Learning how to longboard Vs Learning how to skateboard

While skateboarding is largely more popular than longboarding, they each have their own merits. If you don't know how to do either, you should know that both are a lot of fun, but it's slightly easier to learn how to ride a longboard. While longboarding has not become so popular that it has become a full-blown sport like skateboarding, there are people who make a living by longboarding and getting sponsored. At its essence, the longboard is really just a variation of the skateboard, but it's different in the sense that just about anyone can learn how to longboard much faster than they could learn how to skateboard. The bad news is that it can take quite a while before you are longboarding at the same level as the pros, but this is the same as most pursuits. It will require hard work, but here are some great tips to get you started.

It takes time to figure out which foot goes in front and which foot goes in back. First of all, it really makes no difference if you're right-handed or left-handed. You'll have to know which leg is your dominant leg, but that should be easy to figure out. The best way to do this is to think about the way you approach things. Which leg do you always use to kick something like a ball? With which foot do you usually start walking up a staircase? If you begin to lose your balance, which leg do you use to save your balance with? The side you always use in those situations is the side that goes to the back of the longboard. It really has to do with your dominant leg and nothing to do with the direction you want to face.

Start with an inexpensive but very durable longboard. High quality, beautiful longboards can be outrageously expensive. They're so expensive you'll probably just want to hang it on a wall and look at it! This is why you need to start with a beginner's board. They have strong wheels and are thicker. These boards will be able to take the pounding and abuse the beginner longboarder will give it. Ask your local skate shop to point out the more newbie friendly longboards.

Next, you should know that stopping the board is a bit more involved than starting is. To practice, it's probably easiest to drag one foot to slow down and eventually stop. You can also try taking small steps to lose speed, kind of like the opposite of the push-off. This is a lot like stepping in the reverse direction of your travel.

This isn't great for your feet, but it should do the trick. When you get better at this, you can stop yourself quite smoothly by dragging the tail-end of the board, but you do want to avoid tail-grinding if you're going a bit fast. With practice, you'll begin to take note of differences in the stances of other longboarders. You'll just need to practice and in time you'll discover what you like best. It's important to make an effort to work on the basics. You'll make excellent progress before you know it, and then you may realize just how comfortable you really are on a longboard.