Very few, if any, people are any good the first time they step on a skateboard. Some people are able to get the basics down quickly. Others need more time before they get the hang of the motions, the balance and the overall "feel" of boarding. Every new skateboarder picks-up tricks and help from their buddies that make learning a little it easier. So here we'll cover some helpful tips you can use when you're looking for your first skateboard and start learning to ride. Skateboarders who know what they're doing make it all look incredibly easy. Right Just looks like you push-off and then find your balance. Surfing looks pretty easy, as well. All you do is paddle-out, then stand-up when a wave rolls by. But you'll learn fast enough that looks can be deceiving. Skateboarding isn't as easy as you think. Takes practice and definite skills if you're dreaming of skating the expert tricks. Just starting out Here are some good points to take with you because they'll decrease the pain. Skateboarding, how difficult is it You're only just standing, is that right Is it true the board does all the work You may have similar questions if you're just starting out with the sport. It won't take long to know there's a bit more than standing on a rolling board. You'll have to practice to gain the skills you'll need to skate well. You've got to put the practice time in. No way around it. Hold-off on attempting the advanced tricks though, it's important to work on the fundamentals first. Here are some of the things you need to know when you are starting out. It's true. Skateboarding is fun! Skateboarding used to be some off-beat thing only young people did. But now it's a legitimate, recognized sport complete with endorsements and business participation. You can be a professional, earning a great living at it like Tony Hawk. But anybody can learn to do it - so that's cool! It will take a lot of time and practice before you can skate like a pro - so that's the bad news. It takes dedication and hard work but if you want to do it, here are some tips to help you get started. Skateboarding doesn't look hard. . . put one foot down and move yourself along until you're going. And you're doing it! But after you try to actually do it, you immediately understand there's a lot more to it than it seemed. This sport is not so easy to learn and do well. Even if you can manage to stay completely on the skateboard, what about all the cool tricks that can be done Don't you want to do all the cool stuff you see more experienced skateboarders do Now before you get bummed because you're not quite there yet - just know that even the very best started where you are right now. Let's talk about a few things you can do to get up to speed faster. Takes a little time to know which foot goes where on the board. Ok, first - it really makes no difference here if you're right/left handed. But it is important to know which is your dominant or stronger leg. So it's easiest to think how you approach something. Which foot do you normally use when you kick a ball When climbing stairs, what leg/foot is the first step up taken with If you stumble, which foot do you automatically use to catch yourself with Your answer to those questions is your dominant leg, and it usually stays toward the rear of the board. It has everything to do with your stronger leg, and really nothing to do with direction you're facing. First - get the right gear! Yes you might feel a little silly wearing the knee pads, elbow pads, shin guards and helmet. It really won't take long to appreciate that gear, though - if you're new to skateboarding. Just like riding a bike, you are going to fall off more than you are going to go forward--especially if you've never tried to skateboard before. Learning how to stop yourself will be the one thing that may produce more bruises and scrapes for you. After a while, you may want to take off your protective/safety equipment. But the helmut is still advisable to wear. You'll really want to protect your head in case anything happens and you fall. There's more than meets the casual eye. It's not just pushing yourself along. Pushing off should be a strong fluid motion. Try not to push-off in a very quick, short motion. You want a single strong motion that you can easily get into and pull out of without losing your balance. This one motion should be enough to get your board rolling fairly rapidly. How you push off will depend quite a bit on your stance. If you're a beginner, mainly stay on level surface and use a board that's strong and well-built. It's really important that you can push-off with a firm foot rather than experiencing unevenness on the surface. When you practice and get better, you won't need the even surface as much. You'll need to be wearing the right foot gear. In order to properly control your board, you'll need to be able to move your feet in special ways. No question, you can wear any kind of shoes you want. But if you want to do more than skate in a straight line, then it's best to get the right foot gear. Skateboarding shoes are just like athletic shoes except the inside is flat. They're made, purposely, with no or little arch support. This gives your feet the ability to have maximum board control. These shoes are not hard to find, and they're not expensive, either. It'll help a lot if you can be in decent physical shape. Skateboarding is more physically demanding than meets the eye. Simply having strong legs is not going to get it done for you. Skateboarding involves all of the muscles of your body because all of them are needed to keep you stabilized and balanced as you ride your skateboard and, later on, when you begin using it for more than simply moving from point A to point B. If you want total control over your board you will need to be in good physical shape. A consistent work out will get you there faster. Deal with your fears. You'll see many beginner skateboarders who are too afraid to try much. They quickly see there's not much to save them from getting hurt while they're skateboarding. It's really important to face this if there's any hope for improvement. If you don't face this you'll always just be a bystander watching others have fun. The best approach to overcome fear is to practice. The more you can practice, the more open you'll become to taking risks and trying new stuff. If you can, learn how to fall the right way as much as possible. You'll find your skating will be much better and your improvement is faster if you deal with these issues in your mind. Don't