Jason Mitchell, Seismic Nationals 2007, Hybrid Slalom.  Photo by Greg Fadell Northern California Downhill Skateboarding Association
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Skateboard Riding Techniques

 
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Riding Techniques (3851 Posts)
Topic Technique
On 5/17/1997 travis newbill wrote in from ()

This isn't a technique, it is a question. I recently moved from california to florida. There isn't any hills here, and I don't know what to do with my boadr. Does anybody know of anything cool to do without any hills?

 
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On 5/14/1997 KBSSA wrote in from ()

do not try to be stable at high speeds, the more you move you´ll see that becomes easier to control, i have lost several pieces of my body to see that true, i´m from Brasil, excuse my english ok?

 
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On 5/10/1997 Steve Cozens*Deplo Skateboards* wrote in from ()

I like to stand near the rear and skate "REAL LOOSE"...Just Pumpin' those turns all over the place.
The "SURF-STYLE" is my thing..gettin' totally squirrely and ALWAYS HAVE THAT STYLE TURNED ON.
When I go fast I stand with a wider stance and RELAX...BOMB IT.

 
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On 5/9/1997 Kevin wrote in from ()

Bomb the hill! let your legs loosen up and just kinda
mellow out feel the boards reactions under you when
you lean your weight. DONT EAT ASSPHAULT

 
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On 5/2/1997 Monkey Milk wrote in from ()

Foot-drag warning! If you faithfully foot drag (as we've all come to know in San Francisco!)
do not buy soft-soled shoes like casual Vans and Simples. People buy these shoes
thinking that all shoes made by skate shoe makers are "skate shoes," but really
VERY FEW are designed for sreet abuse. Hard rubber is preferable to the squishy
"comfy" rubber found on the casuals. No amount of shoe goo will save yer dogs from
a burn-thru on shitty sneaks, so flip 'em over and feel the bottom before you spend!
Peace to all skaters and surfers and skaters of the world

 
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On 4/28/1997 Charles Leaver wrote in from ()

In addition to my last note, remember to keep your leading
arm up and out in the direction you are heading. It helps
to make the arc of the turn tighter and to keep balance.

 
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On 4/28/1997 Charles Leaver wrote in from ()

I think that for beginners doing backside carves on a fast
slope it is helpful to go dropknee with your front foot all
the way on the nose. then grab the outside rail, pull up,
and lean back, ALMOST (not really) touching your butt to
the ground. This helps to maintain control, and can result
in good tail slides at high speeds downhill.

 
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On 4/22/1997 Ashley wrote in from ()

I just get on and go! I let the board lead me not me lesding the board.

 
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On 4/21/1997 Nate wrote in from ()

I find it easy to slow down by sliding your backfoot over the wheel and slowly pressing it down. (It really fucks up your shoes though)

 
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On 4/19/1997 Big Steve wrote in from ()

~Ride with smoothe turns,
~always have control,
~always have speed~

 
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On 4/16/1997 WILL wrote in from ()

IT BASICLY IS ALL IN THE FEET. IF YOU KEEP YOUR BALANCE AND LEAN WHILE TURNING IT WILL BE A NICE RELAXING GRACEFUL RIDE. 3 RULES. 1. REMEMBER THE NICE SMOOTH LEAN ON TURNS. 2. USE YOUR ANKLES AND FEET NOT THE LEGS. 3.AND FINALLY JUST REMEMBER BALANCE. NO SHARP SUDDEN TURNS SMOOTH GRACEFUL GRADUAL TURNS.

 
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On 4/14/1997 Cory Pratt wrote in from ()

One of my most favorite things to do now days is getting going rather fast on flat ground but I am getting better at doing down hills but lay out dragging your back hand on the ground and getting your board to slide across the ground. I can now do one within the width of one lane on a road usually even less. What I do for my hand is get a leather glove and duct tape. The tape after a while will form a hard layer on your palm after plenty of wraps. Me and my friend are making a movie called insearch of the perfect glove. The stance on the board varies on wether you want the whole board to slide or just the back. My back foot is usually over the rear truck and my front foot is about a 1 - 1 1/2 feet farther forward with my back foots toe hanging off a little.

visit my web page at: www.geocities.com/Yosemite/7563
mail me with ideas and or pictures I would appreciate it.

