Article Manza - The Articles Directory | So You Want to Learn How to Skateboard

Skateboarding is an incredibly fun sport. If you've been paying attention you've no doubt noticed that skateboarding has gone from an odd past time for teenagers to a fully recognized sport for grown adults! Tony Hawk commands a good annual income from skateboarding. But it's really cool because just about anyone can learn skateboarding. However, if you want to be like Tony Hawks it will take a lot of time, patience, and practice. It will require tons of hard work and sacrifice, but if you have the desire - then you can read some great tips to get you started.

There's more going on than your eye can see. You're not just pushing-off with your foot. When you're pushing-off you'll need to have a smooth, relaxed, and fluid motion. Avoid having an overly rapid and short movement.

You want a single strong motion that you can easily get into and pull out of without losing your balance. This one motion should be enough to get your board rolling fairly rapidly. Exactly how you push-off will depend a lot on your particular stance. When you are first learning, make sure you are on a good and sturdy board and on a level surface. You want to be able to plant your foot firmly, not try to find your footing on an uneven surface. As you improve, of course this will be less of a concern.

Turning is all about holding your balance while shifting the weight of your body.

However, it doesn't mean you should lean completely with all your weight to the back/front. So you'll want to shift your weight by shifting from flat-footed to either heel/ball of your feet. And your body remains upright and there's no swaying back/forth. You just might take a fall if you lean/sway too much. It'll help to use a flat surface that is even and not crowded. Avoid sharp turns at first. Practice making wide, gentle turns so you can get good at shifting your weight. When you're ok with that, practice lifting the board front just a hair so you can do a sharp turn.

Stopping, however, is a little different. In the beginning, it might be better to just drag a foot to slow down. You can also try taking small-like steps to lose speed, kind of like opposite of the push-off. Instead of a fluid motion in one direction, you want to take small steps in the opposite direction.

This isn't great for your feet but it should do the trick. In time, with practice, you can drag the rear of the board and stop yourself. But... you do want to avoid tail-grinding if you're going a bit fast.

Skating doesn't need to be terribly hard, but it will require some time from you. Just have patience and never worry about it. You'll get there. Learn the basics first, then start working on the tricks. Going too far and too fast is the way to get unnecessarily hurt. Keep doing it, you could be better than Tony Hawk.