Nothing is impossible in this world. If you have made up your mind, you can get it. All you need is patience and consistency. The same is the case with skateboarding.
Skateboarding is a game of balancing. There is no wonder that you would be surprised to see a skater for the first time and how astounding he looks when he flips his board or turns to 360 degrees. If seeing this aesthetic view develops an urge in you to learn skateboarding, then it’s normal. Skateboarding is a game of freedom that lures everyone.
If you want to feel the thrills of skateboarding but fear trying, this article will help you overcome your fear. We understand it’s not easy to come out of your comfort zone. But, once you try, you can achieve your aim.
Is It Hard To Skateboard?
If you are here to know is skateboarding easy or not, then, unfortunately, the answer is No, skateboarding is not easy. As compared to other sports, skateboarding can be the most challenging sport you have ever experienced in your life. Skateboarding involves balancing, persistence, agility, and coordination of your whole body, especially your legs. If you are not an expert in these skills, you will end up with broken knees or arms.
How Hard Is It To Skateboard?
If you look at any other sport like football, baseball, hiking, climbing, etc., they involve practice only. The more you practice, you become a pro at it. In comparison, skateboarding requires practice and patience as well. You have to practice for months, and then you will be able to balance the skateboard. Once you have balanced your board, you can start learning basic tricks. After that, you can move on to more intricate tricks.
Therefore, we can say that skateboarding is one of the most challenging sports. If you cannot balance the skateboard or do any negligence, you would end up on the floor with a bruised face or arms.
What Factors Make Skateboarding Difficult?
If you are a beginner and have developed an interest in skateboarding, then a few challenges might make skateboarding troublesome or complex for you. These factors are as follows.
Fright
When you skateboard, you are always at risk of falls or accidents. Therefore, at the start of skateboarding, beginners have fears of falling or losing balance. This fear makes skateboarding hard for them, and they start losing their confidence.
Fitness
Skateboarding can be challenging if your body is not physically fit or you can’t bear strains. So, before skateboarding, make your body fit and active by jogging and putting some workload on your body. Once your body is comfortable with simple running, you can take your board for long runs. Moreover, for balancing skateboarding, your body should be flexible also.
Body Posture
There are no handles with skateboards; you need to maneuver the board with your body. Your center of gravity should be maintained at a proper position and placed in the center. A little bit of wrong positioning might let you fall off the deck.
The beginners find it hard to maintain their proper body posture while skating.
Balancing
Skateboarding has wheels, so balancing yourself and standing on it is challenging. If you can’t learn to stand on the board in stationery motion, you won’t be able to move it. Therefore, this balancing could be hard for skaters.
Determining Right Stance
Finding your right stance can be difficult sometimes for beginners. It’s not a hard and fast rule that if you are right-footed in other sports, you would also skate with a regular stance. Similarly, there are many cases where left-footed people skate comfortably with a goofy stance.
Most of the time, beginners also need to switch their natural stance to perform more complex tricks. A goofy skater can not perform kickflips or stairs tricks efficiently.
Lack of Motivation
Skating involves patience and practice. You can’t become a pro-skater overnight. Most novice skaters find this sport hard, and they quit it after a few days of buying their boards.
Lack Of Guidance
If you do not have proper knowledge and guidance about something, you will not be able to do it. Skateboarding involves an adequate understanding of basic tricks and choosing the right board. If you don’t know which board you should choose and how to balance and skate on it, you can never perform skating tricks. So, if you are a novice, go and gather some skateboarding knowledge. Look at which skateboard is right for you and how you can perform basic tricks. Then with this guidance, you can learn to skate quickly.
How To Learn To Ride A Skateboard?
If you have bought a skateboard, then start learning how to ride safely. We have also brought a guide to help you learn how to skateboard and how you can overcome complex challenges. Take a look at these useful tips and make your skateboarding experience trouble-free.
