This trick is similar to performing a Kickflip, although doing a Heelflip is a relatively harder than doing a kickflip. When you do a Heelflip, you ollie into the air and then proceed to flick the board with you’re heel so that it spins in the air, whilst it stays level with the ground. Once the skateboard has span round once, the skater lands back onto the skateboard. Remember it is important to know howq to Ollie properly first before you attempt this trick.
Getting the stance right
To do this place you’re feet as if you are going to do an Ollie, that is with your back foot across the tail and your front foot on the middle of the skateboard. In fact it might be wise to place you’re front foot more forwards up the skateboard, in order to make the trick easier to perform.
The Pop & Kick
When you do the pop, make sure you kick the heel of your front foot forwards. When you’ve done this, immediately, point the toes of your front foot up in the air whilst kicking out your front foot in front.
As is the case with performing the Kickflip, in order to let the skateboard spin freely enough, you must keep you’re feet clear out of the way. Then pull your front foot back underneath you and proceed to catch the skateboard. Looking down Whilst the board is spinning can help catch it at the right time, to land effectively. Staying level and well balanced is key to getting this trick right. To do this correctly, make sure you keep the majority of you’re weight over your skateboard.
Once the board has span right around once, you should now put your back foot on to stop and catch it. This means that you'll need to be watching your skateboard, to see when it has made one complete flip. When you eventually progress and have a stronger more confident skateboarding sense, you will most definately be able to do a Kickflip and Heelflip without watching it.
Landing it
When you come to fall back towards the ground, start to bend your knees once again. This is because when you bend your knees, you will not absorb as much of the shock of landing on your skateboard, whilst keeping you in control. Also remember to bend your knees deeply when landing. Now you can go and practice to get better every time.
Alternative Heelflip
The other method of doing a Heelflip is not technically a Heelflip at all, but it does spin the skateboard the same way. It is known as the Opposite Kickflip, which some say is easier to perform than the proper Kickflip. To do this you want to put your feet in the same position, as to perform a normal Kickflip. This time when you pop your skateboard into the air, do the same movment as you did with the Kickflip, but flick the skateboard on the opposite corner. The skateboard will then spin in the opposite direction.
Problems you may run into performing a Heelflip
Not getting enough spin
This is a big problem when it comes to doing a Heelflip. This is because it is important to remember to get a good, strong pop off of your tail, whilst giving the skateboard a strong flick. The other way to stop this from happening is with practice.
Skateboard goes backwards
this is also a common problem that arises, so you should try focusing on leaning back towards your heel side, whilst keeping your weight in the middle over your board.
The skatebaord goes out of control
This is can be due to the fact that you are using your toes in performing the flip, so make sure to use just your heel.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
How to do a Pop Shuvit (Shove-It )- Frontside and Backside
Setting it up correctly
The Pop Shuvit is one of the best skateboarding tricks to learn when your just starting out. You will first of all need to learn how to do a normal Shuvit, before you can go for the full Pop Shuvit. A Shuvit is simply where you jump up into the air whilst your skateboard proceeds to spin underneath you. You will begin with making it spin round once, but when you master it you will be able to more.
The fundamental difference between a Pop-Shuvit and the Shuvit is obviously the pop that is involved. When you perform a Pop Shuvit, the skateboard will then pop up into the air and continue to spin. On the other hand, in a Shuvit you do not have to pop an Ollie to do it.
Getting the Shuvit stance right
The Shuvit stance is the same when you're either doing it Backside or Frontside. The Shuvit can be pulled off whether you are standing still or rolling. If you can't do it one way then try the other.
To begin with you need to gather a bit of speed, but don't over do it; this is if you want to do it rolling, if not then you obviously don't need any speed. Now put your back foot with the ball of your foot in the center of the tail end of your skateboard.
Once you are ready, make sure to have you're front foot it in the center of your skateboard, with your toes hanging off of the edge a bit. You could also have the ball of you're front foot in the center of the deck also. The golden rule you must remember is that if it works out for you, then don't listen to anyone else and simply do it your way. If you run into problems this way, then try moving this front foot around until you are comfortable. When you start out learning how to do the Shuvit, it is best to havr the front foot further up the skateboard, a lot closer to the trucks at the front.
Doing it Backside or Frontside
Whether you are doing this trick either Backside or Frontside, the Shuvit is very similar. The difference is that a backside turn is where the skater turns with thier back facing the outside of the turn. Basically when you turn clockwise, if you are a Regular. Frontside is the opposite to this, with your chest facing the outside of the turn.
If you don't already know how to ollie (I posted how to few days ago), then it's best you focus on just pulling off a Shuvit and not the Pop. Either way you go about learning, when you perform a Shuvit you should not be spinning at all. Instead of you spinning the board will be doing so clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Shuvit Jump and Push
Once you're in the right stance and feel comfortable with it, bend your knees. You only need to go low enough to do a jump. Now do the jump and read on for what to do next.
To do a Backside Shuvit you need to push the tail end of your skateboard behind you, using your foot. While this is happening you're front foot should stay above the board. You could also kick it with the heel of you're foot, to spin it more
To do a Frontside Shuvit you need to kick the tail end of your skateboard out into the front of you and then do completley the same technique as mentioned earlier for the Backside Shuvit. Remember to keep you're front foot above the board, to prevent the it from popping up into the air.
Spinning
Whatever direction you want the skateboard to spin, you need to make sure you push the tail end hard enough to get the board to spin roight around, at least 180 degrees. If you feel more adventurous then you could have a go at making it spinning it around 360 degrees.
Once you are in the air watch the board and when it has spun around once, proceed to catch it with your feet. In other words put your feet down on the skateboard, that is with your front foot nearer the middle or perhaps towards the nose end, whilst you're back foot is at the tail end.
Now bend your knees as you land, in order to absorb the shock and help you keep your balance,
That's basically how you do a Shuvit.
How to do a Pop Shuvit
A Pop Shuvit is a combination of a Shuvit and an Ollie. To do this you need to setup as if you are doing a Shuvit. Now when you have gathered some speed, place your feet in the same places you did for the Shuvit. Once you've done this do an Ollie
Backside Pop Shuvit
During the Ollie, you want to pop the tail end and push it back away behind you, in a kicking motion, combined with the pop.
Frontside Pop Shuvit
To pull a Frontside, make sure you turn during the middle of your Ollie and kick the tail forward in front of you. Flicking it while you do the pop.
Pop Shuvit Front Foot
To do a Backside Pop-Shuvit you need to pull the board up out of the way and not to the side. Many skaters keep their front foot touching the centre of the skateboard throughout the the trick. Remember to make use of that front foot to keep the board steady.
Landing the Pop Shuvit successfully
To land perfectly catch the board with your feet once it has spun around, as you did with the Backside Shuvit, because you want to prevent the board from spinning to much.
To pull the trick off cleanly you want to aim to catch the board when it is at the very peak of its pop. Don't worry at first as it's all down to practice whether you get it right or not. Once this is done continue to land, bend your knees, and simply just roll away.
Problems you may run into:
Flipping the skateboard
If you the board is doing this instead of spinning then, how about trying to Pop Shuvit with your front foot much closer to the board.
The board may not spin adequately
this is most of the time caused by you're back foot, as it is entirely responsible for this job. Your front foot is in charge of controling the board and helping you to land effectively. If it is over spinning then quite simply you are pushing too hard. if it does the opposite to this then you are not pushing hard enough. To help aginst this try changing the strength of which you push it in small increments until you reach the required level.
Chickenfoot
This is most definately a comon problem with beginner skateboarders and is where you jump into the air, but when you land, one of your feet lands on the ground persistently. The only true remedy for this is to go back to learning how to Ollie, as this will no doubt be happening to you when doing this also.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
How to do a 50-50 grind
This is the first most basic grind that skatboarders learn to start with.
