I have always loved being outdoors and that has led me to go on some amazing adventures in my life. I have climbed mountains, taken on tough runs, gone cycling in some incredibly exotic places, and even took on motorbike riding. However, what I never thought I was missing was skateboarding. Having a skateboard store near me meant that I would always see kids and grownups come and try out skateboards. However, seeing people constantly come to the skateboard store near me even pushed me to learn it and I have never looked back! If you are interested in skateboarding and cannot find the energy to get into it, the following tips will help you do it properly.
There is no need to rush
Let’s face it, none of us is Tony Hawk and most of us never will be. So, the best thing that you can do is simply accept that you are a newbie and treat yourself like one. Allow yourself to make mistakes in every aspect of the game and continue to ride no matter what. When I got my first board from the skateboard store near me, I too thought I could be like all the people sliding smoothly in the street. However, a few quick falls on my bottom quickly made me realize that I had a long way to go. Give yourself as much room to learn as possible and embrace your falls as well.
Embrace your fears and let them teach you
I realize that this might sound like a cheesy line, but I am referring to the genuine fear of falling that most beginners have. You are trying to balance yourself on a small board with even smaller tires underneath it for the first time. You are expected to fall! If you do not land on your bottom within half a minute of standing on a skateboard for the first time, you might be a prodigy! For the rest of us who just thought I would give it a try by grabbing a board from the skateboard store near me, this is pretty much how it goes. The best thing would be to embrace and use it to learn from your mistakes.
Do not even think about doing stunts
You might be wondering why anyone would even get into skateboarding if they cannot do tricks on every ramp they find. Well, this is less of a condition and more of a precaution. Follow this rule at least until you have complete control over your board’s basic maneuvering. I was also mostly intrigued by the tricks that I saw some kids do when they visited the skateboard store near me. However, it takes time to get there, so do not hurt yourself unnecessarily, as the constant falls could also demotivate you as well.
Give it as much time as you can
Like any other sport, skateboarding also needs practice. The more time you spend doing it, the more you will see yourself improving every day. To make things a bit easier, you can do what I did to learn. I went to the skateboard store near me, and I told them that I would buy two boards right away if they committed to giving me lessons. Thankfully, the guy was cool and turned out to be a reasonably good teacher as well. You can even do it without an instructor by simply looking at YouTube videos and following each step that they teach.
Before anything else, always stay positive. I would visit the skateboard store near me quite frequently to make friends and ask people about their learning experiences. That helped me a lot and you could do the same as well.