Regular foot means you’ve got your left foot forward your right foot. Generally, this means you’ll push with your right foot and ride with your left. Goofy foot means you’ve got your right foot forward, meaning you’ll push with your left. Despite the name, there’s nothing “unusual” about this stance. It’s just as common as regular footedness. Mongo foot is more unusual, and refers to a riding stance in which the forward foot is the foot used to push. It may feel natural for you at first, but don’t make it a habit. Riding mongo creates an awkward motion of swinging your foot forward which can limit your capabilities with tricks. You also run a much higher risk of the board slipping out forward from under you.
When beginners start, they often tend to take several short “stabs” before getting started, rather than long pushes. You want to use a longer sweeping push off, which will make the ride smoother and ensure that you’ll stay balanced.
In a proper riding stance, your forward foot should be just behind or on the front truck screws, and your back foot should be near the back of your board, near or on the tail. This is the most stable and safe riding stance, and having your back foot already on the tail makes a quick kickturn easier. This is the most difficult thing to learn when you’re first getting started, but the good news is you’ll be riding successfully when you get it figured out! No fear!
To quickly avoid something or make a tight turn that carving can’t reach, kickturning is a very valuable skill. With your back foot, apply a slight pressure to the tail (to lift the front wheels slightly off the ground) and pivot your body in the direction you want to turn. This should be done in one motion. Be careful not to put too much pressure on the tail or you risk the board slipping out from under you. Also, it’s probably not a very good idea to do this while speeding downhill.
To tail stop, you’ll shift most of your weight onto your back foot, standing on the tail of the board, and grind the board to a stop with the tail. Some people don’t like doing this because it wears down the back tail, but many skateboards, especially flat cruising models, have a plastic stopper designed for helping you stop, making it a good option for beginners.
The most common problem is usually running over small pebbles that jam up the wheels, or hitting a crack that suddenly causes you to lose your balance. Keep a close eye on the terrain as you’re skating, but keep your eyes up to stay balanced as much as possible.
Make sure you don’t get suckered into trying something you’re not ready for. If you go out skating with a bunch of dudes ollieing down a flight of stairs, you could wind up seriously hurting yourself if you’re just trying to learn how to stop without falling down. Go slowly. You’ll get there eventually.
To stay balanced, crouch lower on the board and use your arms to stay from swaying side to side. Keep your ankles as still as possible, because at higher speeds smaller movements create bigger swings, making it more likely you’ll lose your balance.
Ollie Grinding Shove-it (not a pop shove-it because you don’t pop into the air) Kick-flip
Longboards are great for cruising and easy for beginners to maneuver. If you’re interested in something that will be easy to hop right on and go, or something to get you from place to place, a longboard is definitely the way to go. They’re not great for tricks, so if you’re interested in popping ollies, it’s not the best option. Skateboards are what you think when you think “skateboard. " With tapered ends perfect for kicking tricks and jumps, and easy soft maneuverability, these boards are excellent for skating around at quick speeds, though they’ll take a little more practice to get balanced when you’re first starting out. If you want to eventually drop into a half-pipe, though, this is the board for you. Custom boards are built and assembled yourself with basic tools. Generally, more experienced skaters will choose their wheels, trucks, bearings, and deck separately from the options available. This is good to choose the best brand of each component, whereas a pre-built board may have one or two bad components in specific.
If you’re not able to find a particular skating brand, what you want is a flat sole. Avoid the kind of textured tread common for tennis or running shoes, and instead go for something more like a deck shoe, with an even and flat surface on the bottom.
Additionally, knee pads, wrist guards, and elbow pads are also the common protective gear to wear, especially when you’re first getting started. When you get more comfortable on the board, you’ll probably not need to wear all the pads every time you want to skate, but anytime you’re learning a new trick, and especially when you’re first learning to stay on the board, extra pads are a very good idea. There’s nothing dorky about avoiding expensive trips to the emergency room, especially when you’re first starting out. Don’t let anyone tell you that “real skaters” don’t use protective gear, which is an immature, foolish, and flat-out wrong. Besides, a helmet is cooler than permanent brain damage.
It’s unfortunately harder and harder to find places that welcome skateboarders, given the unfair reputation skateboarding has in some towns. Don’t be a skater that gives law-abiding boarders a bad name: make sure you’ve got permission to skate when you’re skating, and avoid scuffing up property that doesn’t belong to you.
