The time to learn skateboarding has no limitations. No matter what your age is, it is never too late for starting to skateboard. Having said that, you must come with patience and dedication to learn it. You have to give it adequate time to be a skilled skater. Without a guide, a beginner will not know where to initiate. You have come to the appropriate place that can aid you in stepping up gradually. Let’s learn step by step how to skateboard as a beginner.
PREPARING THE RIDE
1. Choose the right board:
One of the initial mistakes a lot of beginners commit is picking the wrong board. Multiple types of boards are present in the current market. Instead of following what other people are riding, you have to consider your interest. Ride different boards before selecting something. You can try skateboarding with your friends. It will aid you in determining what item goes well with your interest. If you have not tried anything yet, check out below to know a thing or two about various boards.
● Skateboard: Among all the boards, the skateboard is perhaps the most well-known item. These boards are the appropriate products for doing tricks and jumps. A skateboard contains tapered ends that allow you to handle it with ease. With a skateboard, you can enjoy rides at high speed.
A drawback of the skateboard would be the lack of balance for many skaters. It would be best if you spent some time to achieve adequate balance on skateboards.
● Longboard: The longboard is perfect for people who are looking for a board to cruise around. Someone new to skating will not find it difficult to control the longboard. It barely takes a long period to learn to ride these boards properly.
If you are a person who is deeply into skating tricks, the longboard may not be an ideal ride for you.
● Custom board: As the name says, a custom board refers to something you build with your desirable customization. A custom builder chooses the components (deck, truck, wheels, and more) separately. The pre-built board might not possess all the high-quality parts. You have the opportunity to pick only high-end materials for the custom board.
It is expensive to purchase parts of the board separately. Therefore, you have to be ready with a handsome budget for the custom board.
2. Arrange protective gears:
- Don’t listen to people who think wearing no protective gear is cool. It won’t be cool when you are stuck at home because you had some injuries. Some professionals may not use these gears. They have a long experience to back their actions. However, it is evident for a beginner to fall several times. For this reason, protective accessories are crucial. Let’s see the gears a beginner requires.
- A quality helmet is a must for every rider. You may use the multi-sport helmet. Nevertheless, it is better to go for a skateboarding helmet. Choose whatever you want but riding without a helmet is not an option.
- The majority of falls lead to an injury to the knee and wrist. They fall first in almost all cases. To prevent danger, use knee pads and wrist guards.
- Elbows are not out of the risk too. Hence, purchase a pair of elbow pads.
- While riding, the wind may send debris to your eyes. To restrain the dust from entering the eyes, use goggles or shatterproof glasses.
- Last but not least, get a pair of skate shoes. These are not exactly protective gear. Nonetheless, they help you to balance yourself. The skateboarding shoes are made with particular soles—these function to provide the user grip and support through the ride. If you do not have a budget for skating shoes, you can wear shoes with a flat sole.
3. Make sure the board is beginner-friendly:
- Your existing board might curve excessively. Also, the trucks might not be right according to your level. These things result in a loss of balance as soon as you speed up a little. Experiencing too many injuries during the initial stage may discourage you from skateboarding.
- A beginner should use the flat board. The trucks have to be tight as it ensures more control for the newcomers. Once you are familiar with the board, you can modify the settings accordingly.
4. Skate in a safe area:
- Every sport has a particular place to show the beauty of it. The same goes for skating as well. You have to find those fields where you can skate comfortably. It is utterly wrong to skateboard in places packed with people. It is not only precarious for you but also you are a risk to the people.
- You can practice enhancing your skill in driveways and parking lots. These spots tend to have smooth concrete surfaces. The even surface is super helpful for a beginner skater. Also, various regions have official parks and places to let the skateboarders enjoy their rides. Most importantly, abide by the law. In many towns, skaters already have a negative reputation. Please do not mess it up more by breaking the code.
5. Avoid boarding during the rain:
- A heads up for all those pluviophiles is, do not dare to skateboard in the rain. Someone who is skating for a while won’t make this mistake. He knows the rain or water can damage several parts of the board badly. However, many rookies may ride the board in the rain unknowingly.
- Experts prohibit riding in a wet conditions because water is harmful to bearings and deck. Constant water entry on the deck results in loss of pop. The deck gets soggy and loses its usual grip. The bearings won’t be smooth like before.
- Moreover, the wheels are going to lack grip as well. Hence, there are more chances for a skater to fall. If you cannot resist going into a rain ride, take an old board that you do not use anymore. Rain or any water damages the hardware of skateboards badly.
LEARNING TO RIDE
1. Don’t try tricks initially:
- Perhaps someday you saw your friends were doing a lot of impressive tricks. And now you want to do that as well. Keep in mind that your friends are probably skating for years. Thus, they can show loads of tricks to you with ease.
