What's up everybody, this is Tim with Tactics Boardshop,
Today I'm gonna be teaching you the very basic fundamentals of skateboarding.
We'll start with determining your stance,
then we'll move on to riding and pushing,
we'll talk about turning and stopping,
then I'll show you how you can throw it on your board so you can start riding without setting it down first.
So let's head out!
Before you start riding, you need to determine your stance.
Since skateboards are ridden sideways with your shoulders parallel with the board,
you need to figure out which foot is going to be your front foot that stays planted on the board.
When your primary stance is LEFT foot in front with your right foot in the back,
and your body is facing the right side of your board,
that is called REGULAR footed.
When your primary stance is RIGHT foot in front with your left foot in the back
and your body is facing the left side of your board,
that is called GOOFY footed.
Neither one is superior. It's all about what feels the most comfortable for you.
There are a couple tricks that you can use to give you an indication on which stance you are.
Such as the shove test or the jump test.
But the quickest and easiest method is the slide test.
Imagine you're going to run and slide on a sheet of ice or on a hardwood floor in your socks.
When you start the slide, which foot that you instinctually lead with?
This will give you an indication as to which stance you might be.
But you should still try to ride both ways to see which stance feels more instinctual.
Your front foot provides stability on the board.
so many times whichever foot is easier for you to stand on its own will be your front foot.
The best place to learn to ride your board is somewhere smooth without a lot of cars or foot traffic.
A smooth lesser-used sidewalk or a bike path, or an empty street or parking lot are all great places.
If the sidewalk has huge cracks in it all along it. I'd recommend finding somewhere smoother.
It's best to learn the basics of pushing and riding before going to a skate park.
Skate parks can often be crowded and chaotic and it isn't the ideal place to learn.
If it's the only good place around for you to learn,
Try to find an area where you won't get in the way of more experienced skaters.
Let's try standing on the board first to get familiar with it.
If you're nervous, you can put two of the wheels in a crack so it doesn't slip out immediately.
Stand with your body parallel with the board and have your feet about shoulder width apart.
Upright posture, slightly bent knees with your weight evenly distributed.
This will be your basic body position while riding.
When you feel confident enough, let's try a push to get rolling.
When you push on a skateboard, you need to turn your shoulders and front foot toward the nose of the board.
Your front foot should be near the hardware bolts and angled about thirty degrees or so.
Angling your foot forward allows you to make micro balancing adjustments as you push with your back foot.
The foot placement doesn't need to be absolutely precise,
But this is a general guideline of how your foot placement should be.
When you're ready to push, keep your center of gravity above your front foot.
Then push off with your back foot and quickly bring it back onto the board.
Then you can redistribute your weight evenly between both feet.
Your back foot should rest on either the rear bolts or the tail.
Once you're rolling turn your front foot and shoulders back to your normal riding stance,
and keep your center of gravity somewhere near the center of the board.
Practice shifting between the pushing and riding positions until it's comfortable.
A wider stance with slightly bent knees will give you some extra stability.
But as you grow more comfortable, you'll develop a more casual riding posture.
Ultimately, you'll want to be able to ride the board while balancing only on your front foot.
Once you can do this comfortably you'll be able to push many times back-to-back
without having to put your back foot back on the board after each push.
Many times beginners are afraid to commit to putting their full weight onto the board
and keep their weight on their back foot hopping along as they try to push.
This doesn't really work because you're never actually riding the board
and won't be able to keep any sort of momentum.
This is why it's important to put your weight on your front foot when you push off.
Stopping is very simple.
Keep your front foot on and simply use your back foot and step off the board.
If you have a decent amount of speed drag your back foot on the ground to put on the brakes.
Keep your back leg rigid so it keeps steady pressure on the ground.
Be sure to practice stopping as well.
Turning should come fairly naturally when you're learning to push and ride.
Simply lean to one side of the board to initiate the turn.
If the board doesn't turn when you lean use a half-inch wrench on the kingpin nut to loosen the trucks a little.
Turns that occur when you lean are called carving turns,
and turns where you lift up the front wheels and pivot are called kick turns.
Kick turns are good for making very quick and sharp turns,
and they're especially useful for turning around on ramps.
To do a kick turn,
put your back foot on the tail, shift some of your weight onto your back foot,
and press down on the tail with just enough pressure to make the front wheels come up.
Leading with your shoulders,
twist your body in the direction you want to turn right as the wheels come off the ground
making the board pivot on the back wheels.
It's better to start learning this while standing still and getting used to tick-tacking your front wheels around.
It's okay if you can only do tiny pivots at first.
Just keep practicing and you'll be able to make much larger pivots and it will feel like one fluid motion.
You can actually tic-tac back and forth to generate some momentum.
Be sure to spend a lot of time riding and pushing around until you're comfortable on the board.
Don't just rush into trying to learn kick flips.
When you're riding around make sure you're scanning the ground ahead of you for obstructions
such as big sidewalk cracks, sticks, rocks, pine cones, and other debris.
These types of things can throw you off balance or halt the board. So try to avoid them whenever possible.
If you come across a big sidewalk crack that you can't maneuver around,
there's a couple ways to roll over it without having to do an ollie or get off your board.
The first way is to put your feet on the nose and tail as you approach the crack.
Use the tail to lift the front wheels over the crack,
set it back down, then immediately use the nose to lift the back wheels over the crack.
It's pretty easy and won't take long to master.
Another method is to do a push right over the crack.
just before going over the crack do a push with your weight on your pushing foot
and shove the board over the crack with your front foot.
As soon as all four wheels are over the crack,
put your back foot back onto the board and continue riding like normal.
The third method is similar to the first.
as you approach the crack lift the front wheels over the crack,
and as your back wheels roll over it, be light footed or use a tiny hop to let the wheels bounce over.
This is the same exact technique you'll use to roll off a curb.
As you approach the curb,
lift up your front wheels and stay light footed on your back wheels as they coast off the curb.
Then land with your weight evenly distributed.
You don't want to be leaning too far back because you don't want to slip out as soon as you roll off the curb.
Now I'll show you how to throw down your board so you can get started with some speed
without having to lay it down and push from a dead stop.
Hold the nose of the board with the arm that's on the same side as your front foot.
So if you're regular hold it with your left hand, and if you're goofy hold it with your right hand.
Take a step forward with your pushing foot
and extend your arm holding the board letting it hang down in front of your front leg.
As you start your next step lower the board and drop it under your front foot.
to where you can turn that step into the first push.
Try to get your front foot right into place. So you can just start riding without having to readjust your feet a bunch.
It might look and feel a little clunky at first,
but eventually it will be second nature and you'll be able to throw down onto your board at a full sprint.
Just keep in mind while you're practicing that skateboarding is not easy
and falling down a few times is just part of the game.
But it's that challenge that makes it so gratifying when it finally starts to click.
So just keep at it and with some practice and determination you'll be cruising around no time.
If you got any questions at all or tips of your own
just leave them in the comment box down below and have fun out there. Peace!