How To Start And Stop Longboard?

So you have got a new longboard as a birthday present and want to be a pro as soon as possible. You definitely want to show off everything you saw in that amazing YouTube video. But none of that is ever going to happen if you do not know how to start and stop on your longboard. So just read and practice and you will be ready in virtually no time.

How To Start And Stop Longboard

How To Start And Stop Longboard

Before we go anywhere, make sure you have these in store for your first session:

  • Helmet
  • Knee Caps
  • Elbow Caps
  • Flat shoes

How should I Start!

Start in an open and big, flat place. Also try and make sure that it is not a busy road with regular vehicles plying around. You do not want to knock a car off the road, do you?

  • Decide which foot is your primary one. If it is right, you are a goofy rider. If not, you are a regular.
  • Whichever foot is behind, use it to give yourself on the board a push. You will need several if you want to be in control and safe.
  • Once you can do this comfortably, go to the end of your track. Return in a similar manner. Practice until you are familiar with how a longboard feels under your feet.
  • To get better at understanding how your board feels, go to a moderate hill and walk up a quarter of its stretch and then do the same from there.

How to turn on your skateboard

How to turn on your skateboard

How to turn on your skateboard

Alright, you got a hang of how to push with your feet and go from point A to point B on your best longboard. What if you want to turn on your board to get more from your ride? This is where you should know how to turn your longboard.

Keep your speed low while learning how to turn so that you are not a mess while you learn to maneuver your longboard. There should be enough room around you so that you don’t turn yourself into a wall.

  • To turn to your left, you should put pressure with your heels on the edge.
  • To turn to your right put pressure on the edge with your toes.

It is important to lean and squat a bit to gain some balance before you turn.

How to stop

Alright, you can go from point A to B via points X, Y, and Z. However, you still need to know how to stop when you have reached the final point. There are a number of ways to stop. Some are simple, some become simple with practice. You should know that this is perhaps the most difficult of the three.

  • Wear flat shoes and simply use one of them to drag yourself from higher speeds to manageable ones.
  • Never put your heels or toes alone on the ground. You would hurt yourself relative to the speed. Put all of your foot in one uniform drag.
  • To simply reduce speed, stand up and stretch your arms wide. This increases resistance and reduces your speed.
  • Use gloves with rubber or plastic cushions to stop. Aided by your hands obviously.
  • In downhill, you can sit on the deck and use both your hands and feet for a power brake. You might need to do this to avoid an accident.
  • The last and most useful method is to stop with a slide. Methods include Powerslide, Pendulum slides and 360 slides among others. These merit a guide of their own.

Start learning in a safe place where you will get medical attention if you need it. Chances are you won’t need it if you have the safety gear and the sense to be safe. Good Luck!

Tom Chandler
 

"When your hands hit the floor, they get cut up. When mine hit the floor, they slide with ease"

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