worry about going slow. So many new skateboarders try to do tricks before they are really ready. This often just produces frustration and usually injury. Skating a block or two, or down the street, without falling does not equal the ability to do tricks. Even a simple hop on that board is harder than it looks. Skate steadily and go slowly, then ride for long distances. Then learn how to start-off fast and stop yourself without falling. When you can ride for more than a few blocks steadily and feel confident enough to maneuver your board around the other people on the streets and sidewalks, you might be ready for a few tricks. If you can skate long distances, smoothly, and can avoid hitting other people on the streets, then it's cool to start thinking about trying some tricks. With turning, all you're doing is shifting body weight while remaining balanced. This does not mean that you have to lean your entire body frontwards or backwards. So you'll want to shift your weight by shifting from flat-footed to either heel/ball of your feet. You don't want to be swaying, stay upright on the board. You may fall if you're leaning or swaying too much. It's best to be on a flat/even/uncrowded surface. Don't practice sharp turns yet, start out with wide and gentle turns to help you get a feel for how to shift your weight on your feet. When you're ok with that, practice lifting the board front just a hair so you can do a sharp turn. It's a good idea to begin with a board that's not expensive but it's sturdy. High quality, beautiful skateboards can be outrageously expensive. They can cost so much that you might even be afraid to ride them out of fear of banging them up. And that's why you want a newbie board. These are typically thicker boards on sturdier wheels. Look, nothing fancy here. But they'll take a good beating that the beginner will give them. A board that's made more for new skaters is the ABEC skateboard. Buy your first skateboard at a skate shop instead of a sports store or a department store. The people who work at a skater's store will know how to select the best board for you to get started with. Many newer skaters use an ABEC skateboard when they start. But the best approach is to use different ones with different weights and styles until you find one that suits you pretty good. Employees in a skate shop will be better prepared to help you than anywhere else. It really will make a difference if you listen to what they have to say about this subject. They really do know what's going on! It really is best to learn how to do tricks just one at a time, and learn them slowly. Get the basics down good before moving on to tricks. Until you get the basics, don't be jumping big or going down the stairs. Start doing small lifts and change directions. You can jump the board, then change direction. Don't do dangerous tricks first, get the easier ones down and then move on. With tricks, the trick is to begin with easy and small, then progress to more complex. Learn the skaters jargon, and also learn the different kinds of skateboards. Not all boards are the same, and there are a lot of differences. It's good to discover the differences and why they exist. It's really helpful to be able to understand the meaning behind certain skating terms. That way you can get help about something if you ever need it. However, stopping the board is a bit more involved. If you're new, just stop by dragging a foot. Or you can practice taking small steps with one of your feet to slow you down--think of it as a reverse push off. Instead of a fluid motion in one direction, you want to take small steps in the opposite direction. It can be a little tough on your feet, but it's effective. When you're ready to try it, you can drag the rear of your board on the ground and comfortably stop. Caution: You'll want to avoid tail grinding if your speed is up there. Ok, decide how you want to be standing on your board. Believe it or not there are all sorts of different "stances" for skateboarders to take as they ride from place to place and do their tricks. The best way to figure out your stance is to simply get on your skateboard and stand still. Stand on your board and look for the best and most comfortable position for you. From here you only need to figure out how to push off to get the board started rolling (and to keep up its speed). Then push-off with your favorite foot, but there's no concern about speed or distance. There are different types of pushing off, but for now find a way that feels comfortable and that won't send you sprawling. Regular and Goofy are the two skateboarding basic stances you need. Here's the Regular: Left foot front, right foot back. Easy. Just switch your feet positions to do the Goofy. You can do four basic push-off techniques. Regular - use right foot to push, Mongo Regular - push with front (right) foot, Goofy - use left foot, and Mongo Goofy - push with front (left) foot. It'll take a bit of time to decide what's best for you. Almost anyone can learn to ride a board. advertising copywriters If you want to learn to skateboard and don't mind taking your time and learning a little bit at a time you will be able to do anything you want to on a board. It's so important to be patient, if you are you'll arrive there! There's a heck of a lot more to skating than standing on a flat board for a little bit. You'll see many people commuting to work on skateboards in cities, and they're just fun to ride. You'll learn better and faster if you'll only open-up your mind to learning. Even the basics of skateboarding can feel complicated if you are not willing to put in the work to learn them slowly and surely. No one was ever an immediate pro. Be patient and learn how to control that board. If you fail to do that - the board controls you, and you could get hurt. Skating is not something that needs to be hard to do, but it does take time to do well. Hey, you'll learn it. Patience and no worries! It is important that you take your time to really learn the skateboarding basics before you try to do anything fancy. Going too far and too fast is the way to get unnecessarily hurt. Never know, you could be another Tony Hawk. The stances and strengths of skateboarding vary from boarder to boarder. You'll just need to skate and in time you'll discover what you like best. As long as you work to stay in shape and take your time learning the basics, you should be on your way to pro skating before you know it! And then you may realize just how comfortable you really are on a skateboard.
