Skateboarding is much like any sport, in that daily practice and consistent mastery of the fundamentals is critical to success. Whether you dream of skating with the best of the best, or whether skateboarding is just a hobby to you, it all starts with the basics. Top performers in any field never stop practicing the basics.

Identify your dominant foot. You’ll skate with your dominant foot on the tail end of your board, since this foot does the steering work. This is usually the foot that “leads” when you’re walking. For example, when you walk up a staircase, your dominant foot usually takes the first step. Since you probably don’t give any thought to this normally, you may have to observe the way you walk. Skating with your right foot at the tail end of the board is called skating “regular,” whereas skating with your left foot on the back end is called skating “goofy.” If you ride with your feet in the opposite of the position where you would normally ride, this is called “riding switch.”

Find a good place to practice. Ideally, there should be a decent amount of level turf like blacktop where you’ll have plenty of room to move. You might also find it helpful to use a space that has a grade or hill, such as a driveway, but it’s better to find a hill that doesn’t lead onto a street with passing cars. Empty parking lots can be good for this sometimes. Read the rest of this entry »