Picking up skateboarding ...

y0 dudes,

After 3 weeks of studying (sitting behind my desk) for my exams I'm finally done with school (finished off highschool :)).
This Tuesday I finally went outside and I actually saw the sun for the first time, so I decided to pick up skateboarding :D
I have never skateboarded before (well... when I was 8 yrs old maybe, with a board likehttp://sell.lulusoso.com/upload/2012...oard_KI203.jpg xD).
I bought this board http://bladeville.pl/media/cache/cho...13ec0a116a.jpg after watching some youtube tutorials on how to pick a board for beginners (this board is 8 inch wide (I have big feet, and I was told it's more stable for beginners) 31.8 inch long.
I got my board on thursday, and I've been practising for two days now for a couple of hours each day (after work).
Have been practising basic turning (leaning) and simple kickturns, braking with my foot next to the board, braking with my foot on the tail (still losing my balance often though, so I'm not that comfortable with that yet), and mostly pushing.
Today was the second day of praticing, and I'd love to know how you guys started. I think it's a shame I'm starting so late (I'm 18 years old now) as I enjoy learning to skate a lot as of now.
I'd love to now in what order you guys learned skateboarding, and just an approximate of how long it took you to feel comfortable on a skateboard :)
And how you learned skatboarding in general (for instance: I've been watching a lot of tutorials on youtube n stuff, and I'm trying it later).

Thanks in advance for helping me out :D

Have fun, dude. To this day all I can do is hillbomb and ollie very short heights, so I'm not much of any help, but I'm glad to see you're picking it up.
Now somebody build a pool in my town so I can learn to ride them. :(

When I first started I did everything stationary man
Setup in a comfortable spot where you're less likely to fall. Grass, Carpet.
It seems silly, helped when I was starting out though..
It was a combination of stationary tricks and just learning to ride the board comfortably that helped me along.
When you feel like you've got stuff going forward, start trying what you've learned moving.
Good you're having fun, That's the most important thing. :cool:
The order I learned stuff in went something like
Pushing, Riding, Turning, Stationary Ollies, Moving Ollies, Moving Shuv-Its, Moving Pop-Shuv Its
It wasn't till many years later that I approached bigger fliptricks
the guys at the skateparks will inspire you, even if they aren't always that nice :rolleyes:
Just keep having fun! Every Trick has a little nook that you can expand on in any way you want to That's why I love skateboarding. :)

As far as how long it takes to get comfortable it's hard to say. I've been skating like 12 years and its just been the last 2 ish where I've made this huge leap in comfort, style, consistency. A feeling of being one with the board.

Just keep at it, have fun, don't worry about how quickly you're progressing. If you are consistently skating and pushing yourself pretty hard every sesh you should be looking pretty good by the time winter hits I would think. But everyone's different man.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pawnluvguitarist

As far as how long it takes to get comfortable it's hard to say. I've been skating like 12 years and its just been the last 2 ish where I've made this huge leap in comfort, style, consistency ect.

Just keep at it, have fun, don't worry about how quickly you're progressing. If you are consistently skating and pushing yourself pretty hard every sesh you should be looking pretty good by the time winter hits I would think. But everyone's different man.

---

True
I learned ollies later than the people I skated with but I got varial heels before everyone.
I will say though, I learned the fundamentals or basic fliptricks before I started doing odd stuff.
Being comfortable on your board is much more important starting out, knowing how it flips and reacts with movements is vital to your progress.
Keep at it, Get hyped up.
I suggest watching your favorite skaters before heading out. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pawnluvguitarist

As far as how long it takes to get comfortable it's hard to say. I've been skating like 12 years and its just been the last 2 ish where I've made this huge leap in comfort, style, consistency. A feeling of being one with the board.

Just keep at it, have fun, don't worry about how quickly you're progressing. If you are consistently skating and pushing yourself pretty hard every sesh you should be looking pretty good by the time winter hits I would think. But everyone's different man.

---

Maybe it's just because I never focused on tricks at all and because I've snowboarded, but I felt that level of comfort on my board within the first year. I just kinda get in a flow with it, I sorta ride it like a snowboard in a sense.

http://skately.com/img/library/print...plete-1986.jpg

that's the board that started it all for me..lol
people seem to progress so much faster now than back when I started in '86
lots of factors to that I won't get into here.
I can't even begin to image my life if I hadn't skated,had tons of great memories
welcome aboard man,hope skateboarding is as good to you as it has been to me

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Luftwaffe

Maybe it's just because I never focused on tricks at all and because I've snowboarded, but I felt that level of comfort on my board within the first year. I just kinda get in a flow with it, I sorta ride it like a snowboard in a sense.

