- 145 Page in depth guide of tricks
- Features how-to, troubleshooting, and other skate secrets
- Written by underground skater Tony Waters
Navigation
- Home
- Introduction
- Beginner's Guide
- Flatground Tricks
- Grinds
- Common Mistakes
- Get Your Tricks Higher
- Guaranteeing Success
- Success Enhancers
- Skateboard Buying Guide
- Making a Skate Video
- Making a Skate Ramp
Beginner’s Skateboarding Q&A’s
Q. What’s a good board for beginners?
A. Anything but a Wal-mart deck. If you are seriously striving to become a good skateboarder, you need a good deck to practice on. A $19.99 K-Mart board definitely won’t cut it! I recommend starting out with a blank complete. Blank decks are cheap and are constructed very well, so they last a long time- they’re great for beginners.
As you get better and better, you may want to start looking into brand name decks. CCS.com offers great blank completes starting at $69.99!
Q. Does it matter which end of the board I use?
A. Not really- Most use the shorter and lower end as the tail. The higher and wider end is the nose. However, it’s all a matter of personal preference. For example, some find that the tail has better pop but the nose is easier to scoop.
Q. Do shoes matter?
A. Obviously, you don’t want to be skating in sandals or dress shoes, so I strongly recommend getting a pair of skate shoes. They are a great investment because they provide comfort and can withstand the stresses of skateboarding.
Skate shoes have a larger surface area to allow more balance, and many come with ankle support to prevent yourself from rolling your ankles.
Q. How should I push?
A. You always want your front foot on the board and push off the ground with your back foot. The opposite is called pushing mongo. Make sure you develop the habit of pushing your board the right way- pushing mongo makes it more difficult to set your feet up for tricks.
Q. How do I turn?
A. To turn, you simply lean in the direction you want to turn into. Just bend your knees and place more weight on your heels or toes, depending on the direction you want to turn into.
For a tighter turn, do a quick manual by placing more weight on the tail, lifting the front wheels off the ground and turning in the direction you want to go in.
Q. How do I stop?
A. To stop you can simply put your weight on the tail, and drag your tail on the ground. This is called a tailstop and can wear away your tail. You can use an alternative method and use your pushing foot to slow yourself down.
Q. When can I start learning tricks?
A. Before learning any trick, you must be comfortable standing and riding a skateboard. If you can’t even stand on the board without falling, there is no way you’re ready to learn the Ollie. Practice riding around everyday until you can easily push, turn and stop. Then, you know you are ready to learn the Ollie.
Q. Why is your method so much better than tutorial videos?
A. You see, most trick tip videos give so little information that it’s almost impossible to get a good idea of all the details of the trick. If you have lots of free time to explore and mess around with learning a new trick, then a traditional video tutorial might be a good place to start. But if you want to learn new tricks in the fastest, most effective way possible, then most likely, video trick tutorials won’t do much to help you.
Even if the video gave you the instructions in detail, you’ll still have trouble remember exactly what to do. That’s why a written guide is so important. However, a visual can still be very helpful. That’s why I encourage you to watch a few videos on how a trick is supposed to be executed…
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Finding Your Stance