How To Slide on a Longboard Easy to Learn
Longboards are great recreational tools. They are, however, not without their own share of potential problems. Perhaps the most significant of these problems is the risk of tipping off and incurring some injuries. You, therefore, have to know how to slide on a longboard well to avoid these possibilities and guarantee great pleasure.
We are here to assist you in achieving this very end. Have carried out extensive research into how best to perform the various maneuvers. We will subsequently examine these maneuvers in finer detail in the proceeding conversations. You will surely receive the guidance you desperately yearn for at the end of it all.
Slide On a Longboard – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Step I: Prepare yourself appropriately
Start off by preparing yourself appropriately. This is because the experience you might gain is determined to a large extent by your preparedness. Preparing yourself in this context mainly entails balancing yourself well on the longboard.
To do this, place both feet on the longboard. Next, center your weight well on the board mainly by staying in the middle portion of the board. Bend your knees to lower your center of gravity and boost your stability. Finally, relax your posture. You will be less likely to lose confidence and tip off by doing so.
Step II: Warm Up
Before sliding full scale, you may try out sliding as a preliminary precaution. This is to give you the psychological preparation you require to do a great job later. Go to a secluded location, preferably an arcade, or a closed-off neighborhood. Practice sliding off slowly and meticulously in the said locations. In case of any issues, note them and prepare to mitigate them accordingly.
Step III: Start the sliding process
Now begin the sliding process. To do this, squat low on the longboard. Bend your knees and then roll back your foot. This is to let your feet stay forward while keeping you maintained on your slide. In case you confront the slide carefreely and confidently, you will perform optimally.
Step IV: Slide full scale
Now slide. Place your front hand on the road. Lean forward to push your weight in the forward direction. This way, gravity shall push your body and by extension the longboard forward and let it move as expected.
Step V: Accelerate the Longboard
As soon as you have set off, you now need to speed up the pace of the longboard. To do this, swing the free arm (the one you are not using on the road) across your body. You may punch an imaginary enemy to accomplish this successfully.
There is a direct correlation between the distance of the swing and the momentum of the longboard. This means that the further you swing your arm, the more likely the board shall travel faster. While at these, remember to maintain direct contact with the road. You do not want to injure yourself or predispose other road users to unnecessary accidents and dangers.
Step VI: Slow down the Longboard
To slow down, do the exact opposite of what you have done earlier. Retract your arms and keep your body as low as possible. This shall concentrate your weight on the longboard and slow the pace of travel.
Step VII: Negotiating turns
To negotiate a turn, slow down the pace of travel. This is because it is easier to maintain alertness when slow rather than when traveling faster. After you have slowed down sufficiently, you have to re-distribute your weight appropriately.
If you want to turn to the left, slant to the left and vice versa. This shall turn the longboard to the left. The opposite is true. As soon as you have turned in the desired direction, speed up the pace of sliding as fast as possible. If you take too long to do so, the longboard might stall and force you to start off all over again.
Step VIII: Halting the Longboard
After you are done sliding the longboard, you now have to halt it. To put the longboard to a complete halt, start off by slowing it down considerably. Then, place one of your feet on the ground and let it drag on the ground. This frictional force shall slow the board and bring it to a complete halt after a limited duration of time.
Final Words
Sliding the longboard is not so easy a task. It requires a great deal of expertise and experience to carry out. Invest much of your time to practice and master the basics. You definitely have to invoke the help of a coach or a trained expert to guide you to learn how to slide on a longboard.
