Your longboard is not just for downhill cruising or rolling. You can do a lot of things with your trusty sidewalk-surfing buddy, but the key is to be very comfortable with it.
Are Longboards Meant for Tricks?
While longboards are usually used for cruising, doing tricks with them and on them is also very possible. Admittedly, it can be a bit difficult especially for a newbie who has not rolled on a board before but as you continue to learn it will get easier.
However, always remember that there some skateboard tricks cannot be done on a longboard as they are designed differently.
What Tricks Can You Do on a Longboards?
Here are some basic tricks that you can try on your longboard as a beginner:
- Footbrake: The art of stopping your board is an essential trick to learn. In longboarding, you will not have shifting gears or an emergency brake; you have to solely rely on yourself, your board, and your ability to stop it. To learn this, try applying pressure on your feet on the ground while the board is moving to decrease the speed of your board and to create momentary brakes. Before you do any trick, you must first learn how to control your board.
- Walking the Plank: This move requires you to successfully balance yourself on bended knees with your arms and feet. As you step on the platform you have to balance yourself as you slowly push against the ground and move down the street. You can also try to push your board alternating with your left and right foot. Another footwork to work on is called cross-stepping and it is done by changing the orientation of your feet from one side to the other
- Dancing: This is one of the main disciplines of longboarding alongside cruising, downhill, and freeride. Although this is considered to be one of the most basic tricks, it is also regarded to be very essential because this will help you regulate your speed. Like its name, doing this trick will make you move like you are dancing together with your board as you roll along the road. It is essential that you make the board sway for you to regulate the speed and to avoid over speeding. You must spend hours mastering this trick and you must be able to completely control your board.
- Slalom: To be able to do this trick successfully, you must be good at balancing yourself. This is done by taking steep curving turns to dodge road obstacles and to regulate your speed while you are moving downhill. With your knees bent, your feet must be placed at an angle in the middle of your board. Move your hand along with your feet as you maneuver on the road.
- Pivot: In simple terms, Pivot is done by rotating your board on a half circle and continue rolling. You can do this by stepping your front foot on the nose of the foot while your hindfoot is firmly planted in the middle. This move will allow a 180-degree movement that will reverse the places of the board’s front and back tail.
- Shove it: Once you have Pivot down to a T, you may be able to do Shove it as well. The two moves have the same fundamental moves, but the difference is that Shove It is done as you jump with your board as you turn your board. You don’t have to jump too high to do this, just the right allowance to make your board do a Pivot in the air.
- Drop-In: Now that you are confident with regulating your speed, balancing yourself on the platform, and doing turns, it is time to face the skate park. With one of your feet stepping on the nose of your board, bend your knee forward as you move down confidently with your board. Sure, falling with your board may be scary at first but with practice and concentration, this trick is very possible even for a beginner.
Can You Do an Ollie on a Longboard?
You can definitely do an ollie on your longboard but more than learning the trick, you have to be very comfortable on your board to pull off a proper Ollie. You must first familiarize yourself with your board and how it works before you move on to more advanced tricks.
To perform an ollie, you must first know the type of your longboard and find the perfect size for you based on your weight, age, height, and shoe size. Check that your trucks are not too tight or not too wobbly. Lastly, find the perfect position for your foot.
Here are some steps to follow if you want to try to do an Ollie:
Step 1. Do the jump. Stand beside your board and press down on your back foot to begin the jump. Before jumping on your board, try this move on the ground first. Start by jumping on your back foot before jumping with your legs up in the air
Step 2. Pop the board. Get on the longboard and place your back foot on the tail while your front foot should be planted in the middle or closer to the nose. Now that you have the perfect feet position, jump off your back foot while popping the longboard along the way. Make sure to master this move before your move on to the next step.
Step 3. Level Out and Get Air. Stand on the tail of your board while your front foot is placed next to the nose. Once you do an initial pop, your board will lift up and the sides of the foot will go up as well. This is basically an Ollie.
Step 4. Practice getting the maximum height. Keep practicing your Ollies to increase the height of your jumps. When you are jumping, try to pull your knees up to your chest because your board will follow the height of your feet.
Step 5. Mid-Air. While you are in the air, make sure that your board is parallel to the ground. While moving down from the jump, the nose of your board must be flat the leveled with the ground.
Step 6. Stick Landing. Before coming down, center your weight in the middle of the board and remember to stay still and not lean in one particular direction. Pros advise that you should land over the bolts to prevent damage on your board.
Step 7. Back on the Ground. Landing the wrong way would cost you your board so you must remember to keep your knees bent to absorb the shock of the landing.
Can You Kickflip on a Longboard?
A kickflip is one of the most popular tricks that you can do on a longboard and is often the first flip that beginners learn.
Kickflip is the trick you do when you are jumping in the air and you do a kick or a flip on your board, so it does a spin before the wheels hit the ground.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1. Place your front foot in the middle of the board and your back foot at the edge of the rear.
Step 2. With your weight balanced between your two legs, squat down a little then jump upwards. Try to shift your weight towards your back foot to help you keep up with the spinning of the board.
