Falling is inevitable when you’re downhill longboarding. It’s not about if you’ll fall, but when. Learning how to fall correctly is crucial for protecting yourself and continuing to progress. This guide will walk you through the proper techniques for falling, minimizing injuries, and getting back on your board confidently.
Essential Gear for Safe Falls
Before delving into falling techniques, let’s talk gear. At a minimum, you’ll need a helmet and slide gloves. Knee pads are also essential. Hip and elbow pads provide valuable additional protection, especially when you’re learning. A quality longboard is a must, of course.
Three Common Falling Techniques
The Push-Up Catch
This is a forward fall where you catch yourself using your slide gloves and toes. The goal is to distribute your weight and avoid a direct impact with the ground. You then ride out the fall using your shoes and gloves.
While the push-up catch is useful, it doesn’t significantly slow you down since you have limited contact points. It can also be rough on your shoes. However, skateboard-specific shoes with durable uppers and soles are built to withstand this.
This technique can be challenging if you lack slide gloves or sufficient upper body strength (being able to do a push-up is beneficial).
The Knee Slide Catch/Ride Out
This is perhaps the most sustainable method for falling. You initiate a slide on your knee pads and shoes. You can also use your slide gloves, creating multiple points of contact to distribute impact.
While your knee pads will wear out with use, the rest of your body will be relatively safe. It allows you to fall repeatedly without causing serious harm. However, keep in mind that knee pads don’t offer significant braking, so be aware of your surroundings to avoid sliding into obstacles.
It might feel unnatural at first. Practice will make it easier. Also, make sure your pads are tightly secured, as they can slip down during a fall, leaving you unprotected.
downhill longboarder demonstrating a knee slide
The Butt and Glove Slide
This technique involves falling onto your rear and using your slide gloves for control. You basically slide along on your butt, using your gloves for balance and braking.
While not the most recommended method, it’s a way to fall and come to a stop in a semi-controlled fashion. It can be painful without hip pads, and without protection, road rash on your backside is a real possibility. If you use tough jeans (or leather patches sewn onto the seat), you can use this technique with more confidence.
The Unpredictable Nature of Falls
Even with the best techniques, falls can still be unpredictable. This is why wearing hip and elbow pads in addition to knee pads is highly recommended. You might land in an unexpected way, such as on your hip or elbow. Sometimes you will fall unexpectedly and not have time to properly react. Other times you might just fall and keep riding.
Professional longboarders often experience a wide variety of falls. While your falls might not be as dramatic, the same principles apply – unpredictable situations can occur.
While there’s no single way to fall, the techniques described above will help you significantly most of the time.
Practicing Fall Techniques
The best way to begin practicing is by getting into the different positions while stationary. Feel how your weight is distributed, and the positions of your body parts. When you actually fall, the experience will be quite different. You might also find that your weight is positioned differently. This might be your preference as to how to focus weight (whether it’s on your hands, knee pads, shoes etc.). This is something that will need real-world experience to decide or figure out what you want to do or like.
Once you have an idea of what to do when you bail, and what techniques to use for a particular situation, you can then move on and gain practical experience during your riding and sliding learning journey.
Why Protective Gear Matters
The most obvious reason for using protective gear is that it prevents you from getting hurt. This is critical for avoiding injuries and for continuing to practice and progress in longboarding.
When you’re not worried about getting injured, you are more likely to take calculated risks and learn new techniques. Pads give you the confidence to do this because you know they will protect you should you fail.
longboarder wearing two helmets for maximum safety
Ultimately, wearing pads will allow you to become a better longboarder, faster.
Conclusion
Learning to fall safely is a crucial aspect of downhill longboarding. By understanding the different techniques, investing in proper protective gear, and practicing, you can minimize the risk of injuries and continue to improve your skills. This is part of a wider skill set required to be a longboarder. Be sure to check our downhill skill tree guide for more information.
