Are you a novice who wants to know “How long does it take to get good at skateboarding?”? In that case, you’ve come to the right place!
Being proficient in this activity takes time and effort. Your skill, the way you study, how you use technique, and other factors all play a role. As a result, each person will have a different learning curve.
Due to this, we will outline what you should learn, how to prepare, and other pertinent details in this post. When you’re prepared, let’s begin!
What Do You Need To Learn Skateboarding?
Enjoy Being Healthy
To begin playing any sport, you must be in good health. It guarantees a seamless practice session and reduces any dangers or mishaps.
Skateboarding is no different, either. Don’t learn anything unless your body is in good shape. You are particularly free of illnesses or injuries that might compromise your physical condition.
Find The Place
To begin your new trip and conduct serious practice, you need a good location. Without a doubt, no place can serve as your playground. To choose the ideal location, you must take into account a few factors.
Flat ground is a requirement: The pavement’s quality, not the slope, is what matters. The surface with lots of potholes isn’t the best option because you can’t practice well, which can result in unanticipated accidents.
Avoid crowded areas and areas with a lot of traffic: The biggest obstacles are either people or cars, and colliding with one or hitting someone else is quite risky.
It has enough width. In essence, the skateboard is pretty big, and sliding requires a lot of room. Wide space is essential because of this.
Here are some resources for you if you still don’t know where to play:
- Skatepark
- real park
- Parking lot without any signs of occupancy
- Vacant garage
Choose The Right Skateboard
Type of Skateboard
Skateboards can be categorized into more than 10 different subcategories based on a variety of qualities. We aim to introduce you to the four most well-liked and straightforward categories in this essay.
Mini-cruiser: It is remarkably light and has a small size. Teenagers, women, or anyone else who wants to get started quickly and easily should use this type.
Skateboards with carvings are better suited for professionals than novices. Carved boards can be used for trick or clever maneuvers.
The traditional longboard is the best option for all users. It’s great for accomplishing difficult skills as well as easy steps, making it perfect for both.
Longboard for downhill riding: It can balance well and increase your speed. There is no better type for narrow mountain roads than this one.
Check It Quality
Board deck: Maple wood or bamboo would be preferable for the board deck because of their superior flexibility and durability.
If your skateboard has fewer layers of wood, it will be lighter and easier to slide. Picking a deck that is too thin, though, will make it brittle.
Wheels: A diameter of roughly 70mm is ideal. Additionally, the urethane material makes the product last longer while providing a smooth ride.
The trucks: For a high-quality board truck, metal alloy and aluminum are strongly advised. The construction should be taken into consideration as it influences the harmony and efficiency of your practicing procedure.
Prepare Equipments
Before beginning to practice, you should gather some tools and supplies. You will be protected by these tools the entire time, reducing injuries, especially if you fall.
Helmet: Pick one that is made of sturdy materials. In the event of strikes, they must defend your head.
Make sure your helmet is securely fastened to your head and isn’t loose when wearing it. Make sure you can still fit two fingers between the chin and the side straps when they are locked.
Knee and elbow pads will shield your body from bruising and other injuries. Additionally, using padding will lessen the force of blows and prevent injuries.
Wrist guards: Since beginners frequently fall on their hands, it is better to have this equipment ready. Naturally, they lessen the possibility of wrist or twist injuries.
How Long Does It Take To Get Good At Skateboarding In Total?
This question does not have a precise solution. Each player has a unique learning curve, thus it might take anything from a few weeks to a few years to master a skill.
You will need more time to become acclimated to utilizing the board if you are a novice and have no prior experience. You need first comprehend the essential knowledge and the mechanism of operation because this isn’t about how to slide.
Learning skateboarding is a little simpler if you’ve done it before. You can start with the fundamentals and work your way up to more complex techniques after frequently practicing the fundamentals.
Along with your aptitude, regularity of practice is crucial. How long do you spend studying each week? Your process will undoubtedly be quicker if you practice for ten hours per week than someone who just practices for three.
Overall, one or two months are required to skateboard steadily and fluidly. There is a requirement that you practice diligently and train for at least 5 hours every week.
How Long Does It Take To Learn The Basic?
Now that you have everything you need and an appropriate location, you can begin. Do you understand the best way to learn?
It would be great if you studied things from simple to challenging in that order. Implementing more complex knowledge and abilities will be simpler once you have mastered the fundamentals.
Standing
The most fundamental skill that all players must master is standing on the board. Although you might laugh out loud and conclude that “there is nothing to know more,” are you sure?
First, put your shoes on. Keep in mind that you should pick one that is flexible enough for improved movement and that you feel completely at ease wearing.
Put your skateboard down on a dry, level surface. Place one foot on the board, then take a moment to steady yourself. Lift another foot and stand on it once you’re certain it’s stable and balanced.
Although it seems simple, standing steadily is a difficult task. Beginners frequently fall because they can’t change their body centers, which causes the board to slip.
Balancing
Okay, the next step is to maintain body balance to prevent falling. Stabilizing your posture and adjusting your body’s center both require some ability.
Bow your torso slightly when standing on a skateboard to lower your center of gravity and lessen the shaky sensation. For increased balance, you might spread your arms widely to both sides.
Now, take care to carefully stand up so that the force is distributed equally over both feet. Your skateboard might fall over if you don’t.
If you have never done anything like this before, this step will be difficult. In any case, keep trying and put up more effort. As usual, it will become simpler after around twenty attempts.
