For a beginner, it is important to learn how to stop a skateboard. If you know how to stop the board then this can prevent you from falling and getting injured. And of course, Knowing this can be a useful skill which gets you out of trouble and it can also be a skating trick that you can show off to other beginner skaters.
Here you will get some useful skills to stop your board, Some of them are easier and some are not, and also some are the ways which can stop you from your board but are not recommended for some reasons.
Let’s Check out some ways to stop your Skateboard:
- Run off your Skateboard
- Foot brake
- Heel brake
- Roll to the high friction surface
- Carve long turn
- Pop up the board
- Kick turn 360
- Tail drag (Unrecommended)
- The Power Slide
- Crash/fall, but safely (Only when no choice left)
Run off your Skateboard
Running off your skateboard might be the easiest way to stop but only when you are riding slow, you should take some steps forward after leaving the board.
How to run off a skateboard:
- Position your back foot forward in the air
- Put it down when you are ready
- leave the board
- Take some steps forward with the motion
It has a drawback that your skateboard leaves you and go away from you, so if you are riding fast your skateboard may hit hard with a wall or something else. Remember don’t ride with loose trucks when riding in a crowded place like skate park because it may hurt someone.
Foot brake
Use you back foot as a brake. your back/pushing foot on the ground flat
Drag your back/pushing foot with the ground. Do not lay down your foot immediately on the ground, this may get your foot stuck to the ground and you will fall.
How to apply foot brake:
- Only when you are riding slow
- Turn your front foot to point forward
- Transfer your weight to front foot
- Bring your back foot down(parallel to the ground)
- Drag your back foot along with the ground to slow down.
Heel brake
Stopping your board by applying heel brake skateboard you need to lift up the nose of the board by push down with your back foot. Put your back foot on the tail and drag your heels to stop.
Roll to high friction surface
When you feel that you are losing control or you want to stop immediately, try to turn your skateboard to a high friction zone. This may stop you immediately and may prevent you from injuries when you fall if you roll to a cushiony area.
High friction zones might be Sand, Grass, Rough ground etc.
Carve Long turn
If you are riding fast it is better to slow down first then stop your skateboard. Carving around long turn may slow down you then you may Run off your board or pop up your board to completely stop.
Some people also ask how to slow down on a penny board or How to stop on a cruiser board Then you can Carve long turn whether it is penny or any other cruiser board.
Pop up the board
This is one of the coolest tricks to stop a skateboard. But it can also be tricky for a beginner to master it. It will take some effort and practice. Try this only when riding slow.
- Slow down you board
- Get off and kick the tail so that it bounces
- Catch the board with hand
Kick turn 360
Yeah! this might be something new and weird for you, but trust me this is easier and the most effective technique to Stop a skateboard. All you have to do is use your turning skills that you might have already mastered, If not then first learn and master turning a skateboard.
When you are riding fast and want to stop, Just raise the nose of the board and kick turn your board. Keep the nose up and let the speed push and turn you 360 degree. Keep turning until you Slow down or Stop completely.
Tail Drag(Not Recommended)
When learning how to stop a skateboard, you will also learn the tail drag. But pro skaters do not recommend it because it can damage the deck of your board. By the way, to learn tail drag skateboard you simply put yourself in the Heel brake position but instead of sliding your heels you will drag the tail of the board by pushing it with your back foot.
The Power Slide
Of course, the coolest way to stop is probably the trickiest and that’s the skateboard power slide. Every beginner wants to learn this. But keep in mind that learning a powerslide takes time and effort and you will also fall pretty much time while practicing. To learn power slide:
- Stand properly
- Shift your weight
- Make sure to grip your foot tightly
- Turn nose of the board in side(let the board move forward)
- Let the board slide, leaching all the wheels.
Crash/Fall (but safely)
Sometimes it happens that you have no choice other than falling. Or you can also crash sometimes when trying some tricks. Of course, we do not recommend crashing or falling, we are going to help you for this one too. Make sure you are wearing all your gears all the time. You will need to learn How to fall safely without or with fewer injuries.
There are many other ways to stop a skateboard which you can find out by yourself too. These were the some of the best, easiest and popular techniques. You just need to learn it and keep practicing all of them to be a master in skateboarding.
Thanks for the guide. Learned a lot. Bless you
Glad! you Like It 🙂
Glad! you Like It 🙂