Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 4: Getting Started
• Method 2 of 4: Mastering the Basics
• Method 3 of 4: Exploring an Allie
• Method 4 of 4: Learning Other Techniques
• Tips
• Warnings
• Sources and citations

Skateboarding is one of the most popular and iconic street sports. Whether you want to learn the basics of riding or kick flip like a pro, here's what you need to know to get started. From the moment you buy your first skateboard to doing an ollie, you can learn how to ride on sidewalks.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Getting Started

1. 1 Find a board that suits your interests. Skateboards can be cheap or expensive, and come in all sorts of sizes and styles. The two main types are regular classic skateboards and longboards. Check your local skate shop or website to find the right one for you.
   • Classic skateboards have curved nose and tail (front and back) and have a concave or bend that is convenient for performing tricks. They come in a variety of sizes, most about 80 cm long and 20 cm wide. These are boards for those who want to ride in skate parks or outside and do tricks in the end.
   • Longboards or cruisers have a long and flat deck. The boards vary in length, but can be twice as long as classic skateboards, making them more stable and suitable for beginners. It is almost impossible to do tricks on it, but if you just want to ride or go down the slopes, then this is a great choice.
   • A beginner skateboard costs between $ 50 and $ 150. Ask for the right suspension and wheels for you right in the store.Remember, NEVER buy a skateboard from Walmart or Toys R Us. It will quickly fail and it is hard to learn from it. Go to a specialty skate shop.
2. 2 Find the right footwear. Skateboarding shoes are usually sold under brands such as Vans, Airwalk, or Etnies. It has firm edges and a flat sole, perfect for holding the board. Although you can use regular sneakers for this purpose, special shoes will be much more comfortable.
   • Never train with sandals or flip-flops. The foot should move easily and you should be comfortable in the shoe. Otherwise, you can easily injure your foot or fall.
3. 3 Wear adequate protection. When you first start skateboarding, you will fall. Probably many times. Consider purchasing a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads that will keep you safe from falls and collisions. This is especially important for beginners. In some states, like California, skaters are required to wear a safety helmet when riding on the street.
   • Make sure the helmet fits well. Before going to the store, measure the circumference of your head around the browbones. Buy a helmet that fits snugly on you.
   • There is nothing wrong with protection. It is important to protect yourself from head injuries.
4. 4 Find a good workout area. A floor, concrete driveway, or car park is a good place to start. Make sure there are no cracks, rocks, or potholes in the path. You can fall by tripping over a small rock, especially if the wheels are hard on the board.
   • The skate park is suitable for those who have gained some experience. If, while standing on the board, you are still trying to maintain balance, then the park may be irrelevant for you. And if there is such a platform nearby, then watch the other skateboarders first, but stay outside it.
5. 5 Consider having someone more experienced give you some lessons. Chances are your dad won't be able to "shove it," so ask someone if you can watch him. Bring some newbies and discuss how good he is. And now you have a teacher.
   • Training without friends can lose the essence of skateboarding. If you have several friends who are skateboarders, learn from their experience. Learning skills from people you know will be much better than one-on-one studies or lessons from the Internet.

