. Having this safety equipment will ensure your safety while falling down. Don't skip any of this equipment.
Select a Good Place for Skating
After getting ready along with the skateboard and safety equipment, now you should look for a suitable place for skating. You have to select a place that is not too crowded and the ground should be hard and even. Parking space or concrete driveaway can be a smart choice. But, you need to make sure that your way is clear and there is nothing.
Image credit: tactics.com
Ask Someone to Help You Who Knows skateboarding
Getting someone who is good at skateboarding is not compulsory but it has an advantage. You will be able to know everything about skateboarding including the initial difficulties that a newbie’s face. These tricks will help you a lot. You can see the tutorial on youtube though.
Standing
Well, now you are ready to start learning to ride. You should start by standing on the skateboard. Before that, make sure that your skateboard is stable and can't make any move. For preventing your board from moving you may place your deck on a piece of carpet or on a patch of grass. This will help you to ensure your balance and your skateboard won't take off except you.
Once you are done with that, you just need to hit the ground and standing having both of your feet on the board and bending your knees slightly. This will be helpful to keep your gravity center as you are close to the ground.
Now, practice stepping off and on by pushing your foot. Whenever you feel that you have adjusted with the skateboard, then you are done with standing on the skateboard and can focus on learning how to push.
Pushing
For learning pushing, you have to place your foot over the front truck bolts. Then, slightly push using another foot. Don't step on your skateboard and go easy. Repeat these a few times.
Credit: en.nollieskateboarding.com
After that, you just need to put your other foot on the deck positioning your onward foot sideways, Having a turn with your foot will ensure your balance on the skateboard.
You just need to make the repetition of these steps until you don't feel comfortable about this. Don't be in a hurry. It may take some time. You need to keep practicing. Once you feel that you are comfortable with this. Then you can move on to the next step.
Stopping
Well, Stopping the skateboard is pretty much easy. For stopping the skateboard you can keep moving in a circle without pushing forward. This way, the board will slow down to make you stop. If you find this trick harder than you can follow another way. Just put the heel of your rear foot on the ground while keeping the toes on the board. You will get your skateboard slowing down.
However, you will see that some board has brake pads so that you can stop the board by shifting your weight back and creating friction. You can also read my guide on stopping a longboard.
Turning
Having a turn will not be a big deal for you as you have already done with standing, pushing and stopping. Turning is pretty much straightforward.
However, there are two ways for having a turn. These are carving turns and kick turns.
For having a carving turns, the trucks are left a little loose willingly. You should stand on the board keeping your shoulders in line with the board, knees are flexed for lowering the gravity center. Guess you are going to turn left. Then, simply leaning to the left, transferring a little weight onward and then turn back your ankles. These tricks will make the board turn left also.
You need to focus on pivoting the deck with your feet so that the trucks follow the turn. On the other hand, a kick turns to mean shifting the weight of the body to the back so that the onwards wheel is slightly off the ground. A shoulder movement will initiate the turn.
Switching
Once you get yourself comfortable with your board, you can try switching your legs position in a way so that the onward foot is at the rear and the rear foot is at the front. Switching technique is important, especially if you wish to learn the advanced skateboarding techniques. There are many skateboarding tricks that require ride switching.
Credit to switchingthefield.com
Learn Falling Properly to Avoid Bad Injuries
It is not likely that you will learn sliding without falling even a single time. While learning skateboarding, you will fall down a few times. There is nothing you can change. But, still following some tricks you can avoid bad injuries while falling down.
Whenever you will feel that you are about to falling down, you just need to putting your arms out and keeping them loose. This way, you can use them for cushioning your falling. Without it, you can roll out anytime if you feel that you are falling down so that you will not hurt much. You may scrape yourself and bail out in case you see something is not going great.
Without it, if you find your skateboard out of control, that time you can make a jump-off in order to lessen the danger.
Learn Ollie
Well, once you are done with the above steps. Then you are ready for going something big. You can learn now Ollie.
For learning Ollie, you should get started by popping your board. You should pop the board using the front up of your rear foot on the trail. Ollie means getting the board in the air by popping and then landing it successfully.
Image credit: behance.net
In the Initial part of Ollie, For popping the board in the air, you just need to shift your rear foot comfortably for the tail of the skateboard in order to hit the surface. You need to be used to on the motion, it won't be a big deal for you as you have already learned all the basics.
At first, try to pop up the board while you are stable. In order to do this, you need to standing on the board bending your knees lower and then moving your gravity center downwards over the trucks. Then, you just need to shifting your rear foot so that it's on the tail. Now for popping up the board into the Ollie, you need to pop the tail back in a manner as you are doing manual.
Now, you need to popping the board on the air and making a jump. In order to get your board to popping, you have to continuously sliding your onwards foot backward slightly and also leaping on the air, bring your knee closer to the chest, while you are stabbing down on the tail using your rear foot.
Image credit: outdoorsporty.com
Once you get your skateboard successfully popping on the air, you just need to dragging your onward foot forward for flattening and straighten the board on the ground and keeping the board in your control. Now, after you have straightened the board, you need to use your legs and pushing the board on the ground a riding position. Make surer that you are keeping your legs straightened.
Remember, while landing you need to get your feet over the bolts and also the knees are flexed. This trick will be helpful for avoiding your injury as well as protecting your board from breaking down.
Try Pop Shove it
For doing this you need to do an ollie first and popping your board as much higher as you can. After that, Use your onward foot and give your skateboard a nudge so that the board can spin angling 180-degree.
Try a Kick-Flip
Again, repeat the procedure of pop shove excluding nudging the board. Then, you need to give a kick to the small area of the board where the slide of the board produces. You can try a kick-flip in different motions.
Suggested Read: Are Longboards Good For Cruising?
