The most crucial aspect for beginner longboarders is to first learn how to ride comfortably and properly. This involves mastering fundamental skills like carving, pushing, riding fakie, and navigating transitions. Once you feel confident on your longboard, it’s time to move on to more advanced techniques. Building a strong foundation will accelerate your progress and ultimately make you a more proficient longboarder.
beginner longboarder learning to ride
1. Practice Regularly
Consistent practice is the key to mastering any skill, and longboarding is no different. Make it a point to ride your longboard as often as you can. Incorporate it into your daily routine by riding to a friend’s house, the store, or even school (if permitted). The more time you spend on your board, the faster you’ll progress and the more comfortable you’ll become. Remember, learning to ride a longboard doesn’t have to be a lengthy process.
2. Start Slow, Gradually Increase Speed
Just as you wouldn’t run before you could walk, you need to build your speed gradually when learning to longboard. Trying to bomb a hill when you can barely push down the street will likely lead to a negative experience. High speeds present unique challenges, and it’s essential to feel at ease at moderate speeds before attempting anything faster. Focus on building your confidence and control at a comfortable pace.
3. Master the Push
Pushing is your primary method of propulsion on a longboard, and a good push is essential for efficient riding. While you might be able to get away with minimal pushing at a skatepark with ramps, developing a strong, consistent push is crucial for navigating flat ground and generating speed. Practice your push regularly until it feels natural and fluid.
4. Learn Kick-Turns
Kick turns are vital for navigating transitions, ramps, pools, and executing various tricks like ollies, grinds, and manuals. Mastering kick turns helps you develop balance and understand how your board reacts when turning. Start small with tick-tacks and gradually progress to full 180-degree kick turns on ramps. With practice, you’ll be executing slash grinds in no time.
5. Practice Manuals
After mastering kick turns, start practicing manuals. Manuals are great for developing your balance and comfort on your board. Your initial manuals don’t need to be lengthy; even a few feet will help. Gradually increase the length of your manuals, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you progress. Manuals are critical for riding off curbs and ledges, and they’re also essential for various stalls on transitions.
6. Ride Off Curbs
Learning to ride off curbs is an excellent step towards getting comfortable with being in the air and rolling with some speed. While it’s essentially a drop, it will help you get used to the feeling of not being grounded. You’ll also understand how important that small manual is and why it is crucial to build your speed gradually. To roll off a curb smoothly, you need to move at a decent speed and perform a slight manual.
7. Start with Easy Tricks
Once you feel comfortable riding, rolling off curbs, doing tick-tacks, and small manuals, you’ll naturally want to learn some tricks. Don’t jump straight into complex tricks like kickflips. Begin with easier tricks, such as an upside-down board flip to get on, cavemans, starting in a rail stand then mounting the board, and stationary shuvits. These will help you understand how your board behaves when flipped. While they might seem simple, successfully executing them can be very rewarding and prevent you from feeling frustrated.
8. Ride with Others
One of the best things about longboarding is the social aspect. Riding with others allows you to learn from their techniques, try new things, and feed off each other’s successes. You’ll feel the shared excitement when your friend finally nails that trick they’ve been working on, and the cheers you receive after landing your tricks will be even more satisfying.
group of longboarders riding at a skatepark
9. Ride with Better Longboarders
Surrounding yourself with longboarders who are more skilled than you can significantly accelerate your progress. When you ride with those who are better, it subconsciously encourages you to push yourself harder to reach their level. Most longboarders are happy to share their tips and insights because they understand the frustration of learning without guidance.
10. Adjust Your Setup
Longboarding is a personal journey, and your longboard setup should be customized to suit your preferences. Don’t feel pressured to conform to what others are using. Experiment with different setups, such as looser or tighter trucks, different wheel sizes, or even different riser pads. Find what works best for you to enhance your comfort and control.
11. Loosen Your Trucks
While you should always prioritize what feels most comfortable to you, it is recommended that you loosen your trucks as much as you can handle. Looser trucks enable you to turn sharply, carve bowls, lock into grinds, steer, and balance manuals with greater ease. Find the sweet spot that allows you to turn without constantly getting wheel bite. Remember, a looser setup is generally better for performance and control.
12. Learn Roll-On Grinds
Roll-on grinds are a blast and a great way to grind without needing to ollie or lock in on a transition. The easiest way to start is to roll up a curb cut and lock into a 50-50 grind, then turn out. You’ll learn essential techniques for grinding without a high risk of injury.