Find The Right Board
If you want to learn skateboarding swiftly, you need to find the right board. Most people don’t buy appropriate skateboards according to their weight and height. That’s why they always face difficulty in balancing, as the board might not be wide enough or long enough to handle their foot size or distribute the foot power evenly on the whole board.
Read More: Find Out the Best Skateboard if You Are a Beginner
Moreover, most novices also snap their boards on the first attempt when they hop on it. The reason is they have not selected a durable board or their board was overloaded.
Use Grip Tape
Always use grip tape on your boards when you skate. Most novice skaters think of grip tape as an unnecessary part. On the contrary, the grip tape can provide you with the necessary friction. This friction will maintain your foot on the deck, and you can easily move the board without getting slipped.
Read More: Best skateboard Grip Tape Buying guide and reviews
Use Protective Gear
Protective gear includes a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. Use this protective gear when you start skating. You can skip this gear once you become a pro in handling your deck. But don’t compromise your safety to look cooler. Moreover, if you get injured, you might lose your interest or confidence in skating.
Learn Basics First
Most novices start skating by getting inspired by professional skaters. Once they saw their astounding tricks, they began to practice them. If you are a beginner, then you should avoid this mistake.
Before performing intricate tricks, you need to learn the basic tricks. Once you have mastered how to control your board and how your board responds when you move your body in various positions, you can start practicing intricate tricks.
Moreover, you can also start practicing on some grippy surfaces like grass or carpet. This will hold your skateboard tighter, and don’t let it move. So you can maintain balance easily on the deck.
Learn How To Fall Safely
Falling from skateboarding is considered part of skateboarding. Most of the pro skaters end up falling from their boards. The exciting thing is that they don’t get serious injuries. They have learned how to fall off the deck safely. They roll out their body instead of falling on their wrists. This reduces the harsh impact on their wrists, and the rolling body gets less hurt.
That’s why to add learning to fall safely from the deck to your checklist and practice it. After that, move towards flips and ollies.
Make A Video Of Your Practicing
You can make skateboard learning easy by looking at your own mistakes and then analyzing them. Usually, when you skate, you can’t keep an eye on your foot positions or body postures. Therefore, it’s better to start practicing skating by filming it. If you repeatedly fail, you can watch your mistakes later on and correct your particular errors. You can also share these videos with professional skaters, who will guide you about your mistakes and how to overcome them. Once you have diagnosed your lacks, you can remove them easily and learn skateboarding rapidly.
Find A Proper Place
For skateboarding practice, you need to find a proper place. The best place to practice is skate parks. You can also practice in empty parking areas. Make sure there is no delicate object near you. Otherwise, you may hit it and damage it.
Motivate Yourself
As you know, learning skateboarding takes time. So you should be motivated to practice; otherwise, you will simply end up quitting. You can stay motivated for skateboarding by participating in various skating contests. In addition, you can also arrange skating practices with your friends. If you make you’re practicing more fun and enjoyable, you will never lose your motivation in skateboarding.
Join Internet Forums
If you have started skateboarding practice, then it’s better to join internet forums like Reddit or quora. These forums will help you learn amazing tips which you can add to your practice. Moreover, you can always ask your queries and get replies from professional skaters.
Practice Regularly
Skateboarding requires constant practice. If you have started practicing skateboarding, it’s better not to skip it. If you skip practicing and start again, you might forget your previously learned tricks. Therefore, it’s better to continue your practice and keep your body in shape for skateboarding. This persistence will then lead you to maneuver intricate tricks one day.
Skating Shoes
Proper skateboarding shoes can also make a difference in your skateboarding style. Skating shoes don’t get worn off effortlessly and provide your feet with a comfy place to stand on. They also stay protected in cushioned pads from bruises or other shocks. Moreover, these durable shoes will never let your feet get tired after practicing enough skateboarding.
Final Verdict
Skateboarding is a challenging sport. But, if you develop proper motivation and practice enough with guidance from professional skaters, you can surely master this game. You can adapt the above-mentioned tips and make your skating dream come true.