Grinding is sliding along an edge on your trucks, whether it be a curb, rail, bench, etc. A 50-50 grind involves the edge or rail being grinded across, being in the centre of the trucks. It is called "50-50" as half of the board is on the edge and half is off of it, with both trucks at an even level.
Before you can perform a 50-50 grind you will first of all need to know how to ollie, as this is the foundation for doing such a maneuver. Once you are comfortable with popping an ollie and are good enough to land your Ollies flatly, you are ready to grind.
Choosing a ledge
When learning it is best to use a ledge, rather than using a rail. The skills involved in grinding a ledge are the same as on a rail, but when you 50-50 a rail, there is more chance of you falling.
The best ledges are at skate parks where theyt are reinforced with a sharp metal coping to help you grind along easily. there is also the possibilty of buying rails for your home, or you could in fact make your own rails out of various parts. These are especially useful if the height can be adjusted. On the other hand you could build you're very own 'Funbox', which is a long, low wood en box, that has a metal reinforced edge for grinding, like that at a skate park's ledge. One thing that is important when learning to grind on a skateboard is that the ledge or rail you are using has plenty of room before and after for you to skate on.
You're first ledge should be roughly half a foot off of the ground, but also make sure you can at least Ollie that high, as you will be needing to Olly onto it. If you're thinking about using a curb to learn to 50-50 grind, then don't bother because there not as good. You need to be able to ride straight at the ledge and the problem with curbs is the way they are built preventing you from doing this so well.
When you've found a edge good enough, you can begin practicing straight away. Before you begin though, make sure you wax you're ledge or rail up first, as this will enable you're board to slide easier. You can purchase special skateboarding wax any local skateboard shop. If you are grinding locally, make sure that whoever's property it is won't mind you waxing the area up and grinding on it.
How to set it up
To set up this grind, first of all move a good distance away from the area on the ledge or rail that you want to 50-50 on and make sure you are facing the start of it.
Next you should get on your skateboard and to push off at a speed you are comfortable with. The distance you will grind once you are on the rail or ledge, depends on the speed you approach it at. Remember to aim right at the start of the edge you want to perform the 50-50 along.
When you ride towards the ledge, always make sure you have your feet in the position to do an Ollie, that is with the ball of your back foot directly in the middle of your tail end and you're front foot right above or maybe behind the trucks at the front.
When you approach the edge of the ledge, begin to bend your knees right down low and then proceed to Ollie up and onto the object you are intending to 50-50 grind.
Once you've done this, land with both skateboard trucks evenly, with the ledge or rail in the center or your trucks. Also don't forget to bend your knees as you land.
Do your best to land with your feet still in the Ollie position on your skateboard. This will make it easier to get off of the object you are 50-50 grinding at the end of the grind.
Balancing
Don't lean back whilst you are grinding and remember to keep balancing at all times, this is key. the balancing part of this grind is what you will have a hard time with, but always keep a little more weight on your front foot as this will help a lot and make use of your arms to help maintain balance.
Another important point to mention is to try to keep your shoulders above your skateboard at all times and to keep you're knees continously bent.
Along with the above just relax. As long as you have gained some good speed, Ollied up the ledge or rail and proceeded to land well, whilst keeping your balance, the skateboard will be grinding perfectly. It's all about keeping comfortable, confident, lose and relaxed.
Popping off
To finish the ground, when you reach the end of the ledge or rail, give the tail of your skateboard a sharp pop and then proceed to land back onto the ground. Again you must aim for landing perfectly with all your wheels on the ground at the exactly the same time.
Done
It's as easy as that. You can go faster or slower at the end of your grind, depending on how steep the rail or ledge you're grinding is. If the ledge you are using is quite flat, this will result in you going slow at the end of your grind. If the ledge is a lot steeper then you will be going a lot faster.
Problems you may run into:
Falling off
This is something that is bound to happen whilst you are learning, but do not worry. Grinding is a tricky thing to do and until you are totally used to it, you are going to to fall over now and again. That's why it is advisable to wear a helmet, since there's a big chance you're going to end up hitting you're head on the rail or ledge. elbow pads are advisable also as slipping and breaking your arm just hurts a lot and will stop you from skateboarding for weeks.
Stopping whilst grinding
One problem that may happen is that your skateboard will just stop and won't grind. One reason is that you are simply going too slow. The second may be that the ledge or rail you are trying to 50-50 grind along is simply way too rough to do it on. That's where some skateboarding wax comes in handy to smooth it out.
Skate Stoppers
These annoying little things are metal pieces that have been bolted onto ledges or perhaps welded onto the rails to prevent skateboarders from using them.
Obviously if you come across these you'll have to find a new place to go.
Grinding is sliding along an edge on your trucks, whether it be a curb, rail, bench, etc. A 50-50 grind involves the edge or rail being grinded across, being in the centre of the trucks. It is called "50-50" as half of the board is on the edge and half is off of it, with both trucks at an even level.
Before you can perform a 50-50 grind you will first of all need to know how to ollie, as this is the foundation for doing such a maneuver. Once you are comfortable with popping an ollie and are good enough to land your Ollies flatly, you are ready to grind.
Choosing a ledge
When learning it is best to use a ledge, rather than using a rail. The skills involved in grinding a ledge are the same as on a rail, but when you 50-50 a rail, there is more chance of you falling.
The best ledges are at skate parks where theyt are reinforced with a sharp metal coping to help you grind along easily. there is also the possibilty of buying rails for your home, or you could in fact make your own rails out of various parts. These are especially useful if the height can be adjusted. On the other hand you could build you're very own 'Funbox', which is a long, low wood en box, that has a metal reinforced edge for grinding, like that at a skate park's ledge. One thing that is important when learning to grind on a skateboard is that the ledge or rail you are using has plenty of room before and after for you to skate on.
You're first ledge should be roughly half a foot off of the ground, but also make sure you can at least Ollie that high, as you will be needing to Olly onto it. If you're thinking about using a curb to learn to 50-50 grind, then don't bother because there not as good. You need to be able to ride straight at the ledge and the problem with curbs is the way they are built preventing you from doing this so well.
When you've found a edge good enough, you can begin practicing straight away. Before you begin though, make sure you wax you're ledge or rail up first, as this will enable you're board to slide easier. You can purchase special skateboarding wax any local skateboard shop. If you are grinding locally, make sure that whoever's property it is won't mind you waxing the area up and grinding on it.
How to set it up
To set up this grind, first of all move a good distance away from the area on the ledge or rail that you want to 50-50 on and make sure you are facing the start of it.
Next you should get on your skateboard and to push off at a speed you are comfortable with. The distance you will grind once you are on the rail or ledge, depends on the speed you approach it at. Remember to aim right at the start of the edge you want to perform the 50-50 along.
When you ride towards the ledge, always make sure you have your feet in the position to do an Ollie, that is with the ball of your back foot directly in the middle of your tail end and you're front foot right above or maybe behind the trucks at the front.
When you approach the edge of the ledge, begin to bend your knees right down low and then proceed to Ollie up and onto the object you are intending to 50-50 grind.
Once you've done this, land with both skateboard trucks evenly, with the ledge or rail in the center or your trucks. Also don't forget to bend your knees as you land.
Do your best to land with your feet still in the Ollie position on your skateboard. This will make it easier to get off of the object you are 50-50 grinding at the end of the grind.
Balancing
Don't lean back whilst you are grinding and remember to keep balancing at all times, this is key. the balancing part of this grind is what you will have a hard time with, but always keep a little more weight on your front foot as this will help a lot and make use of your arms to help maintain balance.
Another important point to mention is to try to keep your shoulders above your skateboard at all times and to keep you're knees continously bent.
Along with the above just relax. As long as you have gained some good speed, Ollied up the ledge or rail and proceeded to land well, whilst keeping your balance, the skateboard will be grinding perfectly. It's all about keeping comfortable, confident, lose and relaxed.