 
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On 4/11/1997 Connar Walik wrote in from ()

crashing is not fun. I recently was skating behind my friends car on a half day. I was not prepared (no gloves, or helmet or leathers), I took a fall and broke my arm. now I can not skate for a couple more weeks. It was fun though.

 
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On 4/9/1997 BIGGY Skates []=^=[] wrote in from ()

BASICS:
Wide, even stance, for stability...adjust trucks to your preference.
Stand towards the rear, with back foot over front half of rear trucks...turn very fluidly for the perfect "SURF" style...very loose trucks.
Nose stance......Getting a Big Gulp at 7-11.

TECHNIQUE:
I've found that the most important thing is to use your upper body to initiate turns...your board will naturally follow. I found this to be true when I started snowboarding ( years after longboarding ).
--*RELAX*--and ALWAYS "STYLE".

 
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On 4/7/1997 Lewis wrote in from ()

CRASHING: Since I got back into downhilling, I've had two semi-major crashes (as in no medical attention, but the end of the session and home for icepacks). Both were similar: loosing it at speed, taking 2-3 giant strides, then one major flop-roll. Both times the damage was to my right hip and left thumb. I guess this post has two points: one, do y'all got a 'favorite' way to bite pavement? Tuck-n-roll, spread-eagle, on yer back? Two, anybody got a good way for a skate geezer to protect his hips? Football hip pads maybe? The hand is bad enough, but I'm gonna get some motocross gloves for that. Strangely, knees/elbows/head don't seem to get bashed, which figures since I got pads on those. Now where's the damn icepack?

 
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On 3/28/1997 chris castelo wrote in from ()

I have a question for everyone. Iam an avid surfer/snowboarder/tele -- unfortunately i have been moved to dallas texas for work. so iam looking to get a longboard skate to make some carves. I grew up skateboarding but have not done it in a couple of years. what is a good board for me in dallas? it's a surprise but there are actually some damn nice hills here, and nearby austin has great potential. I read the equipment reviews and the sector nine ( cloud nine sounds pretty good ) please give me some opinions- anyone!
A friend here is getting the the cross town 44' from freeride, has anyone here ever ridden it? any comments would be great. This is written on a friends email so the name does not match.

 
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On 2/6/1997 Tom Forquer wrote in from ()

If you ever get board of boarding try new and abnormal combinations. Juggling while going down hills is one fun thing. IF you are feeling lazy, strap a lawn chair onto your board and cruise around . Going tandem is another fun one. IF you get good race other people going tandem. Another fun thing to do is cutting up peices of PVC pipe and using them for peices in a slalom course. If you have another crazy idea to contribute, post it on this page

 
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On 2/6/1997 Jordan Reisenweber wrote in from ()

If you picked snowboarding as a trend and you are not so good at it I would definantly suggest investing in a longboard skateboard. It is also really fun and I try to enjoy it every day. I snowboard during the winter and skateboard every other day. Some cool tricks to do are power sliding and just carving as fast as you can go. I think everyone should get one and be safe. Oh yeah and have fun.

 
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On 2/4/1997 Tom Forquer wrote in from ()

Its not really a technique but more of just a fun thing to do. If you have any sailing experience it will be useful in this activity. What you do is you find a good thick piec of 3/4 inch plywood and shape it into a pintail longboard somwehere between four and five feet. Then find or use your own sailboard rig. Depending on what type of universal you have you develop the proper connection so you can hook the thing to your board. Install proper downhill skateboarding hardware . After that you find a good plot of cement and pray for wind. If you get some strong wind you can hit speeds of well over thirty mile per hour. I made one for myself and have had a blast. Just watch out for cars.