---

Yeah I get that, more about tricks I guess, comfort levels will be relative on what you are doing. But yeah it's all about that first year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Luftwaffe

Maybe it's just because I never focused on tricks at all and because I've snowboarded, but I felt that level of comfort on my board within the first year. I just kinda get in a flow with it, I sorta ride it like a snowboard in a sense.

---

For sure man
Skateboarding emulates Surfing
Snowboarding emulates Skateboarding
While I've never done it I still know it.
Anything using a board is usually a balance system, I even found this when trying to wake board.
Which I still want to learn by the way.. thanks for the reminder.

I'm curious though, have you ever tried snowboarding tricks on the skateboard?
Obviously, different names apply but it would be the same basic feeling right?
Like nose/tail butters sounds interesting.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Antwan

For sure man
Skateboarding emulates Surfing
Snowboarding emulates Skateboarding
While I've never done it I still know it.
Anything using a board is usually a balance system, I even found this when trying to wake board.
Which I still want to learn by the way.. thanks for the reminder.

I'm curious though, have you ever tried snowboarding tricks on the skateboard?
Obviously, different names apply but it would be the same basic feeling right?
Like nose/tail butters sounds interesting.

---

Eh, the board being strapped to your feet changes a lot. Especially things like ollies. I can pop a decent height on a snowboard, but when you have to use your feet and not your weight to balance it out, it changes a lot. Things like butters won't work on a skateboard because, quite simply, concrete has much more friction than snow. I know I'm capable of grabs, I've done a few early grabs before, but getting the air is the hard part for me on a skateboard.
Whenever I feel like it I can do boneless stuff, though.

hell, to emulate carving I have to loosen my trucks as much as I can without them coming off

tl;dr, a lot is the same when it comes to riding, but when it comes to tricks not a whole lot is the same. Snowboarding is a lot with balance and weight shifting, where skating has a LOT to do with foot control and placement.

There's no shame in watching like beginner Tony Hawk's Trick Tip videos, they'll definitely help.

Basic tricks I learned 15 years ago when I started skating were ollie, pop shuvit, fs shuvit, kickflip, sex change (for some reason easier than kickflipping, but can cause bad habits), varial flip, 180s fs and backside. Once you get comfortable on flat ground, try some of these tricks up and down a curb. Start learning 50-50s on like painted curbs and boardslides on small flat bars if you have a local park.

Learn to drop in.

Generally just skate everywhere and get comfortable doing everything on a skateboard.

You want to learn some stuff like foot braking, speed checking, and things like that eventually which will give you more control over your speed and let you ride anywhere.

It takes a while to learn tricks, but then you land them once and you've got them. Just skate every day, have fun, find some friends to skate with.

YES, SKATEBOARDING!

Snowboarding and Surfing are infinitely different, by the way. Learn to skate, don't bother comparing it to other board sports. One of the bigger differences between surfing and snowboard vs. skateboarding is that there are no wheels on snow or water and a lot less friction. You turn with the front of your board on a surf board and you turn with the back of your board on a snowboard, on a skateboard you do not turn with either of those, unless you're kick turning. I started skating about four years before I tried snowboarding or surfing and I sucked at both, despite what I knew on a skateboard.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Luftwaffe

Maybe it's just because I never focused on tricks at all and because I've snowboarded, but I felt that level of comfort on my board within the first year. I just kinda get in a flow with it, I sorta ride it like a snowboard in a sense.

