Sunday, December 21, 2008

Learning How to Do This Impressive Skateboard Maneuver

Knowing how to go back and forth on a skateboard is one thing. However, you also have to remember that there is more to skateboarding than just riding it forward, stopping, and then riding back to where you came from.

If you know how to ride the skateboard comfortably, then it is time for you to learn about the different basic maneuvers that you can do with your skateboard.

One basic skateboarding skill is Kickturning. This particular skill can be easy to look at but it is rather complicated or confusing to do it. In this skill, you will need to have good balance on your skateboard.

Kickturning is basically where you will balance your back wheels for movement and swinging the front of the board to go in a new direction. This takes some practice to master and a lot of balance.

Before you start, make sure that all you are wearing all of your safety skateboarding equipments are to prevent injuries during falls when practicing.

The first thing you need to learn is how to balance your body and skateboard on two wheels, particularly the back wheel. Try to practice it on the carpet or on the grass outside to prevent it from rolling too much which can send your skateboard flying off and land your bottom on the pavement.

To balance the skateboard on two wheels, you need to get your back foot across the tail and your front foot just behind the front trucks. Try imagining your foot when you are going to attempt an Ollie. This is the same stance that you need to have to attempt Kickturns.

Keep your knees bent and relaxed. Your shoulders should be level to the skateboard deck.

Then shift your weight to your back foot. Just a bit of weight shift is good. Now, lift your front foot just a little. This will make the front of your skateboard pop up. To turn to the direction you want to go to, just rotate your back foot to the left or right along with your body.

Try practicing the duckwalk with kickturns. This will be like shifting the board from left to right with the kick turns. This will improve your balance and enable you to practice your kickturns.

You should also practice the tic tac. This is where you combine the left and right kickturns. Try doing a little kickturn to the left and another to the right. Do this continuously and you will be able to a great skateboard maneuver.

You may fall when attempting to do kickturns on the first few attempts but this is natural. Almost everyone falls when practicing this move. By knowing how to kickturn, you will be well on your way in becoming a good skateboarder.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Executing This Head Turning Skateboard Trick

It is a fact that skateboard enthusiasts want to be like the pros. They want to execute different kinds of tricks and they want to do what their favorite skateboarders do in competitions.

If you want to be like Bam Margera or Tony Hawk, then you have a lot of practicing to do. Sure skateboarding can make heads turn, but if you really want to amaze people, you should learn how to properly execute the different tricks in order to avoid getting a mouth full of dirt and be the laughing stock of the neighborhood.

If you are just starting out skateboarding, you will want to start with the basics first. You have to remember that the ramps or the vert is one of the most difficult and also the most anticipated skateboarding activity.

This action will provide you with big air as well as enable you to perform different kinds of tricks.

If you are just starting out skating on ramps, you might want to start on a mini ramp and not on the real vert ramp. This will help you master the tricks you want to perform on the ramps and it is also the place to skate that will minimize injuries on huge falls.

To start out, you will first want to do the Rock to Fakie trick. This skateboard trick is what most skateboarders learn first on the ramp. It is easy and it is a very good way to start impressing people. This is also a great trick which will be a stepping stone to perform more elaborate tricks further on.

This particular trick is where the skateboarder will go to one side of the ramp and parks for a second on the edge of the ramp which is called the coping. Then, the skateboarder will rock back down the ramp.

The first thing you need to remember is that you should wear the proper safety equipment before you even start attempting this trick or any skateboarding trick.

Now that you are ready and you are now rocking back and forth the ramp, the next thing you need to do is position your feet the same way as you would when you will perform the Ollie. This means that your back foot should be on the tail of the board. The front foot should be a little closer to the nose of the board to perform the rock to fakie trick.

When you are rolling up the ramp, you need to stomp down a bit on the nose of the board just before you hit the coping. This will park your board on the edge of the ramp or the coping. Now, allow gravity to catch up with you and you should pop the trucks of the board back over the coping. This will allow you to ride back down on the ramp.

As you can see, this is a very simple yet very effective trick that you can do on the ramp. Just remember to wear the proper equipment to avoid serious injuries.

Choosing the Best Skateboarding Shoes for a Better Skateboarding Experience

In extreme sports, skateboarding is perhaps the most popular in the United States. If you love skateboarding, and you want to skate like the pros, then you need to understand that the board itself and your skills are not the only things that are important in this sport.

A lot of people think that skateboarding is done by just using regular sports shoes. However, you need to remember the fact that skateboarding will also require you to have a good pair of shoes that are specifically designed for skateboarding. They will be much more comfortable, and they will also be able to minimize injuries.

Although it is true that you can still skate using just about any shoes or even flip flops, you have to remember that when you are skateboarding, you will increase the risk of injuring your ankle.

Skateboarding shoes are designed to provide adequate protection to your ankles. These will be able to protect your ankle and prevent any serious foot injuries whenever you experience falls which is very common.

When choosing a pair of skateboarding shoes, here are some of the things that you need to remember in order to choose the right ones for a better and safer skateboarding experience.

The first important factor is that the skateboarding shoes you choose should be able to withstand a lot of force and should also be flexible enough so that you can execute tricks.

The grip is also an important factor. The skateboard shoes you purchase should be able to grip the skateboard to avoid slipping off from the board and falling.

Just like choosing any types of shoes, you have to remember that the skateboarding shoes you choose should be comfortable on your feet. The shoes you choose should feel good when you walk and when you skate, and they should be able to give you stability.

Shoes that are not comfortable will only result in giving you blisters and sores which will force you to give up skateboarding for a certain amount of time because of the pain.