Method 2 of 4: Mastering the Basics

1. 1 Choose the right stance. Place the board on a flat surface and learn to place your feet correctly, try not to lose balance. Place your feet on the deck, turn out at a slight angle, approximately at the level of the suspension bolts.
   • The "regular" leg position is when the left leg is in front and the right leg is in the back. This usually means that the right foot will be jogging.
   • Stance "goofy" - right leg in front and left leg in back. This means that you will use your left foot to push off.
   • Rock back and forth a little to understand how the wheels move and how you influence them. Make it comfortable for you.
2. 2 Try to push off a little and return your foot to the deck. Unfold your front foot so that it sits along the board, not across. Use the other leg to push off a little, at first the movement should be very slow. If the movement is calm, then nothing unpleasant will happen.
   • After you have gained some speed, try to place your back foot on the surface of the skate just in front of the bend of the tail in the harness area. Keep your balance and keep moving.
   • The "mongo" position means you are more comfortable using your front foot to push and leaning on your back. Some people think that this position is permissible, but it will create some difficulties in the future, moreover, it will awkwardly transfer the foot to the front of the board. If you find yourself using the "mongo" technique, try switching from "regular" to "goofy" or vice versa.
3. 3 When your speed decreases, try pushing off again. Continue exercising with small thrusts and twisting your feet until you lose speed. Then place your front leg straight, push off and continue turning with your feet. The more you practice, the more comfortable it will be for you to control the skate.
   • Try to speed up a little. As with the bike, some skateboarders find it much easier to stay on the board if you move a little faster.
   • If shaking begins, the suspension can be tightened. This will make it harder to turn, but you can practice with the taut suspensions until the jitter at speed is uncontrollable. Usually, in this case, the transfer of the center of gravity to the front helps.
4. 4 Bend your knees and shift your weight to rotate. After you have mastered the skills of acceleration and balance on the deck, try to turn, carrying the weight. Move on slightly bent legs, keeping the center of mass closer to the ground. Then move your weight forward to turn slightly to the right (if the position is "regular"), and turn your feet to turn to the left.
   • Depending on the tightness of your harnesses, you only need to shift the weight a little or try hard. You can loosen the suspensions with the large bolt in the middle (loosen to the left, tighten to the right). This creates more or less pressure on the hub, making it easier or harder to turn.
   • If you experience balance problems or fall while turning, shift your upper body weight in the opposite direction. The main thing is that your feet rotate and the wheels rotate.
5. 5 To stop, lower your foot to the ground. To stop after some deceleration, you can simply lower the jogging foot to the ground and complete the stop. However, do not do it abruptly at high speed. Start with a light touch and then increase the resistance as the speed decreases. The lead leg remains on the skateboard.
   • You can also move your weight onto the tail and brake with it to stop. Some longboards have built-in plastic brake flaps along the back of the deck, and some don't. This is usually more difficult to do and also erases the back of the deck. An alternative way would be to leave the toe of the shoe on the board and rub it with the shoe. Instead of a tail, the heel will rub on the ground.
6. 6 Try changing the position of your legs. When you feel comfortable riding, try turning your torso so that your trailing leg becomes a pushing leg and vice versa. If you want to be a really good skater, you have to be equally comfortable riding in both directions, for example, to perform a trick. This will come in handy when working on the halfpipe or on a variety of other exercises.
7. 7 Learn to fall properly. All skaters fall often at first. It's part of the sport. Therefore, it is important to always be in protective equipment and learn how to fall correctly. To avoid serious injury - but not light abrasions and bruises, which are a must-have for a skateboarder - there are a few things you can learn to help keep yourself safe.
   • Bring your arms out, but keep them close. If you fall hard, the risk of serious injury to your wrist or ankle is greater than when you use your hands, thereby softening the fall.
   • Tumble every time you fall. You may get scratched, but these are small things compared to falling flat.
   • If something goes wrong - "catapult". If you are moving too fast to control the skateboard, simply jump off the deck to your feet or fall into the grass. You should not be on a board over which you have lost control.
8. 8 See how more experienced skaters perform tricks and tricks. Find a company you can practice with. This will help you learn new techniques and introduce new levels of experience. If you don't know anyone, just start a conversation with the guys who train on the same site.Many people are friendly and helpful. Experiment, do a taller ollie, read about how to do a new trick, whatever you want. Here the teacher acts more as a friend than an instructor, share your experience with each other and with everyone who may need it.
   • You can watch the video in slow motion for clues on what movements to do, pay special attention to the feet. Burst photos are another way to master movement.
   • The more you exercise, the better you will do. Don't be discouraged that you can't do the trick the first or second time. Just work and enjoy, and in the end you will succeed.

