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A Comprehensive Guide To Skateboarding

A Comprehensive Guide To Skateboarding
20 Apr
2022
Not in Hall of Fame

Whether you have recently taken up skateboarding as a hobby and are looking to take your pastime to the next level and maybe even start entering competitions, or else have been skateboarding for many years and are looking to learn more interesting facts about the sport, you have come to the right place.

Skateboarding is an extremely challenging yet ultimately rewarding extreme sport with a rich and diverse history. Here, for your reading pleasure and, of course, information, is a comprehensive guide to skateboarding and fascinating facts you never knew you didn’t know. 

Skateboarding For Kids

Aside from the obvious fundamentals when teaching your child or children the basics of skateboarding, one thing you must not forget to impart is how to fall off the skateboard safely. 

There is a simple way, both for you and your child, to get the proverbial hang of falling off a skateboard in the safest way possible with a simple set of rules:

  1. Push down once towards the ground (ideally grass or another soft surface)
  2. Once you hit the ‘deck’, the skateboard will either stop completely or slow down
  3. Allow yourself to fall forwards 
  4. Tuck your forward-facing shoulder down into your body (like you are preparing for a somersault)

The best way to ensure this technique is ingrained in the minds of your child and to allow them to feel comfortable in getting into this position is to encourage them to practice it again and again for as long as they need.

Protective & Safety Wear

It is absolutely essential to invest in the correct safety wear, whether you have been skateboarding for many years now or else are only just beginning your skateboarding journey. 

The most important item of protective wear is a helmet. Ideally a Triple 8 Certified Sweatsaver, and as a strict rule, you should never even fully stand on a skateboard, let alone move on one, without wearing a good quality and durable hard helmet. Other important items of safety wear when skateboarding include knee and elbow pads, 

Tips For Starting Out As A Skateboarder

As with any other sporting activity, be it in a professional and competitive sense or else as a personal and enjoyable hobby and skateboarding is no different. Arguably, as skateboarding is actually classed as an extreme sport, there are even more guidelines that should be adhered to when starting out as a skateboarder:

  • Set realistic goals and be patient
  • Research into the Ollie Stationery
  • Ask for professional and personal advice on how to improve
  • Always practice and learn on grass rather than on a hard floor
  • Never compare yourself to other skateboarders
  • Be sure to consolidate your progress

The Three Main Skateboarding Stances

Naturally, once you become comfortable on a skateboard, you will develop your own stance and posture. However, it is regularly necessary to adopt certain positions to complete tricks and moves and even keep the board running straight and smoothly. 

The ‘Nollie’ is when you are positioned on the skateboard with your leading foot as forward as possible, with your foot balanced on the edge of the nose. The ‘Fakie’ is how you naturally stand and position your body but essentially backward on the board, and the ‘Switch’ is when you stand with your less prominent leg and foot forward. 

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Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

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