What are some tips for learning skateboarding?
(btw - you haven’t mentioned if you want to street skate or ramp skate, therefore I’ll assume you want to street skate).Yes, buy a decent skateboard from a proper skate shop. Tell the staff that you need a proper one, like everyone else skates and not some kind of beginners thing.Why? Because anything less that good equipment will cause you to struggle and fail, and you shouldn’t ever blame your equipment.Make sure the trucks are stiff enough to hold your weight but loose enough to steer the board comfortably without feeling unstable.Why? Because trucks too loose will cause the wheels to ‘catch’ on the bottom of the board when you steer too sharply and stop the board dead, throwing you off. If the trucks are too stiff, you won’t be able to steer out of the way of things/people.Don’t just go to a busy skatepark and join in. Do find a quiet smooth carpark or space and practice some basics.Why? Because you can’t skateboard yet, and you need to learn to start, push, steer, and stop confidently. Without this, you’ll just be getting in people’s way, people will hate you, and you won’t have an enjoyable time.Try and find someone else your own age also trying to skate.Why? Because you’ll progress faster. You haven’t got to like this person, but you’ll have someone to charge around with and you won’t feel so hopeless on your own.You will feel hopeless.Why? Because despite what people will tell you, skateboarding is the art of falling over and sometimes staying on. So, be ready to tumble! I actually advise people to take a few Judo lessons because unless you learn how to fall safely, you’ll be in pain quickly (maybe in too much pain to continue) or covered in head to toe in pads and no-one wants that ;) - actually a pair of elbow pads is probably a very good idea!Good luck
How long does it typically take a beginner to learn how to skateboard?
Short answer, if you just wanna learn how to push and ride, it will take you a couple of weeks. If you wanna learn the basics of a particular type of skating, a couple of months. If you wanna learn how to be half decent at any particular type of skating, a couple of years. However, a real skater never stops learning and getting better (until their body gives out and won’t let them anymore).Long answer, in my opinion, a lot of skateboarding is 10% muscle, 30% skill and 60% guts.However long it takes you to develop the muscles you need to physically be able to do the tricks is up to how often you work out those muscles. If you know the muscles you have to target and use the gym along with actual skating practice, this comes with time. You will be weak at pushing, pumping and popping at first but your leg and core muscles will develop over the weeks and months.Skill wise, it takes time to develop the muscle memory to move your limbs quickly enough as a reaction, rather than by thinking. Your body goes from conciously thinking “I need to move my leg like this to pop the board, and the other leg like this along with flicking my foot to flick the board and then I have to keep looking at the board and time my landing” to “I’m kickflipping this 6 set” as it happens.This takes longer than developing the actual muscle in a lot of cases. E.g. It will take you longer to learn to tré flip than it will take you to develop the muscles to be able to tré. You probably already have enough leg muscle to tré but you certainly haven’t got the muscle memory yet.The hardest thing, and the thing that, depending on personality, either comes most naturally or will take the longest to train your body to do, is to convince your brain that it’s a good idea to fly down a giant ramp, or a set of stairs, or onto a rail. Your natural response is to survive, and putting yourself in dangerous positions is counter-intuitive to this.It is literally all up to how often you practice and of course your natural propensity to balance and persevere. Also, if you injure yourself badly, you can’t practice so you’ll be out of the game and take longer to get better overall.
Can base coat surf wax be used as grind wax for skateboarding?
Hi! I understand that you're talking about wax for a curb or rail. They do not work the same because while skate wax makes your board slide along a rail, surf wax makes your feet stick to the board. This is exactly the opposite of what you want to happen when you're grinding. Hope this helps and have fun skating!
Can i clean my Skateboard Bearings with Hair Clipper oil?
No. Oil doesn't clean, it just lubricates. Hair clipper oil will work for the lubrication part. It's usually just mineral oil. It evaporated faster than normal bearing oil, but it won't hurt anything. You will just have to lube the bearings more often. You need a solvent to clean bearings. Denatured alcohol is good, and so is carb cleaner.
Should I take private ice skating lessons?
I'm in basic 3 and I take group lessons. The group is for basic 3 and 4 and I take them once a week for 6 weeks and then when theyr over should I take them again? They start again immediately after these are over and then when they are all done I don't know what will happen next. I think it's only 2 times this year that they have group sessions. Everyone in my group is basic 4 except me but I progressed so quickly that I've already got basic 3 and basic 4 down and the teacher doesn't ever help me because she sees I already can do the stuff and everyone in my group is having troubles. We are almost done with the sessions (2 more sessions) then I was wondering if private lessons would be better since I could go at my own pace instead of waiting till the lessons are over to move up. Or is it really necessary to just wait till after the basics to start private lessons. My mom understands how much it will cost and everything and she's alright with it as long as this would be a benefit for my progress and my skating. Thank you!!!
Stance problem on skateboard, please help?
If you find it really difficult doing tricks while on goofy stance that probably means thats switch for you.. Its not your natural stance thats why tricks seem more harder to do in that stance. Your most likely regular stance since doing tricks in that stance comes more naturally and is easier even if doing them stationary.. You just have gotten used to skating the other way it happens ,but its best if you fix that situation eventually... Just practice and practice and start getting used to riding your board while in regular stance.. It may seem scary or impossible probably but no all you gotta do is just commit your self and be determind to learn what ever you set yourself to do etc.. Start of riding slow in regular stance and steadly progress into increasing the speed the more comfortable you get. Eventually you will learn and get used to it thus adapting the true way you should skate..