Method 3 of 4: Exploring an Allie

1. 1 Begin by raising the front by pressing the tail with your back foot. Ollie involves lifting the front and the entire board and landing on it. The first part of this trick is to comfortably move your back foot onto the tail skate before hitting the ground, so you can lift it up into the air. Get used to this movement, it should be smooth.
   • Standing on your skateboard, try to shift your center of gravity back by lifting your nose and keeping your balance in that position. You can even try it on the move.
   • Before you try your first ollie move, it may be best to start with a simple skateboard stance with a front lift. Step your foot on the tail and observe how much force you need to apply for this movement. It is also helpful to lift the skate up in your hand and grab the front of the skate slightly without jerking.
2. 2 Try to lift the skate from the spot. Stand on the deck and bend your knees, shifting the center of gravity down towards the harnesses. Move your hind leg so that it is on the tail. Pull the tail back as you would with "manual" except that you remain stationary. Then convert it to ollie.
   • Do not move on to performing in motion yet. Until you can ollie in place, it is quite dangerous to do the trick on the move. Most likely you will fall.
3. 3 Bring the skate up into the air and jump. To make the skateboard bounce, you need to drag your front foot back slightly and lift your knee towards your chest while pressing your back foot into the tail.
   • This should be done in one quick motion, it will be difficult at first. You have to jump into the air and jump out of the skate while your hind leg starts pushing downward.
   • You jump with your front foot slightly earlier than your back. Imagine that you are running sideways and trying to jump over an obstacle. You need to make a similar movement.
4. 4 Drag your front leg forward to catch the skate. After the board is lifted, move your front foot forward to line up and maintain control of the rear edge of the deck. This should be done as soon as you are in the air.
5. 5 Push the skate down? aligning legs. After you level the skateboard, push it down by straightening your legs and landing it in a riding position. It is important to land so that your feet are on the bolts and your knees are bent, this will increase the chance of further successful movement, preserve the deck, and you will avoid injury.
   • Don't worry about early discontinuation. If the deck surface is not leveled or positioned correctly, do not try to land on it. Instead, lower yourself onto your feet.
   • In fact, it might be a good idea to start the ollie by jumping off the board and landing just on your feet.
6. 6 Try to ollie on the move. After doing the ollie in place ten times in a row, you can try doing it in motion. Push off and move at a moderate speed, then bend your legs and toss the skate as you did on the spot.
   • This is a fundamental exercise on which other similar techniques are based. For further links to other tricks, check out the next section.

Method 4 of 4: Learning Other Techniques

1. 1 Try pop shove it. Ollie as high as possible, then, as soon as you lift your feet, make a light push with your front foot on the board so that it turns 180 degrees. You can use a slight "scoop" movement with your back foot to make the rotation easier.
2. 2 Try kick-flip. Do the same as for "pop shove it", only when pushing the board, hit it where it rises. Try a few different movements until you get it to rotate. This is not an easy trick, so work hard and don't give up.
3. 3 Try grind. Start with a handrail that is reasonably low (up to 30 cm high). It's not easy, so try the exercise in stages.
   • First, just get close to the railing and then jump on them with your feet, allowing the board to roll further.
   • Next, try to lift the board while jumping and don't worry where it will fall later. The main thing is that your feet are on the railing.
   • Make sure you approach the railing at a slight angle, not straight. This will reduce the risk of the suspension hitting the corner of the railing.
   • Now is the time to do things for real. Perform a tall ollie move towards the railing. Land with your feet on the bolts and continue to maintain your balance.
   • If the board slides perpendicular to the railing, this is called a "board-slide". If the movement is along the railing, then the harness will go into grind, this trick is called "50-50 grind".
   • When you get to the end of the railing and slide, turn the board around (so it is in the correct position) and place your feet in the bolt area. If you are doing "50-50 grind", raise the front wheels slightly (with gentle pressure on the tail) so that the leading edge of the board does not fall over. The alternative would be to finish the ollie.
4. 4 Head to the skate park and learn how to jump. You have to be brave, it takes courage to drop in, but it's worth it.
   • Start with the tail on the edge of the halfpipe and your foot slightly behind the bolts, but so that you can maintain your balance.
   • Place your front foot behind the bolts and go down. Do not hesitate, otherwise you will fall. Confidence and strength are needed here.
   • At this moment, you need to lean forward. If you don't, the board will slide out from under your feet. The shoulders should always be parallel to the board.
   • Don't worry when approaching the opposite side, just jump off the skateboard at the very top.
5. 5 Do the lip trick several times. Those who do better can try Rock to Fakie, Axle Stall, and Nose Stall. It looks impressive. The tricks are not very difficult to learn if you have a couple of months of practice behind you. Always take safety precautions when heading to the skate park. Trust me, it can be very painful.