Popping off
To finish the ground, when you reach the end of the ledge or rail, give the tail of your skateboard a sharp pop and then proceed to land back onto the ground. Again you must aim for landing perfectly with all your wheels on the ground at the exactly the same time.
Done
It's as easy as that. You can go faster or slower at the end of your grind, depending on how steep the rail or ledge you're grinding is. If the ledge you are using is quite flat, this will result in you going slow at the end of your grind. If the ledge is a lot steeper then you will be going a lot faster.
Problems you may run into:
Falling off
This is something that is bound to happen whilst you are learning, but do not worry. Grinding is a tricky thing to do and until you are totally used to it, you are going to to fall over now and again. That's why it is advisable to wear a helmet, since there's a big chance you're going to end up hitting you're head on the rail or ledge. elbow pads are advisable also as slipping and breaking your arm just hurts a lot and will stop you from skateboarding for weeks.
Stopping whilst grinding
One problem that may happen is that your skateboard will just stop and won't grind. One reason is that you are simply going too slow. The second may be that the ledge or rail you are trying to 50-50 grind along is simply way too rough to do it on. That's where some skateboarding wax comes in handy to smooth it out.
Skate Stoppers
These annoying little things are metal pieces that have been bolted onto ledges or perhaps welded onto the rails to prevent skateboarders from using them.
Obviously if you come across these you'll have to find a new place to go.
Assembling a Skateboard together
In order to assemble a skateboard you need to make sure you have all the necessary parts. You are going to need a deck, a pair of trucks, four wheels, one sheet of grip, 8 bearings, and the 8 bolts and nuts for fixing it all together. Additionally you will also need some tools to do this. These will include a file knife, a screwdriver, possibly an allen wrench (if you have them type of bolts) and of course you will need a socket wrench to fix the wheels on with.
Step One
To start off with put together all your tools and materials needed and put them in a clear workspace.
Step Two
Next lay your skateboard deck flat along the ground, with the nose and tail pointed upwards towards you. Take your sheet of grip tape and peel the back of it off and then proceed to lay it down on the board. In the meanwhile make sure it covers the whole of the deck. The next part is to take the file and scrape yourself a line around the deck so cutting the edges will be is easier to perform. When you have your outline, just start to cut as straight as you can around the circumference. That should be the hardest part to do, so once your done just poke out the 8 holes where your bolts will go and that's the grip tape all sorted.
Step Three
The next step is to fix the trucks to the deck. Start off by guiding four of the bolts through the that holes you made earlier through the grip tape and then place your truck on it. You must remember to make sure the bolt that holds everything together (kingpin), is facing inwards as if it is not then this will ruin the whole process. Now continue to do the same task for the other truck truck and remeber to make the kingpins face one other.
Step four
If you do not have a bearing press then, Putting the bearings into the wheels can be a difficult task, but not impossible. The process that will make it much easier is this. To begin with you need to sit on your skateboard on one side of it, so it is resting onto its wheel axle. Now remove the nut found at the end of the axle. Now what you have to do is place one bearing onto the axle and proceed to slide a wheel onto it. You will now be able to use pressure to pop the bearing into place on the wheel. Now you must remove that wheel and then slide another bearing on and continue to do the same process again. Also another point ot mention is that if you have wheel spacers, then you need to put them in once the first bearings are on. Do this over and over again so that you have done it three more times.
Step Five
Once you have completed the above steps, you're skateboard should be fully assembled. Now you can start to test it. To do this you need to take it out onto perhaps your driveway, garage or possibly the basement. The first method of testing to do is tto perform a truck test. You need to do this by leaning on your toes and heels. While you're doing this see if your wheels touch the deck, if they do so then your going to need to tighten them up a bit more with a wrench. You will after time have a preference of either having them tightly fixed, loose or just the average truck tightness, but to start with it is not essential.
The next testing method is, to test the wheels. To start this you need to give it a push. If you feel as if you are sort of dragging a little, then you may have your axle nut done up way too tight and it will definately need loosening to prevent friction from slowing you down. Now that these tests and adjustments have been completed, you can proceed to take your board anywhere you want.
As you may well know, pretty much any area you can skate in.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
A quick guide through skateboarding history
1950s
This was the beginning for skateboarding when all across California surfers started to take to surfing the streets with the idea of replacing the waves with wheels. It is unclear how the first board was actually created, but instead, it seems that a few different people came up with similar idea at roughly the same time as each other. There are a small handful of people that have laid claim to inventing skateboarding first, but none of this can be proved, and this leaves skateboarding a mysterious creation with no solid roots.
This was the beginning for skateboarding when all across California surfers started to take to surfing the streets with the idea of replacing the waves with wheels. It is unclear how the first board was actually created, but instead, it seems that a few different people came up with similar idea at roughly the same time as each other. There are a small handful of people that have laid claim to inventing skateboarding first, but none of this can be proved, and this leaves skateboarding a mysterious creation with no solid roots.
The very first skateboarders started out using wooden boxes or boards that had roller skate wheels fixed to the bottom. As you could imagine, There were a lot of people who got hurt in the early years of skateboarding. this was because it was a sport newly discovered, so anything went. As time went on the boxes turned into planks, and eventually companies began to produce decks of pressed layers of wood that were very similar to the skateboard decks of you can buy today. In this era skateboarding was an after lesuire for surfers who wanted more action whilst they were away from the shores.
1963
In this year skateboarding reached it's peak of popularity and various companies including but not limited to Makaha and Hobie, started putting together skateboarding competitions. At this time, skateboarding was either a downhill event or freestyle. Three men Danny Berer, Woody Woodward and Torger Johnson were some of the best known skateboarders around at this time, but the techniques and maneuvers they did back in them days were nearly entirely different to what skateboarding looks like today. The style of skateboarding that they used, called "freestyle", is more like doing things such as dancing ballet or perhaps performing ice skating with a skateboard.
1965
In this year the massive popularity that was only two years ago, suddenly grinded to a halt. Most people thought that skateboarding was a phase that had just died out, as the hoola hoop did. Skateboard companies collapsed and people who wanted to skate had to resort to making their own skateboards again entirely from scratch.
Despite this though people still skated, even though the parts were extremely hard to find and the boards were home made. Some skaters were even using clay wheels for their boards, which resulted in them being highly dangerous and very hard to control.
1972
This was the year when Frank Nasworthy came up with the invention of the urethane wheels, were roughly the same as skaters use today. He then started a company called Cadillac Wheels, and in relation to this it sparked a new interest in skateboarding among surfers and similar people.
1975
This is when skateboarding evolved towards the very sport that we see today. A freestyle contest took place at the Ocean Festival involving the Zephyr team who showed the world what skateboarding could be with a bit of dedication and hard work. They rode their boards like no one had ever seen and skateboarding moved from being just a hobby to something serious, rewarding and highly exciting. The Zephyr team consisted of many members, the most notable being Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta and Jay Adams .
All the skaters who wanted to be like the Zephyr team including themselves, also made skateboarding even more exciting to the public eye and started an anti-establishment sentiment that is still present in skateboarding world to theis very day.
1978
A few years into the surging popularity of this new type of low style skateboarding, Alan Gelfand, who was nicknamed 'Ollie', came up with a maneuver that gave the world of skateboarding another jump in evolution. this involved slamming the back foot down on to tail end of his skateboard and then proceeding to jump up into the air and as a direct result of this lifting himself along with the skate board up into the air. This was the birth of the 'Ollie' a trick that completely changed the face of modern skateboarding. This paved the way for most tricks today which are based in performing an ollie. As you may well know already the trick still bears his name, and Alan Gelfand was added to the skateboard hall of fame another 24 years later in 2002.
70's
During these years skateboarding's popularity took it's second hard tumble. there were public skate parks that had been being built, but with the danger of skateboarding being a prime factor, insurance rates went totally out of control for the sport. This then had an effect on the number of people coming to use skateparks which forced most to close.
