Archive for the 'Safety Gear' Category
The Manual is where the skateboarder balances on his or her back wheels while rolling along (something like a wheelie on a bike) The Manual is a great skateboarding trick to learn – it’s different from all the regular technical flip tricks, and adds a good variety. Plus, learning to manual on your skateboard isn’t all that hard – it just takes balance and lots of practice. If you are brand new to skateboarding, you may want to take some time getting used to riding your skateboard before learning to manual. It will also help if you’ve already learned how to Ollie. Of course, it is totally up to you – if you are aggressive and want to learn to manual on your skateboard before learning how to actually ride, that’s up to you! Make sure you read all of these instructions and use skateboard safety gear while you try to manual.
Now remember – there is no right or wrong way to skateboard! But, right at the start, I recommend putting your feet in the following position. It works best for most people.
For the manual, you shift your weight toward your back foot (slowly at first), while you lean a little forward (also slowly at first).
You might not think that helmets look cool, but drooling out of the corner of your mouth for the rest of your life doesn’t look very cool either. Wear a helmet! You might also think about wearing wrist guards. Avoid using your arms/wrists when falling.
Make sure you keep those shoulders forward, and when you are done performing the manual, just shift your weight back on that front foot and put the front wheels down. You should be able to ride away from a manual comfortably.
On Saturday, May 29th, we visited one of our local southern California skate parks. It is a public park owned by the City of Chino, and is located at Ayala Park. We found it at the corner of Edison Avenue and Grand. It was a nice surprise. The main part of the park is multi use with baseball diamonds, children’s play area, and a smooth, gated skate boarding area of over 27, 624 square feet.
The skateboarding area features a banked street section, a section where you can ride and ride with banks and bowls which range from 4′ to 7′ and a 3-leaf clover bowl with very steep sides.
I saw riders there ranging from 3 years olds to mature dudes of over 30. One fellow gave us his name of California Mike, who was quite accomplished on the board. He told us about his goal to work with the local riders and encourage them to an upright life and to bring them to the Lord. He raved about the skate park and said it was the best in the area. One great thing about it is that there are no fees changed to use it as there are in other private skateboard parks. However, like all public parks, safety gear (helmets and knee pads) are required.
We encourage all boarders to try out this lovely park. It is a nice place to spend the day. California Mike suggested this park would be a good site to have a future competition based on having several features that challenge skill levels from beginners to advanced. He says it is a GREAT ride.
Hi, my name is Ollie-Oops. An Ollie is a basic skateboard skill that is a building block for most skateboard tricks. Some skateboards are designed to enhance your ability to do certain tricks. However, once you have this one perfected, you can slowly add other skills to your bag of skateboarding tricks.
The Oops part of the name is what happens when you don’t complete the Ollie well. (Read how to fall safely).
This is a fairly easy maneuver that takes time and practice.Following are the step-by-step motions that comprise the Ollie:
- Stand on the board with your rear foot placed on the tail and your front foot between the middle of your board and the front bolts.
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Place the ball of your rear foot in the middle of the board so that when you push the tail down, the ball of your foot feels the pressure.
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Place your front foot nearly straight across the board.
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Practice pushing down as fast as you can with your back foot and putting all your weight on the tail. This is the initial motion of the trick.
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Notice that the harder you push, the more your board wants to keep going up once the tail is on the ground. You will use that motion in the next step
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Strike the tail on the ground and jump off with your rear foot as you slide your front foot up the board (so your knee moves toward your chest)
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Drag the side of your foot up the board as you are jumping. This will cause the board to come up with your jump. Once both feet are in the air, the board will seem to stick to them.
Learn this trick without rolling at first to get comfortable with the motions. Once you feel comfortable with the basics, you will be able to adapt to moving and going up or down things.
The hardest part is the timing of when to push down on the tail, when to jump, and how quickly to suck up your legs. The secret: It’s all done at the same time. The faster you do it, the easier it becomes. Think about jumping off with one foot and sucking your legs up to your chest.
Skateboarding is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death. We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment ( Helmets, knee & elbow pads) before attempting this activity.
Back in the days when skateboarding was a new sport, my husband tried to ride one that belonged to my younger sister. We had a long driveway that had a slight slope and the time seemed right to try it.
Back then, all the required skateboard safety gear, (such as skateboard helmets, knee and elbow pads) was not even a possible consideration, but even with it, he still would have gotten hurt. How did he get hurt? He had a wrench in his back pocket and landed flat on his butt. OUCH. He was taking cortizone shots in his spine for about six weeks. I’m glad that safety gear is now available, BUT you still have to remember to remove all items from any pockets. Also, watch those large buckles on your pants.