How to Skateboard: A Simple Guide

Some can make riding a skateboard seem effortlessly simple. Unfortunately, it is too easy to ride a skateboard - the people that make it seem simple have probably been skating for a long time. If you're interested in learning how to skate, read this guide and you will be riding down the the streets on your skateboard in no time! Please note that this guide will not be teaching the more advanced sides of skating, such as doing tricks. Rather, it will cover the simple basics of getting on a board and pushing it forward.

Many new skaters ask the question, "Which foot goes on the nose of the skateboard?" A great way to find out which foot goes on the front is to set your board down on an area of grass or in your house on some thick carpet, so it doesn't move. If you leap onto the skateboard, your feet should automatically put themselves in the correct position on the board. If this doesn't work, you can simply choose which foot you want to go first. Choosing a foot position is a lot like picking the hand that you write with, simply pick what feels normal to you.

Now you will need to know the name of the style that you're skating. Skaters split the styles up into two groups: the 'regular' skater, and then the 'goofy' skateboarder. Skaters that skate 'regular' put their left foot forwart, on the front of the board. Skaters who skate 'goofy' put their right foot on the nose of the deck. There's not a wrong way to skate, and 'goofy' isn't a derogatory term, that's simply the way it is in the skating
world.

Be sure you wear all safety equipment before actually attempting to ride 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. While a biking helmet is much better than no helmet, it doesn't provide as much safety as a skating helmet will. After you've made yourself a bit safer, you're ready to move on.

Now that you can identify yourself as goofy or regular, and also own some safety equipment, you are ready to do some skateboarding practice. The easiest way to practice is to jump on the board and go for it. Stand on the board, and do your best to maintain your balance. Stick your arms out if you have to. If you're still getting a bit of trouble balancing on the board, try squatting. Squatting gives you a lower center of mass and will help you balance better.

Some people have trouble staying on the board because their trucks are very loose. The trucks on a board are the pieces of aluminum that are screwed to the base of the deck to hold the wheels in position. Loose trucks will help you to turn better, but will make balancing more difficult for a novice skater. If you are having trouble balancing, tighten up your trucks. Just flip the board over, and turn the big lugnut to the right one or two turns. Do not that nut to the left, or you will loosen the trucks! Test the trucks, and adjust the trucks to your preferred position.

Once you have perfected balancing yourself on the board, try skating down small inclines and slopes to get a feel for what it's like to have momentum whilst on the board. If you're practicing on a sidewalk, make sure to keep an eye out for cracks where the concrete joins the asphalt. An inexperienced skateboarder will often get thrown off the board by such cracks, and could get seriously injured. After mastering the small hills, move out
to the street and integrate some tiny pushes into your routine. Some people have difficulties pushing, but this is just another issue of practice. The more you practice, the better you get.

Continue practicing those tiny pushes until they get larger and larger. Someday, you'll be a skating pro! Until then, however, you will need to prepare for many disappointments, failures, and embarrasments. You'll probably crash quite a bit as a novice skateboarder, but don't let that stop you. Just get back on the board, and try again.