Despite this again there were skaters who kept on skating.
80's
By this time skateboarders were started to build their own ramps at home and to they were using whatever else they could find. Skateboarding began to take a more underground face, with skaterboarders continuing to ride, but to using every object in thier path to create thier skatepark.
During this time smaller skateboard companies that were founded by skateboarders themselves started opening all around. This then meant that each company could be creative and do whatever they wanted in terms of creating new styles and shapes of boards.
This was also the era of the VCR and this resulted in the opening up of the skateboarding world to anyone wherever they were. Two people, George Powell and Stacey Peralta, formed a young team of talented skateboarders, called the Bones Brigade. Stacey's talent was for filming and in 1984 she shot the first of a long series of skateboard videos, that were of a style never seen before. The team included Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Stacy Peralta, and Kevin Staab, amongst other soon to be famous skaterboarders.
Unfortunately, when the 80's reached to a close, skateboarding started to once again dive in popularity. Every fall in the popularity of skateboarding has been more severe then the last. This in return had a huge impact on professional skaters who like Tony Hawk had a very difficult time making it through the late 80's and early 90's. Due to this Tony Hawk went through a tremendous amount of stress and even lost his first wife as a direct result.
Early 90's
It is then in the early 90's that skateboarding's popularity started to increase once again, this time with a more determined and dangerous attitude. It was also the time when Mike Vallely and Natas Kaupas came onto the skateboarding scene and pushed street style even further. this was at the same time and parallel to the more angry punk music.
Late 90's
In 1995 in Rhode Island, ESPN held their first Extreme Games. This first X Games was a large success and it enabled skateboarding to be more attached to the mainstream. It also meant that it was closer to being accepted by the majority of the general population as a whole.
In 1997 "Extreme Sports" were classified as a result of the first Winter X Games being held. on the other hand there were a lot of skateboarders who do not like the way skateboarding had moved from underground to mainstream. Despite this, the X Games did result in the revitalisation of vert skateboarding's popularity. The X Games and similar competitions, have continued to keep vert skateboarding's popularity alive. It has also lead to Vert skateboarding has becoming a much loved spectator sport.
2000 Onwards
In recent times the media and general commercialization of the sport, such as the introduction of products such as skateboarding video games, children's skateboards, etc, have all pulled skateboarding more into the mainstream. One benefit of this is skaters are more widely accepted and the common misconception that all skaters are related to criminal activity has slowly faded. Another point is that with more money being put into skateboarding, there are many more skateparks and better quality skateboards that have been produced.
On the other hand, there is a group of skaters who who strongly disagree with the way skateboarding has been made more mainstream and yearn to go back to underground days.
Due to it's history and the way it is, skateboarding is an individual's sport and there is no definitively right or wrong way to go about skateboarding. However, if skateboarding is classed as an official sport, then this means many skaterboarders are scared that this freedom of choice and opinion will soon die out. This is reflected in the current debate concerning skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport.
Despite this, with the sport having such an action packed short history, it is easy to see that no one knows where skateboarding will stand and how it will evolve from here on out. Skateboarding still has not stopped changing and skaters are constantly creating new stylized tricks and techniques. Skateboards are also continuing to evolve, as skate companies try to make them more durable, resistant and improve the performance of them overall.
So who knows where skateboarding will be in 10, 15 or 20 years time?
Performing an Ollie
The ollie was invented by a man way back in 1977 by Alan "Ollie" Gelfand and it is the first trick that most skateboarders will most probably learn first of all. All flatland and park skateboarding tricks are founded on this one trick so getting it right is of extreme importance for your skateboarding career. Once you learn how to correctly ollie, you will be able to go on and learn all kinds of other skateboarding tricks, or even start inventing your own tricks from there on.
The correct stance
The first step of performing an ollie is to start of by placing your back foot so that the ball of your foot is directly on the tail end of your skateboard. Now what you have to do is place your front foot inbetween the middle and front trucks on the board. this is the position where you want your feet to be situated just before you begin to do the ollie. If having your feet shifted to other places on your skateboard makes it more comfortable to do this then go ahead.
You can either learn how to ollie whilst you are standing still, or whilst your skateboard is rolling forwards or backwards. If you olly while you are standing, it still works the same way as whilst rolling, but rolling ollies area much more simple task to perform than that of stationary ollies.
One way in order to learn how to ollie with your skateboard stationary, is to place your skateboard on some carpet or grass so that it does not roll. If you then prefer to learn to ollie whilst your skateboard is rolling, then make sure you don't go fast at the beginning. Either way you learn how to ollie, once you feel comfortable you should then try to ollie in the opposite direction as well.
The pop
When you are ready to perform an ollie, you should bend your knees deeply. The more you bend your knees, the much higher you are likely to go. The next step is to slam your back foot down on to tail end of your skateboard as hard as you can. Whilst you do this you want to also jump into the air, using your back foot to do this.
That step is the secret to doing it successfully and requires much practice. It is all about getting your timing just right. You want to be able to slap the skateboard tail end down and as it hits the ground, to then jump off of that foot right up into the air. Also make sure that you pull that back foot high into the air with a quick snapping action.
Importance of the front foot
When you jump up into the air, your front foot will need to roll inward and meanwhile with the outside of your foot, you will want to guide the skateboard as it flies up into the air. It is almost as if you are dragging the side of your front foot up the skateboard and that is near enough what is happening. What you are actually doing is using your shoe and the griptape on the board to pull the skateboard higher along with you and then guiding the skateboard into the direction where you want it go. Whilst you jump up into the air, you must pull your knees as high as you possibly can. This is to try to hit your chest with your knees. The more downwards that you crouch down before you perform the ollie, and the higher you pull your feet upwards, the higher your ollie will definately be in relation to this.
Throughout the entire ollie, you must try and keep your shoulders and body level with one another, as in do not lean towards the tail end of the nose of your skateboard. This will make performing the ollie a lot easier to do and it will make landing easier on your skateboard afterwards. When you reach the very top of your jump, so when you are as high in the air as you are to go, you must flatten out the skateboard underneath you. Also make sure that both of your feet are level on the top of the skateboard.
Land and roll away
When you come to fall back downwards towards the ground and land the skateboard, you must now bend your knees once again. You MUST remember to do this as this is very important, as your knees will then help to absorb and take in the shock that is inflicted when landing on your skateboard and will keep your knees from taking to much from the impact and being damaged. Doing this will also mean you are in more control of skateboard. The last part is to just roll away and that's basically all there is to the ollie and of course that and to practice it! Remember some people learn how to ollie within a day and some considerably longer than that, maybe months or a whole year.
Practicing methods
Ollie next to a curb - To begin this method of practising the ollie, you must first of all place your skateboard beside a curb, right up against it. This will then help keep your board from rolling away. The next step is to do everything that was described earlier, but not to worry about what your board does and just get on with doing it. When you do it land up on top of the curb, on the sidewalk. You do not have to worry yourself about doing it correctly or whether the skateboard will be there or not, or even if you will get hurt. Just go step by step through the motions of ollying up the curb. If you do it correctly, the skateboard will of course be there. On the other hand if you are to do it wrong, you will probably just land on your feet on the sidewalk.
Ollie on the carpet or in grass - This method will help keep your skateboard from rolling away. It is a common thought that people have, that ollying standing still is a lot harder than whilst you are rolling, but practicing like this can help your body learn how to do it. If you are worried about the skateboard from flying from underneath you, practicing on the carpet or grass will prevent this and make you feel safer.
Problems you may run into:
Chickenfoot - This occurs when you pop up into the air on youre skateboard, but when you land, one of your feet always seems to land on the ground instead of back on the board. The most common reason for this is that you do not feel safe enough, and you are pulling one foot out to catch yourself. The method to stop this problem is to simply just focus on keeping that offending foot on the board and to build that confidence, of not stacking it, up.
