Skateboarding Beginners Guide
So you've been hanging out with your friends or going somewhere, then all suddenly some skateboarders pass by doing some tricks, jumping stairs and they seem having fun doing some flips with their skateboards without much effort.
Then you stay for a while to watch them as they're skating and you're staring at them thinking common thoughts "WOW! These tricks are impossible to learn" or "Oh my god, these skateboards are definitely glued to their feet", then "This is AMAZING!" which leads to "I GOT TO GET ONE OF THESE."
Well, you've come to the right place to begin and get to know everything about this extremely amazing sport. You're going to discover that learning tricks isn't impossible at all, it's just dedication and practice with a bit of style.
This guide will give you all the basic information you need to know as a beginner.
You will find on our site everything you will need in all your time skating, from buying skateboards, learning tricks and connecting with good skaters who are able to help you and give you advices.
All of the crew administrating every part of the site are skaters and they have done a lot to the skateboarding scene in Egypt before thinking of starting the first Egyptian skate shop.
Skateboarding is divided into three main skating styles:
Vert skating
Skating the big half pipe ramp. (Tony Hawk is a vert skater)
Freestyle skating
This is exactly what skateboarding started with in the seventies where skater only do tricks on flat ground without the board coming off the ground like Ollie based tricks.
Street skating
This is probably what you were looking for and what made you think of starting skating. This is where skaters skate everything they found around in the street like stairs, rails, big gaps, and by jumping with the board like if it's glued to their feet. Rodney Mullen is the godfather of street skating, he took skateboarding into a totally new level after being the first one who does an Ollie on flat ground which is making the board jump with him without grabbing it with the hands. He still amazes us all the time with new tricks that only him can do.
Obviously to begin skateboarding you need to buy a board. We offer here all kinds and all varieties of professional (Pro) skateboards for a wide variety of prices so that everybody not only skate but skate with high quality specially designed and tested Pro skateboards.
Main features in a professional (Pro) skateboard:
• Pro decks are made of Canadian maple not Chinese maple which have shorter life and break easily. We recommend you always buy Canadian maple decks.
• The deck has two kickers which are those upward bent ends. Those bent ends are not the same (There's a nose and a tail). Read more in Skateboard Anatomy so you find out which kicker of your board should be in front.
• The deck is not flat as all fake boards; a pro deck has a curved edge near the kickers which is called Concave which makes the flipping of the board easier and increases its stiffness (which means it becomes stronger). Read more about concave in Skateboard Anatomy .
• The grip tape is specially made so it grips to your shoes well without damaging them. Fake boards have grip tapes that wear out in less than a week of skating.
• The trucks are die-cast construction to be stronger, more durable and still light. You do not want to pay for fake cheap trucks that will break so fast especially that they carry the board and your weight while you jump and soon grind.
• Very high quality precise finish ball bearings which make your wheels rotate smoothly and make you go fast for a long time. Read more in Skateboard Anatomy .
While skating and progressing, you will have to change your deck after it wears out and breaks small parts of it (getting chipped) so u don't have to buy a complete skateboard every time unless it is all in a very bad condition. Small aged kids will need to change their deck size as they grow up and get longer. Bigger skateboard decks are about the same length (31") but common widths are (7.5" and 7.75"). Normally 7.5" width is convenient for everybody but usually tall skaters (consequently bigger feet) will prefer wider boards of 7.75" or wider.
Now that you've known everything about a skateboard, if you do not have a Pro skateboard go buy one, complete skateboards . Now you should be ready to start learning to skate. First, before you try anything crazy, you need to get comfortable with your skateboard as there's a chance that you might find some things uncomfortable.
Note the nose and tail of the board, then set the board either on some grass or on the carpet in your living room, and try standing on it, jumping on it, whatever you want. Try balancing only on the front or back wheels. Standing on the board, move your feet into different positions. Get used to the feel and size of your board, and get used to standing on it.
Finding out about your stance
First thing to start learning tricks is to get used to your board and feel comfortable being on it. You have to learn first how to push with your skateboard and finding which stance you feel is comfortable to you.
You need to figure out if you want your right foot in front or your left foot in front. If one feels more comfortable than the other, then simply go with that!
The two different ways to stand are called stances
• Goofy (skating with your right foot forward)
• Regular (skating with your left foot forward)
Just like most people are right handed, most people are regular footed. That's why it's called regular. Just remember that there's no RIGHT way to do it, it totally depends on how you feel comfortable on your board and not on you being right or left handed.
It is very important that you know that there is no difference between these two stances and it will not affect your progression of your skating skills, instead it is extremely important that you feel relaxed when you're on your board.
Next, take the board out to some pavement or concrete in a club or somewhere. We recommend a parking lot with no cars.
Now try cruising around the parking lot. Take your front foot, and put it so your toes are right over the front truck, or a little behind it, on top of the board. Use your back foot to push off with so that the skateboard starts rolling, and put your back foot back on the skateboard once you are rolling the speed you want to. Note: When pushing, lean your body a bit forward so you can stay balanced over the board then after pushing put your feet parallel to each other and get used to doing that.
When you slow down, push off some more with your back foot. To turn, you can lean in the direction you want to turn, but this will turn you slowly. A better way to turn is to balance for a split moment on your back wheels, and swing your front wheels the direction you want to go. This might take some practice. Get comfortable with riding around like this. You should spend some time practicing and don't get too anxious to do tricks. Spend some time learning to skate.
After you feel comfortable with cruising around, you will likely want to learn some tricks. Most people first try learning to Ollie (the most basic trick which is "jumping" with your board and any further tricks will consist of an Ollie) then Pop Shove-it and 180 Ollie, but there's no rule or best order to learn.
Finally, Skateboarding is all about inventing your own style, so do what feels best for you, at your own pace, and most importantly have fun doing it. Skateboarding is all about having fun. Remember, everyone has his or her own individual learning curve. With the right gear and a strong will to learn, skateboarding can be a great activity that builds character, integrity, determination and creativity.
Have fun and stay safe. Still, push yourself to your limits because in the end that's what skateboarding is all about.
