Skateboarding seems to be great until you’re stuck at the same level. You are skating every day, but you are not doing better than yesterday. When you started skateboarding first, you improved every hour. Nonetheless, a phase is going to come when the progress kind of stops. The skating skill is not getting better, and being successful in new tricks appears to be impossible.
Every skater goes through this particular time. You have to pass this phase slowly. Rushing won’t help you to go through it. Human brains and muscles require time to adapt to new situations. Mastering the basic techniques plays a crucial role in taking you to a higher level.
To master that basic level, you will have to practice as much as you can. Practice and determination are the keys that are going to aid you most in terms of improvement.
Having said that, you could always follow some particular tips for your betterment. Here are the top 10 tips from expert skateboarders on how to get better at skateboarding.
1. Improve Balance:
The importance of balance in skateboarding can’t be expressed in words. If you want to see yourself progressing in the skating field, first you have to enhance your balance. The best stuff you can do to develop balance is practicing all day. Now the question is, what and how to practice?
Well, you can manage an old skateboard deck. Get into it and lean backward, forward, and sideways. Furthermore, you may keep doing ollies. Ollie is an effective trick that enhances your overall balance. One more trick you should try is the manual. It is recommended by experts to do manuals for the betterment of balance.
2. Conquer Basic:
You already know how the basic impacts of improving the skateboarder. Let’s talk about it further. The basic refers to movements you have to do at the start.
For example, a fundamental movement is pushing the ride and gradually increasing the speed. Another basic trick that helps to gain momentum is the tick-tack. To do it, simply turn the skateboard nose to the right and the left in turns. There are a thousand basics like the ones mentioned. Do some research and learn to master those maneuvers.
Some people come to the field of skating following their friends or family members. They want to step up quickly, which results in them skipping these basic maneuvers. You have to keep in mind that improvement is impossible until you have become an expert at the primary level of skating.
3. Gather Motivation:
No matter what you are doing, you will require motivation to do that specific task. Constant failures while trying tricks will result in a phase where you almost lose the will to skate. That is the moment to remind yourself that no one becomes a pro overnight. One day full of failures does not indicate that the same is going to happen the next day.
You could watch videos of experts discussing numerous skateboarding tactics. Maybe you are not able to do a specific trick due to one simple mistake. New skaters may not figure out what is that one wrong move. Watch videos to understand the problem. Fix that and boom! You are back on the field. Never underestimate the power of motivation.
4. Make Skateboard-relevant Friends:
Prepare yourself with all the skating gear and go to the nearest park. You will find countless people who share the same interest as you in skating.
When you are skateboarding in places like the skate park, leave the competitive nature so that you can talk to other skaters. Perhaps, you could make some new friends as well to skate together in the future. Having a group of friends encourages you to get better at the sport.
No one is going to tell you something until you ask. Therefore, don’t mind asking anything. Even a simple thing that every skater knows might not be in your head. Clear your queries by asking your potential skateboarding friends. The reality is, many high-level skaters ride in parks. If you are fortunate enough, perhaps you will meet one or more. Utilize the opportunity by gaining different skating knowledge from them.
5. Do not be Stubborn:
A common mistake many skaters make is to be stubborn about doing something particular. For instance, you have learned a new trick. However, when you went out to try the maneuver, you failed multiple times. Still, you keep on trying those to see yourself succeeding for once, at least. It is a familiar mistake among new skateboarders.
Sometimes, human brains and muscles require a specific amount of time to catch up. When you are not getting success on something related to skateboarding, leave it for the time being—pushing yourself does no benefit whatsoever rather than making it more difficult each time. Try something else and be successful. It will bring back the confidence you need.
6. Do some Workouts:
You will not be able to continue skating if your body does not support you. Proper help from the physique matters a lot in skateboarding. Therefore, it is important to gain flexibility and strength. The most crucial part of the body to train is the core. It impacts skating significantly. You may also build some muscles and improve endurance.
Due to the core muscle, you have more control of the board and yourself. Even when you fall, it will not be as injurious as before. Moreover, a person acquires control over his muscle by workout. You can use these muscles to maneuver the board as you like and do many tricks.
YouTube videos are going to help you to decide what workouts will suit a skater. Exercises like crunches and sit-ups enhance the abdominal muscle. These activities do not require expensive instruments.
7. Practice Nose Ollie:
A rider cannot improve himself by relying on the easy maneuvers only. A skater must try some difficult tricks as well. You can attempt to do the nollie, also known as nose ollie. It requires lots of practice. However, when you finally pop one, the satisfaction is incomparable.
Remember, it is not like you must do multiple nollies to improve your skill. As the trick is hard, you can skip it for a while. In the meantime, keep riding with the fakie stance. Once you are confident enough, get back to pull off a nollie.
8. Learn the Fakie Stance:
There are hundreds of ways to get better at skateboarding. Not all of them are as effective as other ones. The riders even overlook some of them. The fakie ride is one of the underrated stances to improve your skill.
It is simple. All a skater has to do is to ride the skateboard backward. Once you learn it, you are open to a countless number of tricks. Fakie shuvits, fakie ollies, big fakie spins, and more stunts are available for you to do.
When you do the fakie for the first time, it may be a little tricky. Nevertheless, you have to stick to it. With time you will understand how much you have improved.
9. Manage Proper Skating Gears:
A rider needs to have his favorite items and accessories. Many people may take the point for granted. However, keep in mind that you cannot improve at skating if you are using a skateboard you are not comfortable with. Try various cool skateboards including beginner skateboards. Determine which one suits your stance the most.
Numerous skaters do not care about skating shoes. Lack of a pair of decent shoes, they cannot make the best movements according to their abilities. Thus, buy skateboarding shoes from a reputed brand.
The same rule applies to every other gear for skateboarding. You can arrange the perfect set of gears by going with the products you are most comfortable with.
10. Do not stick to the Comfort Zone:
No matter what sport it is, a player can never reach the peak of success unless he leaves his comfort zone. In skateboarding, many riders are limited to skating only in streets or parks or the mini ramp. They only skate in one of these particular spaces because they are more comfortable with it.
If you intend to get better, you have to leave your comfort zone. If you only skate on ramps, try the street today. Both spots have different traits. You learn various essential things about skating by riding in a variety of areas. It plays a meaningful role in the development of the skater.
Final Words
It takes a while to master skating just like any other sport. If you merely focus on the end goal, you will never have the bliss of enjoying skateboarding. Therefore, do not let yourself down because of a few failures. If you cannot pull off something, switch to another maneuver. There are thousands of tricks, movements, and activities to try. Attempt to do those. Whatever happens, do not let the motivation perish.
The secret is never to give up practicing. A trick that you thought you won’t ever be successful at seems too easy after a bunch of practice sessions. Follow all the tips on how to get better at skateboarding above and keep training to get better gradually but surely.