Low Ollies - The biggest cause of this happening is that you may not be going down low enough before you begin to ollie and that you are not not pulling your feet up high enough after you jump. Also another hting to remeber is that when you crouch down, try touching the ground. On the other hand when you jump up, try to hit yourself in the chest with both knees. Do not about worry about falling as this will no doubt happen sometimes a few times.
Losing board in midair - Another thing that is bound to happen now and again to you is that you will tend to lose your skateboard in mid air whilst performing an ollie. If this happens to you, it may be caused by you kicking the board away with your feet while you are still in the air, or perhaps because you are taking your feet off of your board. To correct this problem try and make sure to keep yourself and your feet above the skateboard at all times.
The correct stance
The first step of performing an ollie is to start of by placing your back foot so that the ball of your foot is directly on the tail end of your skateboard. Now what you have to do is place your front foot inbetween the middle and front trucks on the board. this is the position where you want your feet to be situated just before you begin to do the ollie. If having your feet shifted to other places on your skateboard makes it more comfortable to do this then go ahead.
You can either learn how to ollie whilst you are standing still, or whilst your skateboard is rolling forwards or backwards. If you olly while you are standing, it still works the same way as whilst rolling, but rolling ollies area much more simple task to perform than that of stationary ollies.
One way in order to learn how to ollie with your skateboard stationary, is to place your skateboard on some carpet or grass so that it does not roll. If you then prefer to learn to ollie whilst your skateboard is rolling, then make sure you don't go fast at the beginning. Either way you learn how to ollie, once you feel comfortable you should then try to ollie in the opposite direction as well.
The pop
When you are ready to perform an ollie, you should bend your knees deeply. The more you bend your knees, the much higher you are likely to go. The next step is to slam your back foot down on to tail end of your skateboard as hard as you can. Whilst you do this you want to also jump into the air, using your back foot to do this.
That step is the secret to doing it successfully and requires much practice. It is all about getting your timing just right. You want to be able to slap the skateboard tail end down and as it hits the ground, to then jump off of that foot right up into the air. Also make sure that you pull that back foot high into the air with a quick snapping action.
Importance of the front foot
When you jump up into the air, your front foot will need to roll inward and meanwhile with the outside of your foot, you will want to guide the skateboard as it flies up into the air. It is almost as if you are dragging the side of your front foot up the skateboard and that is near enough what is happening. What you are actually doing is using your shoe and the griptape on the board to pull the skateboard higher along with you and then guiding the skateboard into the direction where you want it go. Whilst you jump up into the air, you must pull your knees as high as you possibly can. This is to try to hit your chest with your knees. The more downwards that you crouch down before you perform the ollie, and the higher you pull your feet upwards, the higher your ollie will definately be in relation to this.
Throughout the entire ollie, you must try and keep your shoulders and body level with one another, as in do not lean towards the tail end of the nose of your skateboard. This will make performing the ollie a lot easier to do and it will make landing easier on your skateboard afterwards. When you reach the very top of your jump, so when you are as high in the air as you are to go, you must flatten out the skateboard underneath you. Also make sure that both of your feet are level on the top of the skateboard.
Land and roll away
When you come to fall back downwards towards the ground and land the skateboard, you must now bend your knees once again. You MUST remember to do this as this is very important, as your knees will then help to absorb and take in the shock that is inflicted when landing on your skateboard and will keep your knees from taking to much from the impact and being damaged. Doing this will also mean you are in more control of skateboard. The last part is to just roll away and that's basically all there is to the ollie and of course that and to practice it! Remember some people learn how to ollie within a day and some considerably longer than that, maybe months or a whole year.
Practicing methods
Ollie next to a curb - To begin this method of practising the ollie, you must first of all place your skateboard beside a curb, right up against it. This will then help keep your board from rolling away. The next step is to do everything that was described earlier, but not to worry about what your board does and just get on with doing it. When you do it land up on top of the curb, on the sidewalk. You do not have to worry yourself about doing it correctly or whether the skateboard will be there or not, or even if you will get hurt. Just go step by step through the motions of ollying up the curb. If you do it correctly, the skateboard will of course be there. On the other hand if you are to do it wrong, you will probably just land on your feet on the sidewalk.
Ollie on the carpet or in grass - This method will help keep your skateboard from rolling away. It is a common thought that people have, that ollying standing still is a lot harder than whilst you are rolling, but practicing like this can help your body learn how to do it. If you are worried about the skateboard from flying from underneath you, practicing on the carpet or grass will prevent this and make you feel safer.
Problems you may run into:
Chickenfoot - This occurs when you pop up into the air on youre skateboard, but when you land, one of your feet always seems to land on the ground instead of back on the board. The most common reason for this is that you do not feel safe enough, and you are pulling one foot out to catch yourself. The method to stop this problem is to simply just focus on keeping that offending foot on the board and to build that confidence, of not stacking it, up.
Low Ollies - The biggest cause of this happening is that you may not be going down low enough before you begin to ollie and that you are not not pulling your feet up high enough after you jump. Also another hting to remeber is that when you crouch down, try touching the ground. On the other hand when you jump up, try to hit yourself in the chest with both knees. Do not about worry about falling as this will no doubt happen sometimes a few times.
Losing board in midair - Another thing that is bound to happen now and again to you is that you will tend to lose your skateboard in mid air whilst performing an ollie. If this happens to you, it may be caused by you kicking the board away with your feet while you are still in the air, or perhaps because you are taking your feet off of your board. To correct this problem try and make sure to keep yourself and your feet above the skateboard at all times.
Getting back up after falling off
Skateboarding can often be unpleasant when coming off of your board nastily. Despite wearing pads all over your body, you will definately at one point or another fall and you will likely get hurt before you get good enough to catch yourself effectively. Apart from the obvious of perhaps wearing a helmet in conjunction with pads, there are some additional things you can do to reduce the damage your body takes.
An important thing to remember is that, once you fall, you should try not to use your hands to catch yourself. At first this may be kind of hard to master, but if you lose your board and you are going to hit the ground, you should try and let your shoulder and body take the brunt of it, whilst rolling along with the blow, which will dampen the negative effects. Catching yourself with your hand is the most common way of breaking your wrists and while wearing wrist guards can protect you from this, it is more dangerous to get used to using your hands, because further down the line you will start to skate without the use of your wrist guards.
An important thing to remember is that, once you fall, you should try not to use your hands to catch yourself. At first this may be kind of hard to master, but if you lose your board and you are going to hit the ground, you should try and let your shoulder and body take the brunt of it, whilst rolling along with the blow, which will dampen the negative effects. Catching yourself with your hand is the most common way of breaking your wrists and while wearing wrist guards can protect you from this, it is more dangerous to get used to using your hands, because further down the line you will start to skate without the use of your wrist guards.
So remember for all of those times you do get hurt or injured, what do you do about it? Just crack on and try to get up if you can, walk around and shake it off. Easier said then done I know.
From then on every time you fall, your body will then begin to learn to avoid doing that again. You should not get hurt that bad from skateboarding, but it is a fact that broken bones are quite a common occurrence. If you think you have suffered from a broken bone or maybe damaged a part of your body badly, then get it checked out straight away. You will hate yourself if you come to find out a month later you were indeed hurt severley, but the wound healed the wrong way and now things are twice as bad. The fact of the matter is that wounds heal, and you will be fine in no time. After you are better and up for it, the most important thing to do is to get back on your skateboard, and just carry on skating.
How to skate over flow
"Flow" refers to the sloping curves at a skate park. Skateboarding over flow and up and down slopes and ramps is a quite tricky at first. The first important rule to remember is to always keep the majority of your weight on your front foot. This means that when you are riding over a big bump, down a hill, down your driveway at home, or perhaps through a skatepark, you must remember to keep your weight focused on that front foot. That does not mean to tense it all up, you also need to relax it too.
