They’ve been around since the 1970s, yet skateboarding has really surged in popularity since the turn of the century, as teenagers around the world turn to this cool pastime. If you are thinking of buying a board and having a go, here are a few things you should know.
Regular or Goofy?
As with most sports, skateboarding has its own language, and a regular is a person who puts their left foot in front, using their right to brake and steer, while a goofy is the other way round. Imagine you are wearing socks and are going to slide along a slippery floor, which foot feels right to lead the slide? This will determine whether you are a regular or goofy. Once you know your preferred stance, check out a scooter and skateboard warehouse, where you can try out a few boards and make your very first skateboard purchase.
Safety Equipment
Concrete is very hard and you will come off, especially during the first few months, and with a good helmet, some elbow and knee pads, you are protected to a large degree. Avoid department stores when looking to buy skateboarding accessories, rather find a specialist boarding store, as they only sell the best quality boards and equipment.
Practice & Dedication
Much like everything, the more you practice, the better you become, and you should develop at your own pace, and make no mistake, you will fall many times, as you learn how to make the board do what you want. This is not an easy discipline to learn, which tends to separate those who are curious and those who want to master the art of skateboarding, and with a little coaching, you will get the hang of it. Balance and inertia are two critical aspects of boarding, and once you have the basics, you can work on neat tricks. Here is an informative article that tells us what happens to our body after heavy exercise, which is worth reading.
Pushing Techniques
Pushing is how you power your runs, and here are a few tips:
- Put your front foot in line with the front bolts, and face your foot at 30 degrees.
- Bend your front knee so your back foot can touch the ground.
- Balance all your weight on the front foot and push hard with your back foot in a forward motion.
- Return your back foot to just behind the front foot on the board, close to the rear bolts.
Practicing can involve balancing for long periods on your front foot, which will hone your balancing skills, and by increasing the amount of time balancing like that, you will develop the skills needed for good boarding. Here is a government web page on skateboarding, which you should read before you try your hand.
How to Stop
Of course, this is one of the first things you need to learn, with dragging your trailing foot a common way to slow down, which requires a lot of practice to master completely.
With a decent skateboard, protective gear and a desire to master boarding, you should quickly pick up the techniques and hopefully, there’ll be no injuries.