Riding a skateboard is an easy and fun way to get some exercise, meet a lot of people, and in some sense, to look cool. Some may view it as a fairly risky activity, but a lot of youngster would still prefer to ride a skateboard because of its benefits. Majority of skateboarders in the world are 18 and under and this translates to around 10 million young skaters worldwide.
Protective Gears
The
first things should always come first. Before you go ahead and try to do some
stuff using a skateboard, you need to have some protective gears with you. A
helmet, a couple of elbow pads and knee pads should do the job. You can borrow
some gear from your friends if you are not sure if you’ll push through with
skateboarding on the long run, just make sure that they would fit properly on
you.
A
lot of kids today disregard the fact that safety is a real issue in
skateboarding. They think that wearing protective pads and helmets don’t look
cool and so they skate without them but suffering from grave injuries from
riding a skateboard is not so either, huh?
Meeting The Skateboard
After
putting on your protective gear, the next thing that you need to do is to get
acquainted with your skateboard. Skateboards come in different sizes and
designs. It is advisable that you borrow a skateboard first so that you can
assess what kind of skateboard you would like to have in the future.
Before
you hit the streets with your skateboard, you must find some time to be able to
get properly acquainted with it. You should try standing, jumping and moving
your feet on the skateboard for some time before you actually make any
movements. This will prevent you from being too surprised with the “feel” of
the skateboard.
Stance
Another
important thing that you need to do about how to ride a skateboard before is to
determine your stance. If you like the feel of having your left foot forward,
then do so, otherwise, put your right foot in front. You can determine which
foot goes where by kicking a ball. If you kick a ball with your right, then you
should put your right foot at the back of the board and vice versa.
Movement
You
already know your preferred stance on the skateboard, what do you do next? You
push your back foot to get some movement going on. Remember to relax your body
while you start off and bend your knees if you have to. The first movements may
feel a little bit weird but you’ll definitely get the hang of it.
Please
try to do your initial practice in a place where you have ample space and little
disturbance such as vehicles and people. A flat surface is also preferable than
sloped ones.
Halt!
Another
basic thing that you need to know is how to stop. There are different kinds of
methods used for stopping a skateboard, however, we would recommend the use of
the back foot to stop to stop the movement for beginners. All you have to do is
to get your back foot on the ground and use the friction to stop your
skateboard.
These
are some of the basic things that beginner skateboarders need to master before
they get to the tricks and the stunts. Always remember that safety comes first,
and that building sound fundamentals is one’s best weapon to avoid accidents
while practicing a skateboard . Enjoy!
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