Start Skateboarding Today! » how to skateboard

What Kind of Skateboard is Best?

dave — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:51:05 +0000

So many people wonder about this, whether it’s parents looking for the perfect board for their kids or the beginner looking for the perfect starter board. Well, here’s a big secret some of you may not know about that will help you out. Are you ready? Well, here it is…IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER (as long as you buy a REAL skateboard, not like the ones you find in Wal-Mart and Toys R’ Us…those are just dangerous). There is no real difference in skateboard brands that will make one better than the other. The only real thing to look out for is the size of the skateboard, other than that everything is pretty much the same. There may be slight differences in the concave and shape, but these are so minuscule to the beginner that it won’t affect you at all. Over time, skaters tend to associate themselves with specific brands and begin to prefer certain boards, but this is just natural and happens in pretty much every sport…it doesn’t mean that one is better than the other.

So if you are buying a skateboard for your kids or grandkids, you can’t really go wrong…don’t worry about getting the best, because they are pretty much the same.

How To Heelflip

dave — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:24:32 +0000

Happy Holidays guys! Today we’re going over the heelflip. This trick is much like the kickflip, except you flip it the opposite way…The flip comes from heelside of your foot. One of the biggest differences in doing this trick is the foot placement. You want the toes of your front foot over the board, so that you can better flick the board with your heel when you pop it. The picture to the left will better explain the foot placement and flick of this trick. View the video below for a step by step instruction on how to do the heelflip…very descriptive and very helpful…enjoy!

How to Backside 180.

dave — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:36:29 +0000

Well, the backside 180 is pretty much just like a frontside 180, only you turn the other way. The principles are still the same, you want to do the ollie and whip your shoulders around hard, except backside not frontside. Turn your shoulders and ollie and you should hopefully go all the way around. Check out the video below for more tips…listen to Jeremy Wray, he knows what he’s talking about.

How To do a Manual on a Skateboard

dave — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:05:40 +0000

A manual is essentially just a wheelie on a skateboard. This trick involves riding on two wheel instead of four. If you ride on the back two wheels, that is called a manual, if you are on the front two wheels, it is called a nose manual. Nose manuals are quite a bit more difficult than regular manuals, so for now we will stick with regular manuals. In order to learn this trick, I recommend starting out inside on carpet or on the grass outside, not even moving…just simply trying to balance stationary on the back two wheels is a good way to get used to the feeling of the trick.

This is how you want to set up your feet for the trick. Your back foot on the tail and your front foot right on top of the front bolts of the board.

In order to start the manual, you need to push down slightly on your back foot to make the front two wheels come off the ground. Once they come off of the ground, you need to hold your balance by keeping your weight centered over the back two wheels.

Keep your arms spread out so that you can more easily adjust your weight and keep your balance. This trick is much harder if your arms aren’t spread.

Once you learn how to ollie, you can ollie into manuals, but for now since we are just starting out, just perform the manual on flat ground and get used to the feeling and keeping your balance.

Check out the video below for more information and tips on learning this trick.

How To Turn On Skateboard

dave — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:26:13 +0000

Alright, you learned how to push and roll on your skateboard, now you need to turn so you can avoid obstacles and get to where you are going. Turning is all about leaning and distributing your weight…it also depends on how loose or how tight you prefer your trucks to be. The tighter your trucks, the harder it is to turn; this is because the tighter the truck is, the less it allows the axle of the truck to move against the bushing. Tighter trucks tend to be more stable, but really don’t allow you to lean and turn. Also, if your trucks are too loose, they become wobbly and turn to easily. You must find a happy medium between loose and tight trucks.

Once you have your trucks tightened to your comfort, all you have to do to turn is simply lean and distribute your weight in the direction you want to go…either lean over your toes, or back on your heels depending on what direction you’re turning. Lean harder to increase the sharpness of the turn. Check out this video below, for a visual explanation of turning.

How to Stand on a Skateboard: Goofy or Regular?

dave — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:36:12 +0000

Before you even attempt to ride, you should know how to stand on a skateboard…and this involves knowing if you are goofy or regular footed. Goofy is when you ride with your right foot forward, and Regular is when you ride with your left foot forward.

You’re probably asking yourself, “How do I know what stance I am?” Well, there is a very simple way to figure this out. Stand on the ground with your feet together, have someone push you forward from behind; whichever foot you put out first to stop from falling forward is your dominant foot and that foot should be forward. So if you put your right foot out, you are goofy…and if you put your left foot out, you are regular. If you are goofy, and try to skate regular, that is what is called SKATING SWITCH: skating the opposite stance you normally ride. Many people do some of their tricks switch in order to increase the difficulty of the trick, but we’ll go more into that later.

Welcome to Ride a Skateboard!

dave — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:55:56 +0000

Welcome to Ride a Skateboard. This website was created for both the skateboarders of today, the skateboarders of tomorrow, and the parents of skateboarders. At Ride a Skateboard, we strive to bring you daily updates on the latest products and news in the skateboarding world, along with helpful advice, tricks and tips to help you out in your skateboard journey.

My name is Dave and I will be responsible for updating this site daily with features that I find to be valuable and worthy of mention. This site will also serve to help steer parents in the right direction while guiding their children through skating. I will offer helpful reviews and advice to you so that you may assist your children and keep them on a POSITIVE path.

Enjoy the Ride.