Seriously – How tough can skateboarding be? Basically you’re only standing, yeah? Is it true the board does all the work? When you are starting out these are the questions you are probably asking yourself. If you don’t already know, you’ll discover very quickly there’s more to skating than merely standing on a moving board. You’ll have to practice to gain the skills you’ll need to skate well.

And you’ll need to practice more than once in a while. It’s really a good idea to have some skills with the basics before moving on to more advanced skating. Ok – keep reading to find out several important tips if you’re a rank beginner.  Try not to skateboard through your dog door!

Please try to use the proper equipment. At first, you may feel a little bit uncomfortable wearing shin guards, helmut, knee pads and elbow pads. However, if you’re really new to the sport, very quickly you’ll be happy for wearing that gear. Just like riding a bike, you are going to fall off more than you are going to go forward–especially if you’ve never tried to skateboard before. Learning how to stop properly will put you through your share of tumbles and you’ll probably have more than a few scrapes and bruises by the time you learn to successfully travel from point A to point B without falling. Eventually, you’ll probably stop wearing so much safety gear – but the helmut is really a good idea to keep wearing. You’ll really want to protect your head in case anything happens and you fall. Deal with your fears. It’s pretty common for new skaters to feel afraid to try things. They understand very fast that there’s not much in the way between being safe and getting injured. It’s really important to face this if there’s any hope for improvement. If you don’t face this you’ll always just be a bystander watching others have fun. The best way to conquer your fear is to practice as much as you can. When you practice you’ll find yourself getting more comfortable and willing to try. It’s important to figure out the best way to fall. Your skating will get better a lot quicker if you can face these things right away.  You also do not want to crash through our double glazed windows.

It really is best to learn how to do tricks just one at a time, and learn them slowly. It’s super important to learn the basics and get them down. Don’t go skating down the stairs or doing big jumps. Begin with smaller lifts and then change directions. Jump the board with changes in direction. Get these basic tricks down, then try something more dangerous. With tricks, the trick is to begin with easy and small, then progress to more complex.

You know there’s more to skating than standing and riding a flat piece of board. Believe it or not, skateboards are a legitimate way to travel and they provide you with hours of entertainment. Have an open mind to learning, and that will be the trick that will make you better.

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