How to Get Better At Skateboarding? – Step-by-Step Guide
Are you tired of wheeling around on the skateboard, aimlessly, while your friends learn new and impressive skateboarding tricks every day? Well, it must be your lucky day for your wish has been granted.
We are here to give you a few tips on how to get better at skateboarding. Not just better but rather to spice it up, making it into what it truly is: an exciting action sport.
Stick with the following list, and in no time, you’ll be busting a great boardslide or maybe even a bigger trick.
See also:
Tips on How To Get Good At Skateboarding Quickly
You can’t master any sport overnight, you start from the basics and then work your way up. For starters, you have to invest time, practice regularly, and focus. Along with this, we’ve got you the key to a smooth transition from a beginner to a pro.
Master the Fundamentals
You can't carry out any task to its full potential without learning the basics - the same is the case in skateboarding. Starting from scratch doesn’t sound interesting at all but riding around helps you familiarize yourself with the board, the feel and the behavior of it when you push, lean in, carve.
However, if you are a beginner, the first this you need is to buy a good quality skateboard.
Remember: To skip the fundamentals is like a sin in the sports world.
Learning to Balance
When a beginner, this is one of the hardest and also the most integral in learning skateboarding. Learning to balance sure does require practice as well as patience. However, it is not impossible if you have passion.
Here are a few steps to improve balance:
Stance: Place left foot forward or position your body towards the right for a 'regular' stance. Place right foot forward, or position your body towards the left for a 'goofy' stance.
Placement of your feet: stand on your skateboard with your feet properly placed right behind the bolts. This is one of the best positions for beginners for a perfect balance.
Better balance by using your weight: Make sure your weight remains at the center of the skateboard and try shifting weight to your toes from your heels. This way, you can stay stable during movement.
Visual Assistance Through Videos
Everything is easier to learn and understand with visual help. In skateboarding, watching videos online can help you with the stances and techniques. You can find almost all tricks performed by a pro, in slow motion and filmed from every angle on YouTube and other online sources.
These smooth tricks are not just good for motivation - they help improve the positioning of your feet, body postures, and other details to get a grip. Here is a good example video that can help beginners.
Learn to Ride Fakie
For those who are unaware of the term 'fakie,' it is a movement in which the board is ridden backward. This may seem like a waste of time, but it’s important.
Why? Because many tricks either require you to land fakie or take a fakie stance at the start. Moreover, you can master other moves like fakie big spins, fakie ollies, or fakie shuvit.
Practice With Peers
Every day when you practice, grab your board, and make way to your nearest skate park. This can help in faster progress. Those more experienced than you might share their tricks and wisdom on tricks you are finding difficult.
Lose the competitive behavior, ask questions, and learn from their talent and skills. Not only will those ahead of you can help, but you can also brush up the skills you’ve already learned by helping those a few steps behind you.
Visualize Yourself Doing a Trick
A good way to perform any trick is to visualize it in your mind beforehand. This way, you know exactly what you want to do with the trick. It makes you more comfortable with the positioning as you know how you’ll roll away.
Visualizing helps you to stop obsessing over the trick during the process and refrains you from second-guessing your every move. Simply put, It makes you feel more confident.
Your Behavior While Practicing
Other than physical movement, you also need a strong mindset for skateboarding.
Stay positive: patience and perseverance are very much needed for skateboarding as it’s not easy to learn. If you get frustrated at every fall or every fail, you lack the positivity you require for the learning process and thus are running low on patience.
When practicing, remove any kind of negative thoughts like ‘why are you taking more time to learn than our peers?’, or 'what if I fall?' Start every day with a fresh mind and an optimistic approach.
Stay Confident: Confidence is key and a must-have trait when carrying out any tricks. While performing any stunt never surround yourself with the possibilities of failures, be confident in all your movements.
Movement with confidence makes or breaks your trick. When performing with courage, your style is appreciated as it doesn't come off as lazy. On the other hand, if you’re not strong mentally, even a trick done right will not feel complete.
See also: Tips On How Do I Become More Confident In Skateboarding?
Stay charged: while practicing skateboarding, make sure you stay fit, exercise at home, do laps, or hit the gym. This way, you are always prepared for any new positions or tricks, your body is accustomed to flexibility, and there are no obstacles like muscle cramps or lethargy.
Final Words
Watching a pro on tv bust a prefect 180’s while we ride our boards on mini ramps has always left us with envy. Yes, they might seem hard, but they are not impossible. If Paul Rodriguez, a guy who started from the minor leagues can do it, why can’t we?
Treat the tips about how to get better at skateboarding as a bible for the next few months and see the progress for yourself.
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