The secret to this is that when you ride up a ramp or slope, you must pause, and then continue to ride back down fakie (backwards), with your front foot recently switched. Remember that your front foot is not always your right or left foot, in fact it is the foot that is facing the direction you are going in. Also when riding up a ramp or hill and coming down fakie, you will want to transfer all of your weight from one foot to the other right at the top.
It might take some practice but you will get there eventually.
The second key is to remember to always bend those knees. Keep your knees bent, and as loose as you possibly can. This will in return help your body to sufficiently absorb the shock and impact of bumps and changes. As a huge rule in skateboarding, the more relaxed and bent your knees are, the better you will most defiantley skate. Another thing is not to hunch your shoulders too much, either. Try and keep your shoulders back a little bit more and relax. If you hunch a little, that's ok. Just remember to be realxed.
Guide to carving on your skateboard
This is all about leaning how to perform a toeside or heelside and to get your skateboard to turn in that particular direction, simple really. Start off by first of all pushing your board, and whilst you are rolling, place all of your weight onto your heels of your feet. You will now slowly begin to turn in that direction. The harder you push on your heels the faster your turning will be. While you are skating around, you will be also be using this teqnique a lot of the time. Just go and practice outside and try pushing forward and carving around various objects. Now try pushing right at something that you do not want to hit, such as a curb or something simlar. Whilst you do this see if you can carve around or away from it.
If you begi to lean your upper body towards the general direction you want to carve in, you will definately find it much more easier. Carving on a skateboard is also similar to carving on say a snowboard, apart from the fact that you do not catch your edge and die like uou would most probably do on a snowboard. If you want to carve really deeply, then how about trying to bend your knees a lot more and crouching lower on your skateboard.
Carving is much more easier to perform on a longboard, but it is a an important skill to harness in any board sport.Stopping your skateboard
How to Footbreak
The easiest way of breaking on your skateboard is to take off your back foot and drag it along the ground. It does take some practice and you definately should spend some time diverting your energy on to it now before the time comes when you will need to use it, so that you can actually stop when you need to
1) To begin with take your front foot and turn your toes so they completely face the nose end of the board. You should also turn your chest in a forward direction as well.
2) You can now start to transfer all of your weight onto your front foot as you swing out your back leg and lower it onto the ground. Remember that it is very important to always keep your back leg as straight as possible, as you lower it to the ground. Another point to remember, is to keep all your weight centered soley on your front foot and on all circumstances do not lean back or forward as this will have negative effects.
3) When you lower your back leg to the ground, keep it straight and first of all apply a light pressure towards the ground firmly with the bottom of your shoe and then carry on to again apply more pressure if you want to slow down at a faster rate. It is important to remember do it fluidly and in a relaxed manner.
4) You shouldn't expect to get used to this the first time round, as it does take a lot of consistent practice to learn how to footbrake effectively and efficiently.
5) One of the most common mistakes is that when you begin to apply your back foot pressure, in order to brake it will want to skip off ground. This results when you are applying far too much weight on your back foot. You have to always remember that all of your weight is coming from your front leg, and all you are doing is just dragging your back foot on the ground to slow down.
6) A common 1st mistake is that when you apply your back foot to brake it will want to skip off the ground. This is because you are applying too much weight on your back foot. Remember all your weight is basically on your front leg, and you are just dragging your back foot on the ground to slow down.
In addition to the above steps, one tip is to not go too fast and then think that you will try foot braking because you will most definately fall off. Instead you must start learning how to footbrake at a comfortable reduced speed, where you would not normally need to brake at, but then begin to work your way up to more increased speeds.
How to Heel Drag
Heel dragging takes a fair bit of practice but it is a common method to stop with skaters who have been skateboarding for quite a while. To do this you need to start by placing the heel of your back foot so that it is sticking off of the back of the board. You now need to lean backwards so that the front end of your skateboard comes right up into the air. Now step down onto your heel, but always make sure that the upper front half of your foot remains on the board.
Your heel will now drage a small distance and then you should evantually come to a stop. This will take a lot of time and practice and mayt involve you falling on your back quite a few times. It may also launch the board out in front of you while you learn.
Power sliding
These are really quite advanced maneuvers and take a lot of practice to get right. These are mentioned as a lot of beginner skaters desire to use this method as it does look very cool to do. But before you can even think about performing a powerslide you have got to master those kickturns yet, so more on powersildes another time.
How to bail
If the above methods of stopping do not succeed then quite simply jump off of your skateboard. If you keep your knees bent whilst you are riding, then this should not be to hard. If you are to jump forwards, your skateboard will usually stop at relatively the same spot. But also remember that buying a new skateboard is far cheaper and easier than having to get a broken arm or perhaps a new face, simply put it that way.
The easiest way of breaking on your skateboard is to take off your back foot and drag it along the ground. It does take some practice and you definately should spend some time diverting your energy on to it now before the time comes when you will need to use it, so that you can actually stop when you need to
1) To begin with take your front foot and turn your toes so they completely face the nose end of the board. You should also turn your chest in a forward direction as well.
2) You can now start to transfer all of your weight onto your front foot as you swing out your back leg and lower it onto the ground. Remember that it is very important to always keep your back leg as straight as possible, as you lower it to the ground. Another point to remember, is to keep all your weight centered soley on your front foot and on all circumstances do not lean back or forward as this will have negative effects.
3) When you lower your back leg to the ground, keep it straight and first of all apply a light pressure towards the ground firmly with the bottom of your shoe and then carry on to again apply more pressure if you want to slow down at a faster rate. It is important to remember do it fluidly and in a relaxed manner.
4) You shouldn't expect to get used to this the first time round, as it does take a lot of consistent practice to learn how to footbrake effectively and efficiently.
5) One of the most common mistakes is that when you begin to apply your back foot pressure, in order to brake it will want to skip off ground. This results when you are applying far too much weight on your back foot. You have to always remember that all of your weight is coming from your front leg, and all you are doing is just dragging your back foot on the ground to slow down.
6) A common 1st mistake is that when you apply your back foot to brake it will want to skip off the ground. This is because you are applying too much weight on your back foot. Remember all your weight is basically on your front leg, and you are just dragging your back foot on the ground to slow down.
In addition to the above steps, one tip is to not go too fast and then think that you will try foot braking because you will most definately fall off. Instead you must start learning how to footbrake at a comfortable reduced speed, where you would not normally need to brake at, but then begin to work your way up to more increased speeds.
How to Heel Drag
Heel dragging takes a fair bit of practice but it is a common method to stop with skaters who have been skateboarding for quite a while. To do this you need to start by placing the heel of your back foot so that it is sticking off of the back of the board. You now need to lean backwards so that the front end of your skateboard comes right up into the air. Now step down onto your heel, but always make sure that the upper front half of your foot remains on the board.
Your heel will now drage a small distance and then you should evantually come to a stop. This will take a lot of time and practice and mayt involve you falling on your back quite a few times. It may also launch the board out in front of you while you learn.
Power sliding
These are really quite advanced maneuvers and take a lot of practice to get right. These are mentioned as a lot of beginner skaters desire to use this method as it does look very cool to do. But before you can even think about performing a powerslide you have got to master those kickturns yet, so more on powersildes another time.
How to bail
If the above methods of stopping do not succeed then quite simply jump off of your skateboard. If you keep your knees bent whilst you are riding, then this should not be to hard. If you are to jump forwards, your skateboard will usually stop at relatively the same spot. But also remember that buying a new skateboard is far cheaper and easier than having to get a broken arm or perhaps a new face, simply put it that way.
Choosing a stance - goofy or regular?
When you are just starting out skateboarding you will need to know whether you want your right foot in front or whether you want your left foot in front. Basically which ever one of them feels more comfortable than the other one, then just simply go with that stance, as there is no right way to stand it's just preference.