13. Master Ollies
The ollie is considered the first “real” trick to learn. It serves as the foundation for any flip or rotational trick, and it’s also essential for airing in transitions. Learning how to ollie will drastically change your longboarding experience. It will allow you to ollie up curbs while cruising and will open the door to rotation and flip tricks, slides, and grinds. Before attempting an ollie, try jumping on your board without kicking the tail to get the feel for the movement.
14. Use Support for Learning Tricks
Using support such as a bench or railing can be helpful when learning the techniques of certain tricks. This method will allow you to learn the mechanics of the trick without the fear of falling. However, you should stop relying on the support as soon as you begin to land the first few attempts. Avoid becoming too reliant on support, or it may create bad habits.
15. Practice Stationary and Moving
When first learning new tricks, it can be easier to practice stationary. It will help you familiarize yourself with the mechanics of the trick, allowing you to gain confidence with the technique. Once you have mastered the mechanics of the trick, attempt it while rolling slowly and gradually increase your speed. Keep in mind that doing tricks while moving feels much different than when stationary. Stationary tricks are also more risky.
16. Try Landing with One Foot
Learning flip tricks can be daunting and seem impossible at first. An effective way to practice is to land with one foot on the ground and one on the board. For instance, while learning kickflips, you can catch the board with your back foot and land with your front foot on the ground. After a few attempts with each foot, you can try landing with both feet on the board. While landing with one foot can be useful for practice, avoid making it a habit.
17. Increase Your Speed
As you gradually increase your speed and begin learning tricks, you’ll notice that performing tricks at moderate to faster speeds is significantly easier than doing them stationary. Ollies, 180s, roll-on grinds, kickflips, riding off curbs, manuals, etc., are all easier when you have momentum. Try them at a comfortable speed, and you will be surprised by how much easier they become.
18. Repetition is Key
Consistent repetition is essential for mastering any skill, and longboarding is no exception. Repeating the same trick over and over will embed the technique in your brain, enabling you to execute it consistently. Don’t only focus on “one and done” attempts, repeat tricks every session to keep your skills sharp.
19. Work on Your Weaknesses
Don’t limit yourself to the tricks you find easy, challenge yourself by working on the ones you struggle with. You might naturally excel at frontside 180s, so take the time to practice backside 180s, too. Because they pose a greater challenge, the satisfaction of mastering them is much greater. Working on your weaknesses will help you become a more well-rounded longboarder.
20. Ride Different Terrains
Exploring a variety of terrain will be valuable for your overall longboarding skills. Learning multiple disciplines will make you a more versatile and skilled rider. If you mostly cruise, challenge yourself at the skate park. Most skate parks offer street obstacles, ramps, and transitions. Experiment with them all, even if you prefer pools. Learning on manual pads or flat bars will improve your pool skating abilities.
longboarder riding a bowl at a skatepark
21. Watch Longboarding Videos
In today’s world, longboarding content is readily available through social media and streaming platforms. You don’t have to look far for inspiration. It is also a great way to pass the time on days when the weather prevents you from going outside. Professional longboard videos showcase what is possible and can be very inspiring. Instructional videos can help you learn new tricks and techniques or tweak your existing skills. Take advantage of the resources available to you.
22. Play SKATE
Playing SKATE is a great way to improve your skills, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced rider. Matching someone else’s trick in a game of SKATE can be a fun way to learn new tricks. You will also likely impress your opponent with a trick they haven’t seen before. Many longboarders are also happy to offer advice to help you along the way. You can play SKATE anywhere, on flat ground, ramps, rails, manual pads, pools, or a full skate park.
23. Have Fun
The most important thing about longboarding is to enjoy the experience. If you become frustrated to the point where you’re no longer having fun, take a break. Rather than trying the same trick repeatedly and failing, try something else that you know you can do and enjoy.
24. Avoid Kickflips For Now
If you are having trouble learning kickflips, don’t get discouraged. Practice other tricks, like pop shuvits, big spins, or other fun tricks you’ve already mastered. There are many tricks to learn in longboarding, so don’t limit yourself to one that isn’t working. Odds are when you come back to kickflips the next day, you will have much better success.
25. Stationary Tricks Are Riskier
Many beginner longboarders start by practicing tricks stationary, thinking it’s easier than doing them while moving. However, stationary tricks are more risky because they increase your chances of landing primo (with both feet on the side of your board). If you practice stationary, use a rail or other object for support to minimize the risk. When you have momentum, it’s much easier to get away from your deck if something goes wrong. It’s best to attempt tricks before you slow down, as it’s harder to land them once your board is losing speed.
By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a confident and skilled longboarder. Remember to always practice safely, wear appropriate protective gear, and most importantly, have fun!