The shoe laces are also important. You have to remember that skateboarding will require you to move your feet a lot and it will also let the shoes take a lot of force. Make sure that you get shoe laces that don't easily rip apart. Get a pair of special skateboarding laces, which are more durable than ordinary laces that will be able to withstand the roughness of the sandpaper like surface on your skateboard.

These are just some of the things that you need to remember about skateboarding. Always remember that the right shoes for skateboarding will make all the difference.

Easy Tips to Do It Properly

If you love skateboarding, then you will definitely want to learn as many tricks as you can. If you can do the Ollie, then you will want to know about the different tricks that are associated with the Ollie. Although they are more difficult to achieve, the results will definitely be fantastic and will awe a lot of people.

One trick that you will want to learn is called the heelflip. This kind of trick is similar to the kickflip but is a little harder to execute.

Heelflip is where the skateboarder does an Ollie to get him or her into the air and flicks the skateboard with his or her heel in order to let it spin in the air along the nose to tail axis. In this trick, the heel edge will come up first while staying parallel to the ground.

The skateboard will spin once and then the skateboarder will land on the skateboard when the wheel is facing the ground again. After landing, the skateboarder will ride away ready to do another trick or two.

It is important that you know how to do the Ollie in order to achieve the heelflip trick. You have to remember that this trick is another variation of the Ollie and is more technical and more difficult to execute.

To start, ride the skateboard with your feet in the Ollie position. However, you will want to have your front foot placed a little forward on the board and let your toes hang a little off the board. This will make the trick a lot easier to execute.

When you are at a considerable speed, do the Ollie but right after you pop the board into the air, you will need to kick the heel of your front foot forward.

After your front foot leaves the skateboard, you will need to point the toes of your front foot up in the air and kick your front foot forward. You will want to flick the edge of the skateboard with your heel, hence the name heelflip.

When the board is spinning, get your feet out of the way. After the board makes a complete spin, you need to catch it again. Keep in mind that the board will spin rapidly so look at the board when it is spinning in order to know when to catch it with your foot again and get ready for the landing.

Once you've caught the board, prepare for landing by bending your knees. This will help you absorb the impact when you land and help you with your balance.

After that, you can just simply ride away or do another trick.

What Should You Wear?

There is more to skateboarding than doing tricks and breaking bones. Seriously, skateboarding has created a whole new culture, a new breed of people, and a different fashion statement. So if you want to look like a genuine skateboarder, then you have to be in style.

Pants. Skateboarders are known to wear baggy pants. Denim jeans are a mainstay. Consider corduroy pants as well. If you want to be authentic, wear the same denim jeans over and over again. Wash them only when you want to. Shorts? Are you kidding me?

There's a reason why you should wear baggy pants and not shorts. Obviously, baggy pants can provide you with the freedom of movement. Shorts, while comfortable, expose your flesh and make your legs vulnerable to deeper cuts and bruises.

T-Shirt. Any t-shirt will do but the most popular are graphic shirts and just plain white and worn out t-shirts. Basketball jerseys are okay too.

Beanies or caps. Any baseball cap or beanie will do but it would be better to wear old ones.

Underwear. Go for bright colored underwear. Now, since you chose to wear baggy pants, you may want to expose your underwear to complete the hip-hop look.

Socks. Optional! But if you want to wear a pair, get ankle-length pair of black socks.

Belts and buckles. A nice quality belt should keep your baggy pants securely fastened to your waist. Wear leather or a web belt with belt buckle design of your choice.

Sweatshirt and Hoodie. If its cold and you need another layer of clothing, then a sweatshirt or hoodie that is street-themed is better than jackets.

Shoes. It is okay to skate on regular shoes but if you are planning to do some serious skateboarding, buy a good pair of skateboarding shoes.

Skateboard fashion resembles urban, hip-hop, or punk style. You can base your attire from any of these.

Skateboarding is all about personal expression. You can wear anything you like. The last thing you want to hear is someone who tells you what to do and what to wear. But what's the use of looking good if you skate badly? If fashion is your main concern, forget about skateboarding and be a model. But if you are serious about skateboarding, then what to wear is secondary. What matters is that you are comfortable with what you wear.

A Culture on Its Own

Although skateboarding may seem like just another sport that many teenagers get into, through the years, this sport has developed its own culture and skateboarders can be easily identified not just because they have skateboards, but because they have a lifestyle that can be easily seen through the clothes they wear and the things they do. Not only that, skateboarding is also an international sport in which numerous countries have their own representatives in international levels of competition.

Usually, the passion for skateboarding starts out at an early stage of a persons life, pre-teens have long known how to ride one and by the time they are in their teens, many have already mastered the skill and are able to do tricks and jumps. Some though have failed to pick up on the sport early on and may be intrigued with the skateboarding culture and would like to join as well. If you are interested in being a part of this society, here are some tips to help you.

First, you will of course need a skateboard. Although most skateboards are basically the same, you need to find a skateboard that will represent your personality. A good and sturdy skateboard will be able to withstand most of the high impact it will receive when being ridden. You will have a board that you can be very proud of.

Make sure also to get effective safety gear. Knee and elbow pads are a must and most especially the helmet. Being a beginner, you will experience a lot of falls. And also, you don't really have to wear what most skateboarders wear. Just be sure to wear comfortable clothes that you can freely move in. Skateboarding is not just about wearing the right clothes or having the right shoes, although good gripping skateboard shoes can help with your balance.

If you don't know anybody who can teach you how to skateboard, try to observe first the other skateboarders in your area. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Advanced skateboarders know a lot of tricks and can share some of their tips. Learning the basics of skateboarding can be a time consuming process. Some take to it like fish in the water while there are some that just can't seem to find their balance. Just be patient and soon enough, you may be doing ollies on your own.