Some can make riding a skateboard seem amazingly easy. Unfortunately, it's not that simple to ride a
skateboard - those people that make it look easy have usually been skating for a long time. If you're
interested in learning how to skate, follow this guide and you will be rolling down the street on your skateboard in no time! Also take into account
that this guide will not be teaching the more advanced sides of skating, such as doing tricks. Instead, it
will cover just the basics of getting on a skateboard and pushing it forward.
Some new skaters want to know{, "Which foot goes on the {nose of the
board?" An excellent method to find out which foot goes on the nose is to set your skateboard down on a
section of grass or in your house on some thick carpet, so it can't move around. If you run and jump onto the skateboard,
your feet should automatically put themselves in the correct position on the board. If this doesn't work, you can instead
just pick which foot goes first. Choosing a foot position is a lot like choosing the hand that you write
with, simply choose what feels nice to you.
Now you'll need to know the name of the way that you're riding. Skaters divide the styles up into
two groups: the 'regular' skater, and then the 'goofy' skater. Skaters that skate 'regular' place
their left foot first. Skaters that skate 'goofy' place their right foot on the nose of the deck.
There isn't really a wrong way to skate, and 'goofy' isn't a derogatory term, it's simply the way it is in the skating
world.
Be sure to wear all safety equipment before actually attempting to get on a skateboard. As a newb, you are very likely to
become injured whilst skateboarding. At the very least, you will want to obtain a helmet to keep your head safe. This should be a skating helmet and not a bicycling helmet. Although a biking helmet is safer
than no helmet, it doesn't give as much protection as a skateboarding helmet will. Once you have made
yourself a bit safer, you're ready for the next step.
Now that you can mark your style as goofy or regular, and also have some safety equipment, you are ready to do some
skating practice. The easiest way to practice is to jump on the skateboard and go for it. Stand on the board, and do your
best to maintain your balance. Stick your arms out if you need to. If you are still getting a bit of trouble balancing
on the board, try crouching. Crouching lowers your center of gravity and should help you balance better.
A few people have difficulties staying on the board because their trucks are quite loose. The trucks on a board are the
chunks of aluminum that are screwed to the bottom of the deck to hold the wheels in place. Loose trucks
will allow you to turn more easily, but will make balancing more difficult for a novice skater. If you're having trouble balancing, tighten up your trucks. Just flip the skateboard over, and turn the big lugnut to the right
three or four turns. Do not that lugnut to the left, or you will loosen the trucks! Test the board, and
adjust the trucks to your preferred position.
Once you have perfected balancing yourself on the board, start skating down small inclines and slopes
to get a feel for what it's like to have momentum while on the board. If you are practicing on a sidewalk, make sure to
keep an eye out for cracks where the concrete joins the street. An inexperienced skateboarder will sometimes
get thrown off the board by these cracks, and could get themselves injured. After mastering the small slopes, move out
to the street and integrate a few small pushes into your routine. Some people have difficulties pushing, but this is just another issue of
practice. The more often you practice, the better you get.
Continue practicing those tiny pushes until they get larger and larger. Eventually, you will be a skating
pro! Until then, however, you will need to get ready for many disappointments, failures, and embarrasments. You'll probably crash quite a bit as an amateur skater, but don't let that stop you. Just get back on the board, and try again.