Tips

• If you're a beginner, don't expect everything to work out right away. Need time.
• Keep exercising! Never give up!
• Buy quality shoes that will properly protect your feet and provide a good stance as you move.
• Work as hard as possible and don't give up because of the fall. In fact, some people fall down a lot and don't want to continue their studies after that.
• Do not leave your phone or other fragile items in your pockets.
• Always keep your legs apart, if you pull them together, you will lose your balance.
• When newbies are around you, be patient with them.
• Balance in skateboarding is key, practice riding down small hills on one foot, or shift your center of gravity from your right foot to your left and vice versa while moving.
• When you fall, you need to know how to land. You can even practice the falls.
• Always look ahead of the skateboard to see where you are going.
• Never give up. If you can't, keep exercising.
• If you cannot turn freely while tilting, loosen the bolt in the center of the suspension.
• Always bend over slightly so that your weight is on the front. Otherwise, the board may slip out from under your feet.
• Wear protective equipment or you may get hurt.
• Good suspensions like Thunder, Independent, Tensor, Grind King, royal and others provide easier turning and control. Good wheels like Force, Darkstar, Ricta, Autobahn, Spitfire, Bones and others will allow you to quickly pick up and maintain speed. A good deck such as Revive, Mini Logo, Mystery, Almost, Black Label, Element, Real, Girl or Chocolate are renowned for the best control and reliability.
• A lower fit helps to move your center of gravity downward, making it easier for you to fall.
• Wear comfortable clothing that won't hold you down. It is not necessary to follow the fashion, but special shoes will be appropriate.
• Always wear gloves unless you want to get hurt.
• Drive along the new streets, not the rough old ones.
• Do not be embarrassed if you fall, this is normal. Even the professionals fall!
• Spend some time on your skateboard experimenting with a stance, later this will be useful for maintaining your balance. You can move your feet and swing. This way you get to know the features of the board.
• Observe safety rules and exercise away from children, animals and other objects.
• Wear protective gear such as a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, etc.
• Always wear a helmet and gloves. The head and hands are affected the most.
• If you are told to leave the place, then leave it. If the security service or the police arrive, then the lesson can be considered over. Go to another location. Try to find something safer and more legal. A driveway to your garage, car park, garage, cul-de-sac, or local park is great for practicing.
• Do not obstruct the movement of pedestrians and drivers.
• When you land after completing a trick, always stand in the area of ​​the bolts, this will not allow the board to leave from under you.
• Find a friend to practice together. If someone you know started skateboarding in the same way, do it together, share your experience or impressions. Friends make skateboarding even more fun - the more the better.
• If you feel insecure when standing on the board before performing a trick, then don't do it. Observe safety measures, however, when ready - act.
• When choosing a deck, keep in mind what you want out of skateboarding. If you are looking for a stable board that is easy to land on, easy to grind or ride on, a width of 20-22 cm will do. If you want to do flip tricks, and to make the technique easier for you with a minimum set of movements, then a board with a width of 19-20 cm is suitable for you. However, it all depends on personal preference, so try different sizes to find the right one.

Warnings

• When you are frustrated, do not throw your skateboard as it can cause serious damage.
• Wear protective equipment. Knee pads may restrict you, but for a beginner they are necessary.
• Always keep an eye on your surroundings.
• It is best to work in groups and with several people. If something unexpected happens, they will help you. And it will be more fun.
• Don't try to repeat everything after other people. Do what you are ready for.
• Find good skateboarding shoes that are comfortable and will last for a long time.
• "Wear a safety helmet." You may not think this is cool, but it will keep your head from getting hurt. Skateboarding is fun, but be aware of the injuries that can occur when working without a helmet.

Sources and citations

1. ↑ http://skatepaige.com/uncut-skateboard-blanks/skateboard-deck-dimensions.html
2. ↑ https://www.warehouseskateboards.com/help/Helmet-Sizing-Buying-Guide
3. ↑ http://www.skateboardhere.com/skateboard-fall.html
4. ↑ http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4445-how-to-ollie-on-your-skateboard