Step 3. The front foot must spin with the board and your toe has to catch it. Jump to a 90-degree landing back to your original stance.
Step 4. Make sure to catch the board with your back foot then your front foot.
Step 5. To keep your balance as you are doing the trick, make sure to keep your shoulder level. Bend your knees to help with the shock of the longboard hitting the ground.
Can You Do Flips on a Longboard?
Even if you are a beginner, you can still go and do fun and easy flip tricks on your longboard.
Some of these flips include:
- Boneless Finger Flip. To do this you must first learn how to do a boneless as this is essential in doing this trick. In the middle of doing the boneless trick, use one hand to grab the board and rotate the board to get it to flip before landing.
- No Comply Finger Flip. The fundamentals of this trick are pretty similar to the Boneless Finger Flip but instead of grabbing the board with your hand, you need to pop the board on its own before grabbing the nose and flipping it with your hand. Another thing that you can do is once you pop the board, you can smack the middle to make it flip.
- Ghost Ride Kickflip. Arguably the easiest flip trick to do on your longboard. To perform this, you just have to quickly step off your board as it rolls, use your back foot to flip it then jump back on.
- Old-School Kickflip. Considered to be one of the hardest beginner flip tricks to perform on a longboard. Hook your backfoot underneath the board and then proceed to do a jump. Your back foot will cause the board to flip. Footwork is crucial for this one.
Can You Do a Strawberry Milkshake on a Longboard?
It is a hard trick, but you can definitely do a strawberry milkshake on your longboard. The position of your front and back feet for this trick is extremely important. It is also hard to get this trick down in just one try so you better practice, practice, practice!
To perform a milkshake, you must remember to do these:
- Step off the board using your front foot while simultaneously using your back foot to push the longboard down on its side.
- With your back foot, scoop the board around the same way you would do an Ollie Impossible.
- As the board finishes its spin, jump back on the board with your front foot and continue rolling.
- Remember to keep both your feet on the edge of the board. Apply pressure to the ball of your feet and keep the heels perched up so that it will be easier for you to take your foot off to do the trick
What Is Sliding in Longboarding?
Sliding is often referred to as the art of performing powerslides and drifts using a longboard. It is used as the most effective method of slowing down your board especially on a downhill cruise. When sliding, you manipulate your weight on the board to allow the wheels to move freely and to lose traction on the ground or the pavement.
Once you master this move you can effectively control your speed or come to a complete stop whenever necessary.
Can You Slide on Any Longboard?
You can slide on any given longboard. But the key is to have the best deck, trucks, and wheels to make the slide way easier.
For easier sliding, you should wear out your wheels a bit. Wheels that are not yet broken in make sliding hard. A flexy deck is also good if you are just starting how to slide. Remember to replace your board if you want to slide at a more increasing speed. Turny trucks are also the best kind for sliding newbies.
Can You Jump on a Longboard?
You can certainly jump on and off a longboard. Jumping is one of the fundamental movements that you have to learn and master because this is a jumping-off point of many tricks.
Learning how to jump off is also as important as learning how to jump on because this would make doing tricks easier and better.
Is It Hard to Turn on a Longboard?
While it can be hard to do a turn using a longboard, this move is not impossible. Longboards are not as quick and as nimble as skateboards but turning can be learned. It is a skill that you should master for you to be able to navigate safely on the streets with your longboards .
For beginners, professional longboarders advise using boards that are around 39 to 50 inches. Longboards in these lengths are the easiest boards to perform turning with. After you are comfortable with your skill, you can move on to longer ones.
If you are just learning, remember to do this on a flat pavement or an off-road track. Never learning turning on downhill roads as this may cause injury.
What Makes a Longboard Turn Easier?
You can modify the truck bushings of your longboard to help increase its maneuverability and help in easier turning.
A soft bushing would make your longboard turn easier while harder bushing would make your board more stable especially at high speeds. You can also use wedges and insert them on the inside of the deck for a greater turning angle.
Can You Kick Turn on a Longboard?
Doing a kick turn your longboard is very possible. This is a more advanced trick and would need more practice. Aside from that, you should be comfortable with your board and you need to have done all the adjustments and tweaks that you need to do for the board to perform the way you want it to.
The two kinds of kick turn that you can do are the backside kick turn and the frontside kick turn.
What Is a Double Kick Longboard?
A double kick longboard is a type of longboard that boarders use. Longboards have many different shapes, sizes, and characteristics, and you have to pick the right one that will be the best fit for your longboarding activity.
Here are the kinds of double kick longboard:
- Double Kick Popsicle: This shape allows for a larger platform and is great for doing ollies and tricks.
- Double Kick Cutaway: This design is best for more advanced boarders. It features an upturned nose and tail which allows for many freestyle tricks. The cutaway design also helps in preventing wheel bite.
- Drop-Through Double Kick Cutaway: This design is well-suited for longboarding beginners since this low-riding platform is easy to push. The kick tails also allow for many tricks and kick turns. On one hand, the drop through mounting can decrease the maneuverability but on the other hand, this makes the longboard more stable while rolling at moderate speeds.
