A Beginner's Guide to Longboarding, Part 9
Photo Credit: Mike Poresky on Flickr
Welcome to the final installation of my Beginner's Guide to Longboarding.
It's been a good run, but there's only so much I can talk about here. If you're new to the guide, check out the first post here.
Last week, we talked about actually getting started skating. And this week, we'll get into honing a style in your riding.
Naturally, each style is going to want to get started in its own way.
If you're going for downhill, you're going to want to find hills near you and start riding them. Start off small, get used to the feel of being pulled downward. Make sure that you're comfortable with the speed and your board isn't shaking or bouncing in any way as you ride.
When you're comfortable with that, find a steeper hill, then steeper. There will probably come a point where you'll need to travel to find big hills to ride, but that shouldn't be a problem for too long.
The other thing to work on is sliding. Sliding will be crucial if you intend to ride anything other than absolutely straight hills. Now, I'm not expert at sliding myself, but I find that the best way to start is to watch a tutorial or two online, find a hill with a moderate incline and just give it a whirl.
Once you've got that slide down comfortably, try it out on bigger hills. Then maybe bigger. Or try out other slides. There's a variety of different ways to do it. Experiment. See what you enjoy.
Now, if you're looking to be more of a dancer, you've got less to worry about geographically. I'd suggest finding a nice, long skateable path, maybe one that's slightly downhill so you don't have to kick as much. From there, it's all you.
Find tutorials online (I recommend some of Adam Colton's for starting out) and try them out, or just wing it. Dancing's all about being fluid, and repetitive as it is to say, dancing. Walk around on your board, try things out. Show off. You're going for style above all else here.
For those of you who are looking to get your board off the ground, I suggest something similar to the dancers. But you don't need quite as long a stretch to work with. I suggest empty parking lots or similar places where you've got room to goof around. If there's a curb with a ramp you can get onto and skate off of, all the better.
Once you find a spot like that, same as everyone else. Either find someone you know who skates or find tutorials online, find something you want to try and try it. Grabs, shuv-its, manuals, there are all sorts of things you can do. And hell, don't be afraid to throw in some dance moves if you want to spice it up a little between tricks.
And above all else, for everyone, practice. Everyone starts out where you are. You want to get good, you have to practice. A little cross-stepping on your way to class, or a full-scale session when you've got some free time. Whenever you're skating, throw things in, try things out. Don't be afraid to mess up. It happens to the best of us.
So that's it for the Guide, ladies and gents. Hope you enjoyed it and I hope it helped you out. I'm more than happy to write up some more specific posts if people want them. Just send a message my way. Ask, comment, suggest, argue. If any of my posting or longboarding in general makes you want to say anything, then say it. I'll do what I can to solve problems, help you out, or whatever.
Take it easy, folks. Summer's practically here. Enjoy your skating.