One way to stand is Goofy, which is to skate with your right foot forward as shown below.
1
The first method is to go and get a ball or something similar. Now just sit it on the ground in front of you and simply kick it. The foot you just kicked it with will most likely be your back foot. This is because you need your kicking foot at the back and your balancing foot (which is the foot you used to stand whilst you kicked the ball) at the front.
2
Another method is to go to a staircase, and simply walk up it. Take a note of what foot you used to step up the first of all with onto the step? That one will most likely be your back foot.
3
The last method is a bit more of a challenge as once you have read it you will realise this. To begin with you have to find someone and stand with both your feet close together. Now ask them to shove you from behind. Now if you didn't fall over, you should have caught yourself with one of your feet. The foot you used to catch yourself is most likely the foot you would put in back.
It is common for most people to be regular footed just as it is common for most people to right handed and vice a versa. That is precisely whay it is named regular. But the important thing to remember is that there is actually no right way of doing it. If you have done the 3 methods above and you have worked out that you are regular, but you just simply prefer riding goofy, then ride just ride goofy as you are comfortable with it, it's as simple as that.
One way to stand is Goofy, which is to skate with your right foot forward as shown below.
Regular skating is to stand with your left foot forwards instead.
1
The first method is to go and get a ball or something similar. Now just sit it on the ground in front of you and simply kick it. The foot you just kicked it with will most likely be your back foot. This is because you need your kicking foot at the back and your balancing foot (which is the foot you used to stand whilst you kicked the ball) at the front.
2
Another method is to go to a staircase, and simply walk up it. Take a note of what foot you used to step up the first of all with onto the step? That one will most likely be your back foot.
3
The last method is a bit more of a challenge as once you have read it you will realise this. To begin with you have to find someone and stand with both your feet close together. Now ask them to shove you from behind. Now if you didn't fall over, you should have caught yourself with one of your feet. The foot you used to catch yourself is most likely the foot you would put in back.
It is common for most people to be regular footed just as it is common for most people to right handed and vice a versa. That is precisely whay it is named regular. But the important thing to remember is that there is actually no right way of doing it. If you have done the 3 methods above and you have worked out that you are regular, but you just simply prefer riding goofy, then ride just ride goofy as you are comfortable with it, it's as simple as that.
Basic skateboarding gear
Once you have brought yourself a skateboard or perhaps burrowed a friends and your looking to hit the skate park, but are not quite sure what to do next then the first thing you should do is get a pair of skate shoes. You can pretty much skate alright in regular shoes, but it will be a lot more of a challenge to do so and can even turn out to be dangerous. Skate shoes are basically built with a large flat bottom, witha large surface area in order to grip the board better. they also often have other features such as extra reinforcement in areas of the shoes where you are most likely to wear them down a lot. You should also seriously think about getting a helmet. You will no doubt come across skaters who may not wear helmets and this in turn will make you worry that wearing one will make you look like a wimp, but not to worry. It is a common thing now for many skate parks to require the use of helmets and that they are to be worn, which is the case especially when you first start out skateboarding. Remember it is also always better to be safe then sorry. There are other protective pads you can benefit from too, but this all depends on a degree to what you are doing. If you are trying to do tricks in your driveway, then all you really need are elbow pads, but on the other hand you really only need knee pads if you are skating on say a ramp, or trying some quite crazy tricks. Wrist braces are yet another useful protective piece of kit, but do remember to be careful not to use your hands to mutch to catch your fall, as you do not want to get used to it.
Guide to doing Kickturn on your skateboard
Kickturning is one of the basics of skateboarding and is one of the skills you must aquire before you can progress further, but it can be confusing to learn how to do it. Kickturning is basically when you balance on the back wheels for a brief moment, and swing the front of your board into a completly different direction. It takes a fair bit of balance and some consistent practice to achieve.
Learning to balance whilst kickturning
To begin with, you need to start to learn how to balance effectively on two wheels. So to do this, put your skateboard on your living room carpet, or perhaps on the grass outside. Basically anywheree where it will not roll around too much.
When you have done this, then on your skateboard with your back foot stood across the tail and your front foot literally right behind or, if you wish, across the bolts for the front trucks. This is what is known as the basic ollie stance, and is inviolved in performing a large number of skateboarding tricks of all sorts.
What you have to do next is to bend your knees whilst keeping your shoulders level above the skateboard deck. Now start to relax and while you are doing this remember to breathe normally and don't freak out.
The next step is to move your entire weight to your back foot. Perhaps not all of it, but maybe about two thirds or so. As you do this, start to bring your front foot up a bit. The rule is that the more you shift your weight to the tail end of the board, in relation the more the nose end of the board will be forced to pop up into the air.
Now try balancing on just the back wheels of your skateboard, just for a while. It will begin to feel scary, like you are going to fall if you have not done this before. Don't worry about it though, just begin to relax and get back on your board if you are to come off it. Just keep practicing and seeing how long you can balance on those two back wheels for.
Performing the Duckwalk
This next part of the learning to kickturn process is quite a lot of fun, and may seem ridiculous to you. But the point is it most definately does help.
You can do this method of practicing outside on an empty street or a flat concrete carpark or anywhere similar, or perhaps maybe on the carpet in your home. Now to start with begin to stand on your skateboard, whilst placing your back foot right across the tail end of your skateboard. Continue to put your front foot across the nose of your skateboard in the same way as mentioned earlier.
Once you have your feet successfully placed on the nose and tail of your skateboard, begin to try and and do a walk. You can achieve this by shifting your entire weight to one foot, and then swiftly swinging the other foot forwards a little at time, whilst you are still on the skateboard. Continue to do this in a back and forth motion. As mentioned before, this may seem a little strange and stupid, but relax and will start to have a little fun with it in good time. It is extremely good practice for balancing and kickturning as a whole.
Performing the Backside turn
If you have read and carried out all of the necessary steps above then you are now ready to actually start kickturning. You will now begin to stand on your skateboard with your back foot placed across the tail end, and in the meanwhile have your front foot on or directly behind the front trucks. You can either do this on a carpet or perhaps the paving outside your home, anywhere will do. On the other hand if you do start on carpet, then you should perhaps really try it on pavement soon, in order to avoid making any bad habits that may stick with you.
Now just as you did with the balancing exercise, you will attempt to successfully shift your weight a little bit more towards the tail end of your skateboard, and bring the nose up more or less off of the ground. While the your skateboards nose is in the air, you may also want to push the nose of the skateboard a little bit further behind you. You can do this by performing a pushing or scooping motion backwards using just your toes. You do not need to worry about turning very far at all, the important thing is to just try and turn a little bit at a time.
Since you are turning with your front to the outside of the turn, this is called a Frontside Kick.Now you are ready to actually kickturn. Stand on your skateboard with your back foot across the tail, and your front foot on or behind the front trucks. You can do this on carpet or pavement. If you start on carpet, then you should really try it on pavement soon, to avoid making any bad habits.
Just like with the balance exercise, you will want to shift your weight a little to the tail of your skateboard, and bring the nose up off the ground. Also, while the nose is in the air, you want to push the nose of the skateboard a little behind you. Do this by pushing or scooping back with your toes. You don't need to worry about turning very far, just try and turn a little.
Since you are turning with your front to the outside of the turn, this is a Frontside Kickturn. To begin with you will most probably only begin to turn a little, but eventually more with practice. As you keep practicing also notice how the swinging of your arms and hips helps a great deal. Perform small kickturns until you have turned around in a complete circle. Then start to do it again and again, but try and turn all the way around with as few kickturns as you can, as this is what you are aiming for. Once you can successfully do a kickturn on your skateboard roughly at 90 degrees then you can start to perform it in the opposite direction by reversing the method appropriately. Once you have mastered all of the above move on to the next step.
