Looking for quick ways of riding a longboard in the most exciting manner?
If yes, you have just landed at the right page!
Longboarding is not a rocket science you have to be afraid of. It’s just a fun sport which comes with some basics and once you have nailed all of its fundamentals, you are good to cruise around smoothly in no time.
Here Resistance Pro Wrestling have listed some quick useful tips for all those beginners who have been suffering through the pain of learning longboarding skills. Go through these tips now and get your phenomenal longboard journey started without any further delay!
Tip #1 Get an easy-to-ride board
When it comes to longboarding, what matters the most is your easiness with the board. It’s very much important that you feel comfortable with the style and making of the board to ride it smoothly. As different types of boards are available in the market at varying prices, it might become difficult for beginners to choose the right one.
So here is the tip for you that go with the one that seems easy to ride and roll. Many of you will be attracted to pro longboards but keep one thing in mind that such longboards are not easy to ride because of their certain high-end specifications.
So just pick a simple longboard, go for a trial ride and get it right away if it suits your beginner skills well!
Tip #2 Stick with your natural stance
You must have got a natural stance with which you feel very much comfortable. Being a beginner doesn’t mean that you have to follow other’s riding postures or standing poses. You can simply go with your natural stance no matter how different it is from usual longboarding postures. Some people find it safer to put left foot forward and right backward whereas some feel comfortable placing right foot forward and left one backward. Altogether, it’s all about your easiness and convenience. You don’t have to push yourself out of your comfort zone to become a good longboard rider.
Tip # 3 Begin with balancing
As a matter of fact, balancing is the key to ride a longboard smoothly. It’s not easy to balance on a narrow piece of wood with one foot forward and the other one placed backward.
But worry not!
Balancing on a longboard only requires some practice. Begin with developing your balance on a longboard in the standing posture. Don’t start moving until you are sure about staying upright on a still longboard. Don’t forget to choose a right venue with less friction such as carpet or grass for this purpose in order to keep the board restrained from unexpected rolling.
Tip # 4 Move like a tortoise!
After you have attained the skill of maintaining balance on an unmoving board, your next step will be to roll it. Be a tortoise and win the game. Lean forward slightly and let the board move on its own. Keep it slow and smooth as rushing into fast riding is risky and may result in serious injuries.
Once you have learned to roll slowly with stability, you may raise the speed slightly but not too much as over-confidence is also not good. Don’t forget to bend a little as it increases the balance and reduces air resistance. When you feel like everything is in control, it’s time to speed up the game and take slight turns. Again, keep it slow and don’t rush into taking quirky turns as you may lose the balance and fall down badly. Just turn a little left and right and keep the speed of the board pretty slow when turning so if anything goes wrong, you should be able to get control of the situation.
Tip # 5 Learn to brake
Rolling without braking will definitely break your bones so don’t overlook this tip and take it very seriously. Once you have learned how to roll, you have to learn a few easy and quick ways of stopping a rolling board. One of the most common techniques to brake is called foot braking. As name says it all, you use your foot to slow down gradually stopping the board.
You will simply drop the back foot to the ground but instead of kicking it, you have to rub the sole of your shoe. It will increase the friction resulting in a gradual halt. Make sure you don’t step off the board until it’s stopped properly because getting down from the fast rolling longboard will cause severe injuries.
Tip # 6 Shoes matter!
Another important tip for beginners is to get a good pair of shoes. Longboarding is all what you do with your feet and as a matter of fact you cannot do it bare feet. You have to buy yourself durable shoes that can stand the friction during braking and also offer comfort to your feet. Go for soft and fit shoes because trust us, the last thing you want to experience during learning sessions is the pair of skate shoes eating your feet!
Tip # 7 Accessories are necessary
You might have seen pros wearing nothing except a pair of shoes, t-shirt, and shorts but this doesn’t mean you can step on a longboard the same way. Longboard accessories are necessary for every person interested in this sport but when it comes to beginners, they become highly necessary. From elbow pads to knee pads to helmet, make sure you wear all the essential accessories during the learning phase. You never know when you will fall and where will you fall because falling is an unavoidable factor of longboarding, especially for beginners.
Tip # 8 Stay ready to fall
It might sound crazy but sooner or later, you will fall so don’t be surprised and be ready for it. Being a beginner, you will be exploring the possibilities of increasing the fun. This journey of exploration will be associated with certain drawbacks among which comes the fact that you will fall a few times. Wear the essential accessories if you don’t want to hurt yourself and enjoy your learning sessions at the fullest.
Tip # 9 Choose a safe venue
The venue plays a vital role when it comes to learning longboarding skills. Being a beginner, it’s foolish to get on a busy road or street. Look for safe venues like playgrounds, sidewalks and walking routes which are restricted for the traffic. Also, avoid crowded places because you won’t like hitting others and causing serious injuries to random people. The best option is skate parks as they are ideally made for skating and offer all the features one would require for longboarding.
Tip # 10 Don’t give up!
Last but not the least, don’t be a loser and never give up. In order to learn longboarding, you have to be very strong and persistent because we have already mentioned, falling is a part of longboard learning and you cannot do anything about it except to improve your riding.
All in all, longboarding is a great way to cover short distances while having a wonderful time on the board. You can learn this sport in no time with proper practice and right techniques. All you have to do is to give yourself sufficient time to get comfortable with the board and boom, you are good to have fun rides with your other skate fellas.
Follow the above-mentioned tips and begin your exceptional longboard journey today!
