Riding longboards isn’t the same for all. Do you like to flip your longboard and do various spinning tricks on it? That’s all part of freestyle longboarding. Doing tricks seems very challenging as it doesn’t only require balance but full control over your board and body. You also get to do these tricks anywhere and even on skateboard parks.
If you’re up for the challenge but are just starting on your freestyle longboarding journey, here are a few things to keep in mind. Plus, we’ll also talk about 3 of the easiest freestyle longboarding tricks you practice.
A Combination Of Fitness And Skills
While watching longboarders, you can simply be amazed at what things they are capable of doing. Those tricks might seem simple but they require practice. Thanks to a freestyler’s fit body and skillfulness they are able to do the tricks flawlessly.
Freestyle longboarding can be considered one of the most calorie-burning styles of longboarding. With it, you use agility, body control, and balance in doing various and sometimes extreme postures while riding, jumping, and flipping the board. That sounds like a superhuman riding a longboard but you can be one too with practice and determination.
Some people argue that freestyle longboarding is safer as compared to downhill longboarding. There may be some truth to that because you’re not going to ride at top speeds but freestyle longboarding can still be rough on the body especially on high-impact areas.
Imagine if miscalculating your trick jump and landing on your ankles, elbow, and other joints. Sometimes you might also get a sprain. It’s still a hardcore sport even if you’re not going down the hill.
For New and Old Shredders
Younger adults and teenagers are quite fearless. That’s probably the reason why you’d also want to take the challenge of freestyle longboarding. Additionally, they also have high agility and ligament strength as compared to older longboard riders.
However, that’s not to say that you can’t go freestyle longboarding when you’re not a teenager anymore. Many adults still love freestyle longboarding. However, it is best to stretch your body before getting into it so you don’t end up hurting yourself.
Start With The Easiest Freestyle Techniques
It’s understandable that you’d want to impress with your longboarding skills but as a beginner, it is best to start with the easiest. After all, most of the trickiest techniques are actually combinations of the easiest ones. Some are also just several notches higher than the easiest once.
The easiest tricks to learn are actually the ones that appear flowy and sliding. It usually involves weight-shifting skills and they really look elegant. Part of freestyle longboarding also includes longboard dancing. This is done when you ride on the flat ground but do various foot tricks and artsy movements. There’s a lot of turning, twisting or cross-stepping done in this technique.
Easy Non-Dancing Freestyle Longboarding Tricks
If you’re not into the dancing type of freestyle longboarding. You can focus on practicing these few tricks.
Nose Manual
The nose manual trick is a balancing trick. You can try this if you are already capable of standing on your longboard while cruising. With this trick, you ride on the front wheels while lifting the back wheels off the ground. To do this trick, you start by moving your front foot towards the nose then slightly shift your weight onto that foot.
With this trick, you are learning to use your shoulders and hips and tip them forward to tip your board to the front without toppling over. Practice is key to this trick.
Pivot
With the trick pivot, you’d combine a nose manual with a 180 degree spin. With this trick, you’ll start with your normal riding stance then move your front foot to the nose of the board. Your rear foot should also move towards the center of the board.
Then, you shift your weight to the front foot to get the rear wheels off the ground. At the same time, you also use your shoulders and hips to rotate on your front foot. If done right, you’d swing the board with your back foot and successfully do a half turn.
Shuvit
The shuvit is the most complicated of the three. With this trick, you switch stance once you’ve spun the board at 180 degrees. With this trick, you’d be ending up riding in your natural stance as compared to a reverse when you’ve done the pivot.
For this, you start off with a normal stance then put some weight into the nose. Then you spin the board on its front wheels then swing your other foot to the front. With this, you can consider yourself doing a semi-jump so you can flip yourself around in your regular stance.
