What's up everybody, this is Tim
with Tactics Boardshop, Today I'm gonna be teaching you the very
basic fundamentals of skateboarding. We'll start with determining your stance, then we'll move on to riding and pushing, we'll talk about turning and stopping, then I'll show you how you can throw it on your board
so you can start riding without setting it down first. So let's head out! Before you start riding, you need to
determine your stance. Since skateboards are ridden sideways with your shoulders parallel with the board, you need to figure out which foot is going to be your front foot that stays planted on the board. When your primary stance is LEFT foot
in front with your right foot in the back, and your body is facing the right side of your board, that is called REGULAR footed. When your primary stance is RIGHT foot in front with your left foot in the back and your body is facing the left side of your board, that is called GOOFY footed. Neither one is superior. It's all about what
feels the most comfortable for you. There are a couple tricks that you can use to give
you an indication on which stance you are. Such as the shove test or the jump test. But the quickest and easiest method is the slide test. Imagine you're going to run and slide on a sheet
of ice or on a hardwood floor in your socks. When you start the slide,
which foot that you instinctually lead with? This will give you an indication as to
which stance you might be. But you should still try to ride both ways
to see which stance feels more instinctual. Your front foot provides stability on the board. so many times whichever foot is easier for you to
stand on its own will be your front foot. The best place to learn to ride your board is somewhere
smooth without a lot of cars or foot traffic. A smooth lesser-used sidewalk or a bike path, or an empty street or parking lot are all great places. If the sidewalk has huge cracks in it all along it.
I'd recommend finding somewhere smoother. It's best to learn the basics of pushing
and riding before going to a skate park. Skate parks can often be crowded and
chaotic and it isn't the ideal place to learn. If it's the only good place around for you to learn, Try to find an area where you won't get in the way of more experienced skaters. Let's try standing on the board first
to get familiar with it. If you're nervous, you can put two of the wheels
in a crack so it doesn't slip out immediately. Stand with your body parallel with the board and
have your feet about shoulder width apart. Upright posture, slightly bent knees with your weight evenly distributed. This will be your basic body position while riding. When you feel confident enough,
let's try a push to get rolling. When you push on a skateboard, you need to turn your
shoulders and front foot toward the nose of the board. Your front foot should be near the hardware bolts and angled about thirty degrees or so. Angling your foot forward allows you to make micro
balancing adjustments as you push with your back foot. The foot placement doesn't need
to be absolutely precise, But this is a general guideline of how
your foot placement should be. When you're ready to push, keep your
center of gravity above your front foot. Then push off with your back foot and
quickly bring it back onto the board. Then you can redistribute your
weight evenly between both feet. Your back foot should rest on
either the rear bolts or the tail. Once you're rolling turn your front foot and
shoulders back to your normal riding stance, and keep your center of gravity
somewhere near the center of the board. Practice shifting between the pushing and riding positions until it's comfortable. A wider stance with slightly bent knees
will give you some extra stability. But as you grow more comfortable, you'll
develop a more casual riding posture. Ultimately, you'll want to be able to ride the board
while balancing only on your front foot. Once you can do this comfortably you'll
be able to push many times back-to-back without having to put your back foot
back on the board after each push. Many times beginners are afraid to commit to
putting their full weight onto the board and keep their weight on their back foot
hopping along as they try to push. This doesn't really work because
you're never actually riding the board and won't be able to keep any sort of momentum. This is why it's important to put your weight on your front foot when you push off. Stopping is very simple. Keep your front foot on and simply use
your back foot and step off the board. If you have a decent amount of speed drag your
back foot on the ground to put on the brakes. Keep your back leg rigid so it keeps
steady pressure on the ground. Be sure to practice stopping as well. Turning should come fairly naturally when
you're learning to push and ride. Simply lean to one side of the board to initiate the turn. If the board doesn't turn when you lean use a half-inch wrench on the kingpin nut to loosen the trucks a little. Turns that occur when you lean are called carving turns, and turns where you lift up the front
wheels and pivot are called kick turns. Kick turns are good for making
very quick and sharp turns, and they're especially useful for
turning around on ramps. To do a kick turn, put your back foot on the tail, shift some
of your weight onto your back foot, and press down on the tail with just enough
pressure to make the front wheels come up. Leading with your shoulders, twist your body in the direction you want to turn
right as the wheels come off the ground making the board pivot on the back wheels. It's better to start learning this while standing still and getting used to tick-tacking your front wheels around. It's okay if you can only do tiny pivots at first. Just keep practicing and you'll be able to make much
larger pivots and it will feel like one fluid motion. You can actually tic-tac back and forth
to generate some momentum. Be sure to spend a lot of time riding and pushing
around until you're comfortable on the board. Don't just rush into trying to learn kick flips. When you're riding around make sure you're scanning
the ground ahead of you for obstructions such as big sidewalk cracks, sticks,
rocks, pine cones, and other debris. These types of things can throw you off balance or halt
the board. So try to avoid them whenever possible. If you come across a big sidewalk crack
that you can't maneuver around, there's a couple ways to roll over it without having
to do an ollie or get off your board. The first way is to put your feet on the nose and tail as you approach the crack. Use the tail to lift the front wheels over the crack, set it back down, then immediately use the
nose to lift the back wheels over the crack. It's pretty easy and won't take long to master. Another method is to do a push right over the crack. just before going over the crack do a push with your weight on your pushing foot and shove the board over the crack with your front foot. As soon as all four wheels are over the crack, put your back foot back onto the board
and continue riding like normal. The third method is similar to the first. as you approach the crack lift the
front wheels over the crack, and as your back wheels roll over it, be light footed
or use a tiny hop to let the wheels bounce over. This is the same exact technique you'll use to roll off a curb. As you approach the curb, lift up your front wheels and stay light footed
on your back wheels as they coast off the curb. Then land with your weight evenly distributed. You don't want to be leaning too far back because you don't want to slip out as soon as you roll off the curb. Now I'll show you how to throw down your board
so you can get started with some speed without having to lay it down
and push from a dead stop. Hold the nose of the board with the arm
that's on the same side as your front foot. So if you're regular hold it with your left hand,
and if you're goofy hold it with your right hand. Take a step forward with your pushing foot and extend your arm holding the board letting
it hang down in front of your front leg. As you start your next step lower the
board and drop it under your front foot. to where you can turn that step into the first push. Try to get your front foot right into place. So you can just
start riding without having to readjust your feet a bunch. It might look and feel a little clunky at first, but eventually it will be second nature and you'll be
able to throw down onto your board at a full sprint. Just keep in mind while you're practicing that skateboarding is not easy and falling down a few times is just part of the game. But it's that challenge that makes it so
gratifying when it finally starts to click. So just keep at it and with some practice and
determination you'll be cruising around no time. If you got any questions at all or tips of your own just leave them in the comment box down below and have fun out there. Peace!