Remember that before moving on to the next phase, you must master this one. Being able to balance is crucial since without it, you won’t be able to use any other skills.
Sliding
You’re prepared to move and slide. Do not rush; instead, be cool and identify your posture by identifying which leg is jogging and which is supporting you.
Here are some suggestions to help you identify your supporting leg if you’re still undecided:
Which leg do you typically lift first when you climb stairs or kick a ball, in your experience?
Based on the reflex, ask a friend to gently push you when you’re not paying attention. then pay attention to the one you utilize to keep from falling.
The stabilizing leg will be fixed while you are sliding and will be positioned in front of the board. Make sure you are stable enough to maintain the balance and that this one is comfy.
To help the board slide, softly push back with a different leg. Try to navigate in a straight line and appropriately manage the force. Lean forward at this point to add weight to the leg that will be supporting you.
Always begin at a slow speed. Once you can slide and balance at the same time, you can speed up by exerting more effort with the pushing leg.
Turning
Turning is a little challenging, and few players are able to achieve it on their first practice. You must get in the right frame of mind and be prepared to accept falls, which can occur at any time. Next, decide where there is more room to practice navigating.
By lightly touching the tail (the back side of the skateboard), you can boost its power to turn. At this point, the skateboard’s nose (front side) will be raised.
You must simultaneously incline your body to match the turning direction. Keep in mind that each of these manipulations should be completed swiftly and simultaneously.
Stopping
As usual, there are two standard methods for stopping. You can find out more about them and decide which is best for you after that.
The first one involves utilizing your back leg to slow down. To improve friction and traction, lift your foot and position it parallel to the deck before dragging your leg down to the ground.
One thing to keep in mind is that you should progressively slow down. It’s best to let your foot move at a pace that is just a little bit slower than the board’s speed. Avoid utilizing quick, powerful pulls because they might cause accidents and injury.
Last but not least, distribute force and weight evenly between the two feet. When someone falls because they only paid attention to the back leg, the board is still moving when they stop.
Utilizing the tail is another approach. You can push the board’s backside till it meets the ground while sliding. This time, the gripping friction between the surface and the tail will cause you to slow down.
The latter approach is safer and simpler for novices. However, as it may harm your equipment and cause it to degrade quickly, it is not advised.
How long will you spend on the fundamental stage, then? Each person determines their own. As usual, this time frame will range from roughly 60 minutes to over two hours.
How Long Does It Take To Learn Advanced Tricks?
It’s time to study the higher level – advanced tricks if you can practice and master all the fundamentals!
Ollie
Place the front foot in the center of the deck, preferably under the front truck’s bolt, and the back foot on the tail. The foot direction should then be slightly rotated toward the skateboard’s nose.
You must jump and drag your front foot upward when your board reaches the ground. To land securely, keep in mind to bend your knee and grab the board.
Kickflip
The identical foot position that you used with the Ollie method will be used here. Use your back leg to press the tail as you stoop down. The board will simultaneously rotate 360 degrees in the air when you jump. You have to catch it once it turns and firmly touches the ground.
Caveman
Keep your board in one hand, and since it’s simpler to do so, it would be best if you held the nose. Or, if you have a firm understanding of the technique, you can experiment more to determine which holding position is most comfortable for you.
Jump while bending your knees and releasing the board in your hand to the ground. When the deck contacts the ground, you must grab hold of it with both hands so that you may stand upright and balanced.
No Comply 180
Put your rear foot in the tail center and your front foot in the centre of the board, close to the front-truck bolts. You can pop the tail and jump if you build some velocity with your shoulders. Turn your body 180 degrees, lift the front foot off the board, and grab it by the back leg.
This ability calls very precise manipulation. To be able to use your back foot to hold the deck, you must move quickly.
Hardflip
In terms of foot positioning and manipulation, this technique is extremely similar to the Kickflip. The difficulty increases when you have to perform an additional frontside pop-shove-it.
Use your back foot to catch the board rather than your front foot like you would when doing a Kickflip. To land at the appropriate moment, you must move more swiftly and deftly.
Generally, it can take a player months or years to become proficient at doing advanced tricks. Depending on your effort and how well your practice goes, the time frame is negotiable.
Some Factors That Affect Your Progress
HardfSkill Accuracylip
Even if we receive the same education or have the same teacher, this does not guarantee that we will all retain the information. Your performance and training efficacy are impacted by technique accuracy.
The amount of practicing time will be reduced if you work diligently and execute the moves properly. To identify and fix the mistakes, on the other hand, will take more time.
Environment
Your training will undoubtedly be more difficult than ever on a bumpy track. Balancing is one of the difficulties for new riders, and uneven roads are a major impediment.
A crowded location might also hinder your practice. It will take longer than training in an area with a lot of space because you must avoid colliding in order to prevent an accident.
Equipment Quality
How would you feel if you were skateboarding and abruptly lost your balance, breaking your helmet the moment you hit the pavement? No player wants to encounter this at all!
Your training and safety may be negatively impacted by equipment. When accidents occur, low-quality ones cannot provide you with complete protection.
Conclusion
You now have access to all the information you require on this sport learning method. Do you know “how long does it take to get good at skateboarding?” yet?
There are many options available because it depends on your ability, health, environment, etc. But as always, if you practice diligently and consistently, it will take you around one to two months to perform the fundamental methods smoothly.
Additionally, it will take time to learn advanced talents. To achieve your goals, give it your all and never give up!
