Sliding is one of the soundest and most critical moves any longboarder should learn on their longboards.
Learning how to slide on a longboard is the key goal for us right from the beginning, though we have to admit that it looks pretty terrifying for beginners.
But besides drawing attention, it’s an essential technique for stopping and slowing down on your board.
It is also helpful if you’re commuting or cruising through traffic. So, let’s dig into the guidance on performing the powerslide tactic.
How To Slide On A Longboard?
Safety is the first thing to keep in mind. Don’t forget that going downhill is dangerous, so wear guards and a helmet before stepping onto your longboard.
You never want a concussion to lead you to the hospital, right? Here are the fundamental steps to perform a slide on your longboard safely.
Proper Stance
Most slides don’t require you to do anything complex when setting up, and this beginner sliding guide is no exception.
You don’t have to adjust your foot placement drastically. Simply step onto the longboard like when you get started for carving.
Just ensure to place your rear foot in front of or on the back bolts and your front foot opposite that setup.
That is an evenly balanced, solid position where you can switch your foot easily for almost any sliding variation.
Get in The Box
The box here is the sprawl-knee and tuck-knee crunch. You will need to get this box wired before performing your slides.
We suggest practicing positioning in this position several times before getting into your sliding. You’ll feel comfortable and get used to it after a few sessions.
First, bend your two knees and push down your back end to the pavement to set the position. Roll your back foot until your instep contacts the grip tape.
The front knee should point upward while the back knee approaches or crosses the shin of the front leg.
If your rear hip feels a slight stretch, you’re in the correct position. Practice carving and setting this position in the two directions.
The Shoulders
The shoulders act as the rudders that control the slide’s direction.
If you’re not in a specific slide, you can press the board’s edge down and lean toward a turn to twist the trucks.
But if you’re in a specific slide, it’s impossible to turn this way.
Even when the shoulders keep figuring into turning and carving, you will realize that you’re reliant on them way too much to control your direction when sliding, compared to when they usually do.
Adjust your shoulders to synchronize them with the path you intend to rotate (out of or into the powerslide).
Let your shoulders determine the direction, then your lower body follows inevitably.
The Setup Carve
Most longboarders will carve to the facing side of their intended slide directions before kickstarting a slide.
In doing so, they can open up the path, allowing more space for the setup carves to initiate the powerslide.
The setup carve also allows the rider to wind up the body. Imagine how baseball pitchers gear their bodies up before a pitch!
So, perform a toeside carving before sliding heelside as a warm-up move. Bend your knees and keep that position when you’re about to finish your setup carve.
Start curving in the facing direction while still setting in the box position. Ensure to stay 100% in this position before creating a 45-degree carve.
Don’t Put the Wheels Under Too Much Weight.
Many people have difficulty moving to the next step of kicking out because they put their wheels under too much pressure.
Some longboards have wheels designed for sliding and considerable traction. You have to break this traction if you want to perform a slide successfully.
If you place too much weight on your board, going sideways will be more challenging. So, the solid tip is to shift the weight out of the board’s wheels.
After that, you just need to push the heelside rails forward using the back foot.
Don’t put the wheels under too much weight so that you don’t have to battle friction and fight with yourself.
Kick Out
Once you shift some weight off the wheels and initiate the turn with a small carve, it should be much more effortless to kick out and start sliding.
You should be ready in the box, leaning toward the carve’s arc. The two moves above will unweight the board’s wheels effectively.
Simply place your back foot on the path laterally and push toward the travel direction. There’s no point in shoving the longboard with a powerful kick.
Once you’ve adequately unweighted your wheels, a slight nudge is enough to kick out.
Slide For A Long Distance
After the rear wheels slide sideways, it should be straightforward to push your front wheels forward laterally, generating a powerful slide.
Another method to powerslide is to let your rear wheels swing freely 180 degrees, allowing plenty of space for you to perform a switch.
After braking traction using the front wheels, your powerslide can go longer. How? Higher speeds will yield longer slides – that’s the solid trick.
To labor the point, if you have difficulty keeping the slide going long distances, ensure you’ve switched weight to your front truck.
Hook Up
You can end your powerslide in various ways. It can be a roll in the opposite position to where you began (a switch) or in the original direction.
After a powerslide, you’ll realize that you roll slower than the previous turn.
How more gradually you move will be due to factors like the surface material, original speed, and wheel durometer.
Another way to end a powerslide is to reach a stop. Sliding is a reliable method to stop quickly.
We mean weighting the board’s wheels again to compel traction when we say’ hook up. You can create momentum after hooking up if your timing is accurate.
Different Types Of Longboard Slides
Pre-Drifts
Pre-drifting is a hands-down sliding type you perform before reaching a corner.
This powerslide technique allows the rider to generate a proper speed to handle the corner beautifully and safely without getting the front wheels off the pavement or into the latter lane.
It’s the fundamental powerslide in racing, doing a great job of helping skate open pavements safely.
Here’s how to pre-drift: You powerslide your longboard as normal, but keep it and your slide at an angle of under 90 degrees.
The pavement is a horizontal line, and your powerslide will intersect it to be more precise.
If you slide at an angle of under 90 degrees, your wheels will rotate while sliding, guaranteeing incredible braking ability and even wear.
But if you do it at a 90-degree angle, your wheels won’t rotate, and only one edge will handle most of your sliding.
As the slide continues at 90 degrees, it might cause your wheels to shape an oval. In more severe cases, it could induce flat-spotting, leading the worn edge to become entirely flat.
A powerslide at under 90 degrees will allow the rider to switch and steer their boards during sliding.
This technique helps conquer fantastic race lines throughout the pavement or beautifully take the corners.
Watch this video to learn more about this tactic and see some fantastic examples:
Pendulum
The pendulum powerslide is another hands-down tactic where you swing from one side to another during sliding.
It’s an excellent way to reduce the speed when moving too fast, and usually, beginners will learn the first method.
The pendulum involves the shoulders, helping determine the direction your longboard will head to.
You can control it by swinging the shoulders right to left or reverse. Likewise, throwing the shoulders into the intended direction will let you turn back to the latter direction.
Shoulder swinging also helps regain traction, meaning you can keep rolling away and going down a steep or hill.
Stand-Up
Essentially, a stand-up slide is similar to a pre-drift. However, you will not place one of your two hands on the road this time.
Instead, you’ll break traction with your wheels through pushing out the board and hard carving. The next step is to simply balance on the board when it glides along the road.
This technique is the splendid sliding type yet the riskiest and most complex.
However, if you prepare your longboard well and keep safety precautions in mind, it won’t be that challenging, even at high speeds.
Squat/Sit-Down
The squat slide is a modification of the stand-up, yet the riders will squat on their longboards when sliding this time.
But it is generally the same as the stand-up regarding how you execute it.
This tactic is pretty straightforward if you can acquire a sturdy squat and squat sustainably on your longboard.
Conclusion
Learning how to slide on a longboard can be intimidating at the beginning. After all, it’s an exciting game of skill-building and patience.
But once you excel in the basics, there will be no limit on how you can get better regarding creativity, speed, and complexity.
As experienced longboarders, Longboards Guide hope this guide has opened brand-new boundaries in your sliding techniques.
