With proper learning, you can have the utmost excitement and a new level of enjoyment. It is neither an easy job nor so hard. All you need to know is the basics of this sport, follow the tips, and practice enough time to adjust your body with the board.
I have arranged a complete guideline and it is useful for both beginners and intermediate-level skaters. So, are you ready to start with me? Let’s explore the known and unknown tips and rules in this writing.
Is Longboarding Suitable for Me?
It’s similar to skateboarding. In this, sport, players use longboards with bigger wheels, and even sometimes bigger trucks. All these allow this sport to include freeride, speed, slalom, and slide. It is truly fun. And you can also join this school of fun if your body permits you. No matter what your age is, if you have got the fitness, enthusiasm to learn, enough time to practice, and a longboard, then yes, you are eligible to ride. So let’s start the preparation slide on a longboard.
Preparations That You Need to Take
If you want success and efficiency in any specific sector, you need to do the necessary preparation. In the following, you will get a detailed discussion on the things you need to be attentive to before starting longboarding:-
Essential Staffs
It doesn’t matter if you are an expert or just a beginner, it is always better to use protective gear while practicing. Well, you may not find this “cool”, but it is safe. You need to pad up yourself when you are about to do extreme moves.
For protection, make sure to get the things below:
- A well-fitted helmet that will protect you at the time of an unexpected fall or accident.
- As most of the time, you have to control the longboard with the help of your legs, it is important to have skating shoes with a flat bottom.
- Elbow pads; will protect your elbow part when you fall.
- Knee pads; It is also for protecting your knee and are most recommended for beginners
- Depending on the board you have, it is important to have slide gloves.
- A longboard with the right style of wheel to avoid difficulties in sliding.
Choosing the Right Board
What are you looking for in a board? How far do you know about longboarding? Is it for cruising around town? Or, do you want to hit the skatepark with it? Or, are you targeting to drag down the tall hills?
Choosing the right board depends on these questions. Different categories of longboards will provide you with both benefits and disservice. For example, if you choose shorter boards, they will offer you agility which means you can turn them more. But they won’t provide stability and you can easily fall over if you are not so expert. For a newbie, a longboard with easy sliding is the appropriate one.
It is wise to choose good quality longboard. In the market, you will find various types of boards that fit both beginners and professionals. At the very first stage, you should choose the longboards that are particularly for the new ones. When you are more expert with advanced techniques, then you can go to the professional level.
Where to Ride?
It is very important to carefully choose the right place for riding. Doing this sport anywhere inappropriate place can cause sudden accidents. You should always select an open, smooth, and parallel surface for sliding. Avoid backsets and places like the parking lounge. To prevent the issues of rotating the longboard, place it on the land to move towards the annoyance you want to traverse.
Are You Regular Or Goofy?
If you usually skate with your right foot forward, you are “goofy”, and if you with your left foot forward then you are “regular”. To be sure about this, you can ask someone to poke you without informing you. To catch yourself, whichever foot you would put, is the one with which you want to lead on the longboard. You can try it in another way too. Just slide through a flat surface in socks or lay on the land; whichever foot you take to get up with is the one you want to give priority on a longboard.
How to Longboard?
On a learning slide on a longboard, it is essential to follow the rules and techniques step by step. For achieving sufficient skill, you have to practice the following steps-
Proper Position
Before riding the longboard, a proper position is a must. It will help you to have a grip on the longboard easily. If you are right-footed, use the left foot; and use the right foot in case you are left-footed as the standing foot. Avoid pressurizing the longboard and try to ride it with a smooth move on a flat surface a couple of times. The lower your center of gravity will be, the better you would feel. It is very important to feel comfortable before rolling on the longboard.
The Basic Stance
The very fast stance is to stand with your feet betwixt the trucks of the longboard in a stage a bit longer than your shoulder-width apart. Keep your front foot a little forward, likely about at a 45-degree angle. Angle your back foot in pretty much alongside, straight up to the traveling direction of the board. Now, with the support of your back foot, start moving the board. At the time of crouching, drop your knee. Practice this stance and once you are comfortable with this then go for the next position carving.
Practice Balancing
While you need to push your board for more speed, your foot may plane down on the land and can cause imbalance. Practice balancing on the longboard, push on the land very smoothly and keep your dashing foot rearward on the floor. Avoid speeding up the board aggressively. You can also bend your knees a little bit and use your arms for keeping balance.
In case, you feel that the board is out of control, be sure you use your peripheral vision to help you concentrate far in front of you. This will lead your body to gain balance naturally.
Controlling Speed
The most reliable way to have control over the speed of your board is foot-braking, where you push one foot on the surface. With this method, you are creating various fusions to slow down or stop the board. Also, you can use the body moment and hand gloves for speed control. The other ways are carving and air braking. While you are skating down the hill bent from side to side pushing your wheels helps you speed down. To slow down, simply standing up and putting the arms out at high speed is also considerable.
Practicing Turning Or Carving
For riding around, you will require to practice turning around. It is an easy step. All you need to do is to push pressure down leaning in that direction on one side of the board and you will be about to turn.
- Heel-edge carving: For left turns, who ride regularly; move the heels down and you can turn inside.
- Toe-edge carving: For right turns, for those who ride regularly; move your toes down and then turn to your outside.
What Should Not Do At Longboarding?
It is undoubtedly a ton of fun, but exceeding limits can bring about serious injury. Until it happens to you, you never imagine that it will be you. You should be mindful of significantly dangerous situations and be prepared for them.
Take a look at the following points and you will have an idea of what should avoid:-
- Don’t exceed the limit of riding the longboard.
- You should avoid the quick movement of your body
- Wait for the suitable speed to get.
- Slide the longboard once you are at the appropriate position and proper speed.
- Avoid shaking your body or feet while riding on the board.
- Avoid coming in touch with the surface roughly.
- Always wear protective gear.
- Hold back from putting too much pressure and should be aware of the weight adjustment.
Well, as you see sliding – isn’t that harder or difficult, if you follow the above techniques and instructions. I hope this overall guidance on the longboard will help you safely and efficiently.
FAQ
- Should I give up longboarding after a crucial injury?
Not necessarily. After healing up to the point of injury you can get back to longboarding comfortably.
- If I am easy with a strong foot on the backside of the longboard, is it normal?
There is no right or wrong foot concept, whichever foot you feel comfortable with can go with.
- Which one is the correct position to fall in so that I don’t get hurt?
Be sure that your arms are placed in a plunking position with your forearms on the surface.