Tic Tac
Once you have mastered to successfully turn in both directions left and right, you can try and combine the two together. To do this you have to do a short kickturn in one direction, and then switch to do a short kickturn in the other direction. Remember you must do them as quickly as possible, while swinging your weight forwards, and you will realise that you can move forwards. Tic Tacing is a one of the real skateboard maneuvers, and comes in handy when you do not feel like stepping off of your board just yet and wish to go a short distance further.
When you start to practice this skateboarding maneuver you will find that first of all you will begin to move at a very slow pace, or even move in a backwards direction. Dont worry just keep at it, successfully pushing your weight more and more forwards. Aslo try and give yourself a goal of trying to go a few extra feet, and then try and tic tac across the whole entire street if you can!
You will find that as you keep on practicing practicing, you must pay attention to what your arms, shoulders and hips are doing also. Feel free to really put some swing into the turns. If you fall off, then just get back up and do it all over again and again. The best thing to do in skateboarding is to not stop for the day after you have had a fall, unless you are really hurt. It's good to get back on your skateboard, if you are well and able to do so as this will get you much more used to it then just going ahead and quitting.
Remember to KEEP ON GOING
With all of the above taking in and practiced you should now know the basics of kickturning, and the only thing left to do is to just keep on practicing, improving your confidence and introducing kickturns into your normal skateboarding routine.
You will find as you gain more and more confidence in your abilities, you can go ahead and try kickturning whilst you are still moving. Try kickturning while you are on a ramp, first of all going up it a little then doing a 180 degree kickturn back round and down. You will see that more you practice, the more comfortable to you kickturning will become.
Many skaters get really confident in turning in one direction, but on the other hand never really practice performing a kickturn the other way round. This is indeed okay to do, but I think it is a bad habit to pick up. In order to be really confident as a skater, you need to be comfortable kickturning in whichever direction you choose. This will mean you can go on to learn more skateboarding tricks.
Now you know what to do keep practicing and have fun!
Learning to balance whilst kickturning
To begin with, you need to start to learn how to balance effectively on two wheels. So to do this, put your skateboard on your living room carpet, or perhaps on the grass outside. Basically anywheree where it will not roll around too much.
When you have done this, then on your skateboard with your back foot stood across the tail and your front foot literally right behind or, if you wish, across the bolts for the front trucks. This is what is known as the basic ollie stance, and is inviolved in performing a large number of skateboarding tricks of all sorts.
What you have to do next is to bend your knees whilst keeping your shoulders level above the skateboard deck. Now start to relax and while you are doing this remember to breathe normally and don't freak out.
The next step is to move your entire weight to your back foot. Perhaps not all of it, but maybe about two thirds or so. As you do this, start to bring your front foot up a bit. The rule is that the more you shift your weight to the tail end of the board, in relation the more the nose end of the board will be forced to pop up into the air.
Now try balancing on just the back wheels of your skateboard, just for a while. It will begin to feel scary, like you are going to fall if you have not done this before. Don't worry about it though, just begin to relax and get back on your board if you are to come off it. Just keep practicing and seeing how long you can balance on those two back wheels for.
Performing the Duckwalk
This next part of the learning to kickturn process is quite a lot of fun, and may seem ridiculous to you. But the point is it most definately does help.
You can do this method of practicing outside on an empty street or a flat concrete carpark or anywhere similar, or perhaps maybe on the carpet in your home. Now to start with begin to stand on your skateboard, whilst placing your back foot right across the tail end of your skateboard. Continue to put your front foot across the nose of your skateboard in the same way as mentioned earlier.
Once you have your feet successfully placed on the nose and tail of your skateboard, begin to try and and do a walk. You can achieve this by shifting your entire weight to one foot, and then swiftly swinging the other foot forwards a little at time, whilst you are still on the skateboard. Continue to do this in a back and forth motion. As mentioned before, this may seem a little strange and stupid, but relax and will start to have a little fun with it in good time. It is extremely good practice for balancing and kickturning as a whole.
Performing the Backside turn
If you have read and carried out all of the necessary steps above then you are now ready to actually start kickturning. You will now begin to stand on your skateboard with your back foot placed across the tail end, and in the meanwhile have your front foot on or directly behind the front trucks. You can either do this on a carpet or perhaps the paving outside your home, anywhere will do. On the other hand if you do start on carpet, then you should perhaps really try it on pavement soon, in order to avoid making any bad habits that may stick with you.
Now just as you did with the balancing exercise, you will attempt to successfully shift your weight a little bit more towards the tail end of your skateboard, and bring the nose up more or less off of the ground. While the your skateboards nose is in the air, you may also want to push the nose of the skateboard a little bit further behind you. You can do this by performing a pushing or scooping motion backwards using just your toes. You do not need to worry about turning very far at all, the important thing is to just try and turn a little bit at a time.
Since you are turning with your front to the outside of the turn, this is called a Frontside Kick.Now you are ready to actually kickturn. Stand on your skateboard with your back foot across the tail, and your front foot on or behind the front trucks. You can do this on carpet or pavement. If you start on carpet, then you should really try it on pavement soon, to avoid making any bad habits.
Just like with the balance exercise, you will want to shift your weight a little to the tail of your skateboard, and bring the nose up off the ground. Also, while the nose is in the air, you want to push the nose of the skateboard a little behind you. Do this by pushing or scooping back with your toes. You don't need to worry about turning very far, just try and turn a little.
Since you are turning with your front to the outside of the turn, this is a Frontside Kickturn. To begin with you will most probably only begin to turn a little, but eventually more with practice. As you keep practicing also notice how the swinging of your arms and hips helps a great deal. Perform small kickturns until you have turned around in a complete circle. Then start to do it again and again, but try and turn all the way around with as few kickturns as you can, as this is what you are aiming for. Once you can successfully do a kickturn on your skateboard roughly at 90 degrees then you can start to perform it in the opposite direction by reversing the method appropriately. Once you have mastered all of the above move on to the next step.
Tic Tac
Once you have mastered to successfully turn in both directions left and right, you can try and combine the two together. To do this you have to do a short kickturn in one direction, and then switch to do a short kickturn in the other direction. Remember you must do them as quickly as possible, while swinging your weight forwards, and you will realise that you can move forwards. Tic Tacing is a one of the real skateboard maneuvers, and comes in handy when you do not feel like stepping off of your board just yet and wish to go a short distance further.
When you start to practice this skateboarding maneuver you will find that first of all you will begin to move at a very slow pace, or even move in a backwards direction. Dont worry just keep at it, successfully pushing your weight more and more forwards. Aslo try and give yourself a goal of trying to go a few extra feet, and then try and tic tac across the whole entire street if you can!
You will find that as you keep on practicing practicing, you must pay attention to what your arms, shoulders and hips are doing also. Feel free to really put some swing into the turns. If you fall off, then just get back up and do it all over again and again. The best thing to do in skateboarding is to not stop for the day after you have had a fall, unless you are really hurt. It's good to get back on your skateboard, if you are well and able to do so as this will get you much more used to it then just going ahead and quitting.
Remember to KEEP ON GOING
With all of the above taking in and practiced you should now know the basics of kickturning, and the only thing left to do is to just keep on practicing, improving your confidence and introducing kickturns into your normal skateboarding routine.
You will find as you gain more and more confidence in your abilities, you can go ahead and try kickturning whilst you are still moving. Try kickturning while you are on a ramp, first of all going up it a little then doing a 180 degree kickturn back round and down. You will see that more you practice, the more comfortable to you kickturning will become.
Many skaters get really confident in turning in one direction, but on the other hand never really practice performing a kickturn the other way round. This is indeed okay to do, but I think it is a bad habit to pick up. In order to be really confident as a skater, you need to be comfortable kickturning in whichever direction you choose. This will mean you can go on to learn more skateboarding tricks.
Now you know what to do keep practicing and have fun!
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