 
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On 1/26/1997 Randal wrote in from ()

Basic 'Coleman' slide:
Cliff Coleman, the legendary downhill skater from Berkeley originated this move and has developed it into an artform. If your speed is getting away from you, or traffic is coming, or you need to come to a stop for whatever reason, just lay out a Coleman slide. This move can be a lifesaver. First, you need to cut a piece of UHMWPE (cutting board plastic) about 4" square by 1/2" thick and shoe-goo it to the palm of your left glove (this is written for regular, if you are goofy just reverse everything). Now, with a bit of speed, carve a frontside drop-knee g-turn (crouch down fully and be sure to roll your back foot), as you carve plant your left hand and let it drag. Pull the carve tighter and keep your weight forward - you want to push the nose and keep the tail from sliding out. As the board breaks into a full-on powerslide allow your sliding hand to support some weight. Hold your position as you slide (don't extend your legs or you'll end up sliding on your butt) and bring your free hand around smoothly as if to wave to someone back up the hill. This is important as swinging the free hand controls the slide direction and stops the 'pendulum' swing from over-rotating. From here you can stop and get off, or stand up and kick-turn back down the hill, or whatever. This may sound a bit complicated but it is a natural move and easy to learn. These slides are a lot of fun and safe to do, even with real speed. The only drawback is that these slides will chew up wheels fast!

 
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On 1/23/1997 Beau B. wrote in from ()

The sharpest turn/shred you can make-I've been riding a longboard for a while now, and with practice you can turn sharper and sharper. But this one time I put my foot on the very, very back of the board and turned, putting most of my weight on that foot. I think the front wheels are lifted off the ground just a little bit, and you have to fully lean with your turn. If you do it right, the turns you make can be confined to a yard or so without lifting up the front of your board. Practice on the street first.

 
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On 1/15/1997 Tom Forquer wrote in from ()

Full power slides
A must for anyone who wants to succeed in all conditions. Also, a good way to quickly stop. Start going fast and carve so you are perpindicular to the bottom of the hill. slide your back truck out and put a lot of weight on you front foot. This causes you to do a rippin slide which can be useful in many situations

 
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On 1/14/1997 Tang wrote in from ()

I wholeheartedly agree that soft wheels are one of the keys
to sucess. Also, MAKE SURE your trucks arent too loose. Thats
a sure way to spill,(as i recently found out)as it really won't help
you turn. Above all, have Phun, and TAKE RISKS!!!!!

 
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On 12/31/1996 Peter B. wrote in from ()

Riding a longboard for the first time

Riding a longboard was not as simple as I thought it was going to be. I built the board to ride, but I had only ridden the common length boards up to that point. So I thought to ride a board is to ride a board, right? Well I fount the longboard to be quite different. First of all, the longboard is longer, meaning the trucks are farther apart, which means it makes a much wider arch when turning. Normally I can crank all around on my 19" wheelbase(distance from front to back truck) street/ramp board, and even more on my 16" "bananna board". But the longboard is much slower to turn, reqiring me to enter a turn, hold my balance at a point(whichever I need to make the turn) all the way through the turn. Then coming back to center in a pivoting motion, keeping my upper body more or less rigid. The flowing movement of the body comes later, after one becomes comfortable with the board and its movement. The next thing I picked up, actually from a friend who grew up riding longboards in the hills of South Boston back in the 60's, is to keep most of the body weight over the front truck. I find this especially important at speed (20+mph). This hehps maintain stability and makes turning more possible.I talked to someone one night ,on the streets of Newburyport,Ma., who told me stories of being PULLED downhill behind a car at 60+mph amd they said ALL their weight was over their front truck, with their rear leg fully extended, the front almost fully compressed. This person said they used to do this all the time, even after crashing afew times. I felt that was out of my league , but as an example... So when I feel the tail end sliding out too much, I apply more weight to the front foot. I have found that riding a longboard feels very much like riding a snowboard, except for the high speed crashes. Soft wheels are a MUST.By this I mean hardnesses below 80a. I was riding on a old set of stree bones, they were around 68a. Beautiful. I am now riding on a set of Formula One "Big Black Clouds" 64mm, 78a. They are nice. Sector Nine also makes "Nine Balls" 78a, 65mm and a larger set, I think around 70mm. They seem to ride nicely too. As always, a fresh set of good bearings makes the difference between speed and need. Being a larger person(6'6", 210lbs.) Metal baseplates are a must! I find I put alot of stress on the baseplates, they need to be rigid! I recommend Independent Trucks. They rule.

 
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On 12/22/1996 adam wrote in from ()

The foot-drag brake

As the name implies, you drag you back foot on the street a la Fred Flintstone. Finer points: You'll be supporting youself on just your front leg, so get comfortable doing that first. When you can do that at speed, lower your back foot off the side of the board, shoe flat to the pavement, and drag your foot. I jam my ankle against the rail for added stability.

 
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