---

got a longboard? their more just for riding around and shit

pretty sure this is a joke thread

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ayreon

got a longboard? their more just for riding around and shit

---

Not a fan of longboards, honestly. I have a Creature cruiser board, though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Luftwaffe

Have fun, dude. To this day all I can do is hillbomb and ollie very short heights, so I'm not much of any help, but I'm glad to see you're picking it up.
Now somebody build a pool in my town so I can learn to ride them. :(

---

Haven't started ollieing yet, am trying to get comfortable on the board first :)
I do have a pool in my town, but it's so goddamn intimidating xD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Antwan

When I first started I did everything stationary man
Setup in a comfortable spot where you're less likely to fall. Grass, Carpet.
It seems silly, helped when I was starting out though..
It was a combination of stationary tricks and just learning to ride the board comfortably that helped me along.
When you feel like you've got stuff going forward, start trying what you've learned moving.
Good you're having fun, That's the most important thing. :cool:
The order I learned stuff in went something like
Pushing, Riding, Turning, Stationary Ollies, Moving Ollies, Moving Shuv-Its, Moving Pop-Shuv Its
It wasn't till many years later that I approached bigger fliptricks
the guys at the skateparks will inspire you, even if they aren't always that nice :rolleyes:
Just keep having fun! Every Trick has a little nook that you can expand on in any way you want to That's why I love skateboarding. :)

---

Hmmm thanks for the advice! Will certainly help me with doing tricks, especially the tip of doing things stationary (on grass) will help me I think :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pawnluvguitarist

As far as how long it takes to get comfortable it's hard to say. I've been skating like 12 years and its just been the last 2 ish where I've made this huge leap in comfort, style, consistency. A feeling of being one with the board.

Just keep at it, have fun, don't worry about how quickly you're progressing. If you are consistently skating and pushing yourself pretty hard every sesh you should be looking pretty good by the time winter hits I would think. But everyone's different man.

---

Having a lot of fun as of now. But damn 12 years :0 That's insane! Hope I 'll be good by winter like you said :) Unfortunately I will be going on vacation for 4 weeks this summer, so I cant skate then.. #firstworldproblems xD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by m.seven

that's the board that started it all for me..lol
people seem to progress so much faster now than back when I started in '86
lots of factors to that I won't get into here.
I can't even begin to image my life if I hadn't skated,had tons of great memories
welcome aboard man,hope skateboarding is as good to you as it has been to me

---

Thanks for the kind words seven :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stokenstein

There's no shame in watching like beginner Tony Hawk's Trick Tip videos, they'll definitely help.

Basic tricks I learned 15 years ago when I started skating were ollie, pop shuvit, fs shuvit, kickflip, sex change (for some reason easier than kickflipping, but can cause bad habits), varial flip, 180s fs and backside. Once you get comfortable on flat ground, try some of these tricks up and down a curb. Start learning 50-50s on like painted curbs and boardslides on small flat bars if you have a local park.

Learn to drop in.

Generally just skate everywhere and get comfortable doing everything on a skateboard.

You want to learn some stuff like foot braking, speed checking, and things like that eventually which will give you more control over your speed and let you ride anywhere.

It takes a while to learn tricks, but then you land them once and you've got them. Just skate every day, have fun, find some friends to skate with.

YES, SKATEBOARDING!

Snowboarding and Surfing are infinitely different, by the way. Learn to skate, don't bother comparing it to other board sports. One of the bigger differences between surfing and snowboard vs. skateboarding is that there are no wheels on snow or water and a lot less friction. You turn with the front of your board on a surf board and you turn with the back of your board on a snowboard, on a skateboard you do not turn with either of those, unless you're kick turning. I started skating about four years before I tried snowboarding or surfing and I sucked at both, despite what I knew on a skateboard.

---

I've watched the first Tony Hawk Trick Tip episode, it does help but he's going very fast imo :P
Great tips btw. Not sure on the sex change though hahaha
And yeah, I have snowboarded, but I find skateboarding to be completely different. The only thing which is kinda similar is the leaning to turn bit :P

-----------------------------------------

To everyone who replied:
Never expected such great feedback :)
Thank you so much!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bohemian

pretty sure this is a joke thread

---

Why would you think that dude? I can guarantee you that it isn't. Have recorded footage (for myself so I can see progress, and so I can see what I do wrong) over the past three days when I've been skating, so if you really want proof or anything, I will send it man :)

okay now im sure your trolling

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bohemian

okay now im sure your trolling

---

what the actual fuck?!

whatever bro, your trolling yourself -_-'

http://skateandannoy.com/aa-sna-uplo...eboard-big.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wiltzuh

http://skateandannoy.com/aa-sna-uplo...eboard-big.jpg

---

http://genophoria.files.wordpress.co...e-my-money.jpg

btw, start doing flip tricks. like NOW