If you do the carefully learning longboards steps, you wouldn’t get so much pain. Many new riders go to the hills right away without learning a foundation lesson. There is a list of tips for starters that will help you get started without getting a terrible fall that can make an awful injury! Let’s go to the first lesson.
Getting a suitable board
The board is different for everyone, based on your size, age, skills, riding goals, etc. Below are some tips from professional skateboarders by Longboardbrand.com website, to help you choose the best longboard that suits you.
Finding your stance’s styling
Each person has a different riding stance for board sports. When you stand on a longboard, if your left foot is stood forward and right food stood back in natural, you are “gifted”, if you put your foot in reverse then you’re “silly”.
There are many ways to find out what your style is, but a basic way is standing on the board with your feet together and your back is pushed forward by someone.
You’ll find out which style of stance naturally makes you feel stable and avoid falling out.
Why is stance important? If you’re “gifted”, if you want to make your longboard turn right, you should press on your toes, and if you press on your heels, it will make you go left. If you are “silly”, it will be in the reverse. Keeping this in mind when you learn new techniques.
Finding your stable when not moving
If you are a newbie, you should familiarize yourself with balancing on the board before starting to go on. Practicing on grass or on a thick carpet is safe for beginners because the board is kept from rolling by friction.
Step on your longboard and get into your stance’s style, your feet are wide about shoulder-width apart or slightly wider – depending on your board length, your feet will be close to, or on top of, the bolts of the trucks.
Your back foot (right if you’re “gifted”, left otherwise) should be about perpendicular to the deck, while your front foot is slightly angled with the deck, say about 45º. Bend your knees a little and lean forward slightly so as to feel nice and stable.
You should feel comfortable and convenient when you are standing on the board without having to step down.
Practicing your turning stance
You should practice this on a lawn. You can tilt the plank to the side by shifting your weight to the side while you’re not moving.
Practice rolling back and forth with your ankles to make your board lean on each edge – that’s how you turn when you ride. Next step, lock your ankle and move your body weight forward and backward to make the board tilt.
You can have a balance board for additional training in static mode before you practice on the road or hill. It’s a great balance training tool when you start studying this sport seriously.
Practicing your push
Balancing on one leg while other leg pushes is a key skill you surely have to master in board sports.
The first step is rotating your front foot so that your toes point forward. At the same time, turning both your shoulders and hips forward. In the next step, lifting your back foot off the board. Do not worry about falling out because your front foot being turned forward helps you stabilize. Shifting your weight onto your front leg, bend your front knee to lower, then your back foot to the ground without moving your hips.
While you squat on your front leg in a few seconds, you should touch the ground with your back foot for moving. Then, start bringing your foot back up onto the board, all your body (including your foot) go back to the starting position.
These lessons may be too difficult for you for the first time because of balancing yourself when the board keeps leaning right or left. However, you will be more confident soon after some times challenging yourself in these lessons.
Learning how to break the board
Obviously, knowing how to brake effectively is very important for a person learning to ride a longboard from the beginning. Foot braking is the most important technique you should be to master.
The break steps are likely to the push steps, but after dropping your back foot to the ground, instead of kicking you brush the ground with the sole of your foot to make the friction slow you down.
Make sure you reach the ground with your feet flat, even your toes lift up slightly, to avoid your toes from stumbling on a stone or brick on the ground when you rub the floor to brake.
This technique works best at low speeds but it is more difficult when you go faster. One way to improve it is to practice standing with one leg and squatting while rolling.
Getting moving on the path
OK! So you have learned all the basic lessons. Time to get moving. Find a driveway or path with a slight incline, stand on your longboard, and let gravity get you moving.
Using your lesson about push stance: change your front foot and shoulders forward, let your back foot lower to the ground, and give your board some momentum by doing a small push. A little speed will make you feel some stable and you can control the board easier.
If the path is not smooth, try not to pressure on your front foot or shift your weight forward too much to let your board wheels roll over cracks or pebbles easier.
Remove pressing on your front foot a bit will also give you less exhausted. When you are getting more comfortable pushing, you can push the path a bit stronger for moving more speed. However, be careful with going faster than you can run at this time.
Unwritten rules you should know
The last piece of advice is about the usual longboard ride and the polite and safe behavior you should use when playing.
When you’re traveling with other vehicles on open roads, remember to stay in your lane and respect traffic signs (stop signs, traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, speed limits degrees, etc.) just like when you’re driving a car.
Try to drive carefully, ready for the worst of situations from cars (such as unannounced turns), dogs, bicycles, etc. Let pedestrians walk in the right direction when walking on the sidewalk, use your voice to alert them and let them know you will pass them.
Be friendly and polite to walkers and neighbors to maintain comfort and convey a positive image of the sport.
Reduce noise in residential areas, especially late time. Avoid screaming when you’re playing in a group, and avoid driving at bedtime at night because the noise can make others uncomfortable.
Wrapping up
If you’re a newbie in playing longboard, I hope that these tips are useful for you. I tried to synthesize and arrange the basic steps and skills needed for beginners.
All in all, here are some tips for you.
