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.

Pushing a Skateboard is the earliest maneuvering technique that a beginner learn. This is something that you have to master if you are a beginner and want to master skateboarding. This is one of the basic things that you might think that you do not need any information regarding it, But Learning some basics related to Stance and Balancing may help you to learn how to push easily and effectively to be a  master.

Let’s go through a brief tutorial:

Pushing on a Skateboard: Step by Step Guide

Position your Foot

Before learning to push off the skateboard it is very important to Position your foot correctly. The position of your foot would depend on your Stance (Whether you are regular or goofy). If you still don’t know your which foot would be in front and which one would be your back foot, Then you should find out as soon as possible whether you are Regular or goofy.

Goofy Stance foot Position

If you are Goofy then Put your Right(Leading) foot on the skateboard deck and your left foot on the ground. Here your left foot, which is back foot plays a major roll in balancing yourself on the board and pushing.

Regular Stance foot Position

If your riding stance is regular then put you right (leading) foot on the deck and your right foot on the ground. Here your right foot, which is back foot plays a major roll in balancing yourself on the board and pushing.

Start Pushing

Start with a small push: 

If you are a beginner then you should start with a small push, which can roll you for about 2-3 feets. Regular stance rider push with their right foot.And Goofy stance rider push with their left foot.

Position back your foot

If you want to learn how to push on a skateboard then, After a successful push, it is very important for you to position back your foot on the deck.

Take your back foot on the deck and position it above the back trucks and your front foot would be on the front bolts, and stand in the athletic stance.

Push Again

Don’t stop after a successful push. Keep Pushing until you master it and make a good balance while pushing your skateboard. Small pushes on skateboard always work to practice.

Increase Speed

Once you become comfortable while pushing on your skateboard, You can start increasing speed. Becoming comfortable while pushing means you don’t lose balance when you try to push your skateboard and also confident enough to increase speed. You may fall several times while Pushing hard but never give-up.

Now you have learnt how to push on a skateboard. If you find it difficult balancing while pushing the skateboard, then you can also try other Things which are mentioned below.

You can try following techniques to first maintain balance on a moving skateboard, After that, you can start pushing yourself.

Try it:

Improve balance before start Pushing

Hold your Friend

You can hold your friend’s hand while you are standing on the skateboard. Once you feel stable, ask your friend to move you slowly. All you need is to find a friend whom you trust.

Roll through a slope

Find a smooth slope which is not too high and start rolling slowly from there. It would be great if you get something to hold like a wall or something else which is stable.

Let a friend push you

Just stand on the board comfortably and call a trusted friend. And tell him to push you slowly so that you can roll some distance. Getting a push from your friend would help you maintain your balance yourself.

So, these were some of the effective techniques that you can use while learning to push on the skateboard and improve your balance on the skateboard. You definitely are not going to learn if you keep reading tons of articles like this or even better than this. Only practicing those methods can help you be a master in Skateboarding. Just go and try it now.

Before you start skateboarding it is very important for you to know which foot you will use to push the board and which one will be leading foot that will stay on the deck.

If the rider uses his/her right foot as leading foot then he is said to be riding ‘Goofy, ‘ or if their leading foot is left foot then he/she is supposed to ride ‘Regular’ and if a rider is usually ‘goofy’ but rides in ‘regular’ stance and vice versa then they are meant to riding in ‘switch.’

Many beginners get stuck while getting to know their Skating stance and ask questions like:

How to know my skateboarding stance? ,

How to stand on a skateboard? ,

How can I determine whether am I regular or goofy?

I am right handed what would be my leading foot?

So,

Here is the answer, Most people get stuck to this because they think that if they mostly work with left hand then their leading foot would be left or if they are right handed they think their front foot would be right. But the truth is that being goofy or regular does not depend upon the hand which you mostly use while working or picking up something or writing.

We guarantee after reading this complete article and Practicing what we are gonna teach you, you will definitely Find out Whether you are goofy or regular.

Here we go:

Determine your skateboarding Stance:

Tug of War

Yes ! Tug of War can help you out finding your skating stance. Find a good friend and a rope and hold it tightly from one end and another end to your friend. Then count 3,2,1 and Start pulling the rope.

Now, see which is your front foot, that should be your leading foot while riding.

• Do it a couple of times.
• Change your foot position each time.
• Find which position is more comfortable.
• Once you feel that in this position you feel more powerful see and remember your front foot.
• More comfortable position decides how you have to stand on the skateboard.

The Slide

This can be the easiest way to find out whether you are Regular or Goofy. All you have to do is just stand on a smooth and slippery ground and start running, Now stop immediately so that you take a slide.

Your dominant foot would be the leading foot while riding.

• Try it a couple of times.
• Don’t try it on a rough surface.
• Better balancing position provides the right leading foot.

Kicking football

Place a football on the ground, target a goal. Then try to hit hard to the goal. Or you can hold the ball in your both hands then drop it on the ground and hit it hard towards the goal. The foot which you use to kick the ball probably would be your dominant foot.

You can also place the ball in an open ground and try to kick as far as you can. Do this one by one with both your legs. The foot which kicks the ball further probably would be your dominant foot.

So these were some of the techniques that you can use to find your dominant foot while skateboarding. There are many other techniques which can help you find out your stance(goofy/regular), Just try these techniques and find out more by yourselt. All the techniques explained here can definitely help you find your skateboarding stance. Try it Now