The Best Skateboarding Tips for Beginners

• Introduction

• What gear should i have when learning to Skateboard

• Tips when buying skateboarding gear

• How to Choose a Skateboard

• How to Choose Skateboarding Shoes

• What Stance should you take on the Skateboard

• Pushing Off

Introduction

When taking skateboarding up for the first time, you will not have a clue where to start, the cost involved and what gear to buy & not to buy. This short beginners guide will point you in the right direction and hopefully give you confidence starting off.

What gear should i have when learning to Skateboard

Without pointing out the obvious, a "Skateboard" you will also need a skateboarding helmet, arm / knee pads and skateboarding shoes. The problem is where do i get the gear, and how do i know it is the correct gear for me.

Tips when buying skateboarding gear

The first step when choosing gear is to take your time. Never rush into buying anything on the spur of the moment, as you will end up spending more money than needed. And more than likely buy the wrong gear.

What do most people do when buying gear? They go into a shop and ask the first sales person they see what gear would suit them? The sales person is only interested in one thing, making a sale, and selling you gear that they have in stock. This stock might not even be the correct gear for you and the sales person wont even tell you that. Don't get me wrong not all sales people are like this

Ask for the sales person's advice, take note of the skateboarding gear he/she advises you in and the price. Try out some of the gear, then go home and research the gear on the internet and have a look at hobby specific social networks like www.hobeze.com where you can chat to other skateboarders. Try www.google.com and type the name of the skateboard with reviews. This should give you a good idea what the skateboard is like from other skaters who already have the board. It also gives you the power to ask people in forums if the board is any good for beginners. You will find your answer out in no time. Once you have your answers you can go back to the skateboarding shop and ask any other questions you have. Never buy from one shop. Take a look around in all the other skateboarding shops and ask for their advice and price. This will give you the power to ask for lower prices and get a better deal as most shops sell gear with different prices.

How to Choose a Skateboard

When selecting a skateboard don't go over the top, we know you would love to be a pro, and will probably get there there some day but for starters buy a basic enough board, like a thick and heavy deck with less curve. This skateboard will provide you with a good grounding and balance to maintain control of the skateboard.

Over time when you feel confident in yourself you can spend the money and buy a decent board.

Another advantage of spending less starting off would be the fact that you may not keep up the hobby or sport.

After selecting your skateboard you can adjust the trucks. If they are tight you can always loosen them, but make sure the kingpins are fitted properly, this will enable you to take the turns at ease.

How to Choose Skateboarding Shoes

When choosing skateboarding shoes you will need to look out for three things.

1. Ankle Protection – its very easy to hurt your ankle if your shoes are loose or two big, iv seen it many times.

2. Foot Protection

3. Grip

When skateboarding you will be using your feet, if your feet feel loose in your shoes, you will find it very hard to keep control, and more so, have your feet covered in blisters.

It is very important to wear fresh socks as this will also help to prevent blisters. Make sure your shoes feel comfortable on your feet, if they are not comfortable on your heels and sole when you purchase your shoes then forget it.

Make sure if you are buying new laces, that they do not rip easily, this is very often the case when skateboarding as they are going through much stress.

Skateboarding shoes are very flat, this is to provide very good grip, it may take you some time to handle the different feeling, but don't worry about that for now.

Please be careful when purchasing your shoes as your shoes are just as or if not more important than your board.

What Stance should you take on the Skateboard

First of all take it slow, its not going to be easy at all, you will probably end up falling every time you jump on the skateboard. If you fall, thats normal, we all do it and get right back up again. Within a few days you will be able to move around after you find your balance.

Bring your skateboard to a smooth surface like a basketball court, or even in doors. This will provide a surface where the wheels can move freely and not suddenly throw you off the board by getting caught in some uneven surface or wide spaced tar.

Try jumping on the board to get the feel of its movements, be sure to jump on the board above both wheels this will prevent the board from flipping up on you. Do this for a good 10 minutes.

The next step is to figure out which foot you push off with. This is very different for everyone but, the rule is, that if your right footed, then you push off or kick with your right foot.

The question is, do you push from your front foot, or back foot? The answer is you can learn both but for starting off your better pushing from your front good foot.

There are three types of skating styles

1. GOOFY SKATEBOARDING STANCE- Right foot forward

2. REGULAR SKATEBOARDING STANCE – Left foot forward

3. MONGO SKATEBOARDING STANCE – Push with back foot

The Mongo technique is more complicated and takes longer to learn so i would suggest using, GOOFY or REGULAR.

Pushing Off

Be sure you start on a very smooth surface, and for the fun of it, you can start on a very gentle slope.

If you are pushing off from a smooth flat surface be sure to give a good powerful push, this will get the board running smoothly and give you time to practice turning and balance. In order to turn you can lean back pushing more of your body into the heel of your foot. Never leave the board come to a near stop. Keep giving powerful pushes, this will give you the best chance to staying on the board.

I hope you enjoyed this short article – safe skateboarding 