Friday, February 27, 2009

Skateboarding Help for Beginners

You have probably seen the sport on TV or have played it in a video game but you have never really tried it yourself. Now, you want to try it. What should you do? After solving the problem of getting your own skateboard, you need to learn how to ride.

Riding the skateboard for the first time can be hard but with proper techniques, you will learn better.

First, know the gears. Never, attempt to ride a skateboard without padding up and wearing a helmet. They are very important. You may feel that you look like an idiot but who cares? Remember, if you don't know what you are doing, it is better to suit up for the occasion than to be sorry after a major cut or a broken bone. Riding the skateboard for the first time may involve falling and hurting yourself. Do not ignore the importance of these gears.

Now that you are fully prepared, it is time to step on your skateboard. Do not do anything stupid. Start standing on your board on the grass or on the carpet. Decide which stance you will use. You have 2 choices: the regular and the goofy. Once you are comfortable standing on your skate, push forward.

Take your skateboard to a skate park or in your garage or anywhere you can skate safely. Place your front foot right behind the front truck and your back foot, on the ground. With your back foot, push forward. If you are doing it correctly, you should be rolling by now. Push 2 or 3 times and put your back foot above the rear tracks. Get the feel of moving. Relax your body. Balance. If you slow down push off some more.

Now, learn how to stop. There are 4 ways to stop your skateboard: bailing out, power sliding, heel dragging, and foot breaking. Since it is your first time, use your foot to stop. This is the simplest among all the techniques. Do this by pressing your back foot against the ground to slow down.

Then you need to learn how to turn. Just bend the board slightly to your left and you go left; bend the board slightly to the right and you turn right - that easy.

If you find these to be overwhelming, then take it nice and slow. Do not force yourself to learn too quickly because it is not an overnight process. Practice and master the basics first and you are on your way to your first skateboarding trick.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

How to Do the Skateboard Railstand Trick

If you do flatland skateboarding, then you will want to try some of the tricks available for flatland skateboarding. Some of the tricks here are easy for some skateboarders to do while there are other skateboarders that find them hard to perform.

Before you learn tricks, it is important that you wear your proper skateboarding safety gears. You have to remember that skateboarding is indeed a painful sport. If you are just learning to do a trick, there is a big chance that you will fall and experience pain.

Wear your helmet and pads to avoid sustaining serious injuries related to skateboarding, such as head trauma and broken bones.

One popular flatland skateboarding trick is called the Railstand. In this trick, the skateboarder will stand on the edge of his or her skateboard. The skateboard will be on its side with the wheels facing the side.

Also called Primo or Primo Stall, this skateboard trick can be easy to do for some skateboarders while some find it hard to execute properly. The great thing about this trick is that you don't need to know how to Ollie to perform it. So, if you are already riding your skateboard comfortably but you still don't know how to do the Ollie, you will still be able to try out this flatland skateboard trick.

There are two types of Railstands. The first is the Toeside Railstand and the other is the Heelside Railstand. The Toeside Railstand is a bit easier than the Heelside Railstand. To perform this trick, you will need a flat surface, such as your driveway, your garage or even your living room.

First, you will need to put one foot over each truck. Then, push on your toes and jump up. This will tilt the skateboard and you will need to land on the edge of the skateboard.

The Heelside Railstand is a little trickier to do than the latter. To do this easily, try taking your back foot off the skateboard. Then, put the load of this foot right on the side of the back wheel or the trucks. In one smooth motion, jump off the skateboard where your toes will pull the skateboard on its side and land on the side of your skateboard with both feet.

These are the different ways to do Railstands. As you can see, they are quite easy to do. With enough practice, you will be able to do them effortlessly.

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