- In your case, the scenario is different. A new skater lacks the basics. For this reason, even if you fancy tricks, you need to stay away from them. Go through the introductory period first. For example, learn to push and stay on the board as much as you can. With sufficient practice, you will master a series of tricks.
2. Stand on the board to achieve balance:
- There are multiple ways to stand on the skateboard. It is up to the person which style he prefers. We will discuss a few popular standing methods later. First, you have to find a surface where the board won’t roll. You may place it on a carpet. Now it is time for the test.
- The first style would be the right foot ahead of the left one on the deck. As the right foot is in front, push the ride with your left foot. Observe how comfortable you are with it.
- The second method is the opposite of the first one. The rider keeps his right foot behind the left one. It means you have to push using the right foot. Many people follow this procedure.
- The last one is not recommended, even for an advanced skater. However, there is nothing wrong with knowing about it. In this style, the rider is going to push the skateboard with the forward foot. This form of riding leads to an unusual swinging motion. It restricts a rider from doing various tricks.
3. Push the skateboard:
- Almost all of the newcomers will make a rookie mistake. When it comes to pushing the board, they make short pushes. Some of them may consider it to be safe for the beginning level. It is not true. There is no problem with making long pushes. Even the fact is, long pushes are better than short ones for newbies.
- It would help if you swept long to ensure the long push. Compared to a short push, the long one is way more smooth. A novice rider gains high balance thereby.
4. Change the riding position:
- It is not hard to push the board. Nevertheless, the hardest part is to stay on the board after obtaining the right balance. Your position acquires more balance when the forward foot stays sideways. It is also important to shift your pushing foot to the fishtail of the board. Stand on the skateboard with a straight back. However, the knees have to be a little bent. It balances the position.
- Let’s see how a beginner can make an appropriate riding stance. Put the forward foot in front of the truck screws. Another option is to keep it behind the screws. Place the back foot near the tail.
- In this way, you can do the kick turns quite conveniently. Even for pro riders, the position is excellent as it ensures stability. As a newbie, habituating to this riding posture will take a while. Once you learn it, you can avoid lots of unwanted injuries.
5. Turn the ride:
- There are numerous ways of turning. We will discuss the one that favors the new skaters most.
- One of the vital basics of skating is to turn the board correctly. For turning, you have to shift the weight back or forward, depending on the right or left turn. The rider puts the weight or pressure from the ankle. A beginner may have a query about how much pressure he will spend on turning. It relies on the tightness of your trucks.
- A newcomer requires to go through plenty of practice sessions to turn the ride flawlessly. When you are learning for the first time, make sure you try turning on level surfaces only.
6. Learn to stop:
Stopping the board should not be a problem for most riders. There are a bunch of ways to stop the ride. Nonetheless, all those methods may not be comfortable or easy for beginners. The best way for a new skater is to let the board slow down and finally put a foot on the road. It is safe and a quick method to learn.
KEEP SKATING
1. Accept falls:
- For a beginner, falling from the skateboard can be discouraging. It should not be the case. All of the top-level skaters have fallen quite a lot of times. Therefore do not pay heed to the number of falls you are facing. It is completely normal.
- To stay out of fall injuries, make sure you are equipped with proper safety components. Things like wrist guards and helmets are a must while riding the board. Watch out for those pebbles and cracks to prevent falling.
2. Watch skateboarding videos:
- Countless skating videos are available all over the internet. Of course, these contents are free to watch. People show their skill in compilation videos. On the other hand, professional skaters share excellent tips and tutorials for beginners.
- Watch these videos in your leisure time. You can get plenty of useful information, tips, and secrets regarding skateboarding. The contents from various experts work as a virtual assistant for a newcomer.
3. Motivate yourself by skating with others:
When you watch someone pulling off a great maneuver, it inspires you to do the same. Therefore, you should skate with partners to keep the motivation level high all the time. It is even better to have some experienced companies. They will help you to learn numerous useful skating stuff.
4. Attempt to execute some tricks:
The beginner should aim to improve his balance and be comfortable on the skateboard first. When he gets familiar with the basics, trying one or two tricks won’t hurt. It is probably still a little early. However, triumphing the tricks has always been the main objective of skating for most people. Let’s see what some of the ideal beginner tricks are.
● Ollie
● Kick-flip
● Shove-it
● Grinding
Verdict
Following the above instructions for merely a day is not enough. The key is to stick to the routine to advance your level gently. No one can gain the skill to skateboard properly overnight. Get comfortable on the board and practice as much as you can. Last but not least, be positive that you can do it.