Have you ever been amazed by skateboarders? How cool to see the skateboarders cruising, carving up ramps, and showing tricks in the streets or skateparks! We know you were so excited to go skateboarding. Also, you have one burning question: “How long does it take to learn to skateboard?”
It will delight you to know that anyone can learn skateboarding. You need to have a mix of determination, practice, balance, and a good dose of patience. It will take just a few days or a week to learn how to ride a skateboard. But, whenever you are thinking about ”how to become a pro skateboarder ”, it will take a couple of years or more. It will also depend on how much you practice with a positive mindset and patience.
Skateboarding for Beginners: What You Need to Know
As a beginner on the skateboarding learning journey, you must know a lot of stuff to make it easy. Here are some tips:
- Safety first. Keep yourself safe as much as possible. Always wear protective gear, including a helmet, knee pads, wrist guards, and elbow pads.
- For a beginner, choosing a skateboard is also a great factor. Wider and more stable skateboards will make it easier to balance on the boards. So, try to buy wider and more stable skateboards in your early stages.
- Start learning the basics, like how to push perfectly on skateboards. how to turn skateboards or how to stop skateboards confidently. Learning the basics properly will set you up for success.
- Always try to start skating on flat, smooth surfaces. And start practicing the basics of skateboarding. You can try slopes or ramps once you are comfortable with the basics. You can also choose any skate park.
- You won’t see your results instantly. Keep your patience and don’t get discouraged.
Try to join a skateboard community or make friends. Learning together creates a supportive and fun environment.
Basic Learning of Skateboarding: Step by Step
According to the beginner tips, I hope you are equipped with the proper skateboards and other accessories. Here is a complete guideline on how to start skateboarding. Let’s dive into the basic skills of learning skateboarding:
Maintaining Your Balance on Skateboards
For skateboarding, you must learn how to maintain your balance on the skateboard properly. Place your skateboard on grass or carpet to prevent rolling.
Try to discover your skating stance. That means finding your comfortable foot position (right foot or left foot forward). Then attempt to balance and stand on the board.
Keep doing this until you are comfortable balancing and standing on the board. Then you can also try it on flat or smooth surfaces. Stay careful while working on the concrete, and wear protective gear. This will take a maximum of 15–20 minutes to balance and stand properly.
Basic Pushing in Skateboarding
I hope you can now stand on the board with proper balance. Okay, now ready to start moving.
Pushing is the basic technique of skateboarding. The first thing you need to do is place your front foot over the skateboard bolts and your back foot on the tail. Then push off the ground with your back foot to start moving. Put your weight on the front foot. You just keep your knees a little bent for better balance and push on smooth ground.
In the beginning, always try to move slowly and practice in a smooth and open area. To get the best results, push it and let it roll everywhere. It takes a minimum of 30–40 minutes to learn the pushing of skateboarding. But it can vary from person to person. It also depends on balance, coordination, and previous experience.
Turning on a Skateboard
Carving or turning on a skateboard is all about shifting your weight and having fun on your ride. To begin, lean a bit to one side and lift the front wheels with your foot. It’s called kick-turn! Then, try to turn both ways, front and back, by carving your shoulders. To go smoothly, practice swaying side to side that’s turning. It looks like dancing on wheels! Remember, start by practicing a small turn, finding a safe spot, and enjoying your ride. It will take a minimum of half an hour to learn this maneuver.
Learn How to Stop
Stopping is a crucial part of any skateboard adventure, and you will need to learn it. The easiest way to slow down is to put your back foot on the ground and drag it slowly. Another way is that you can also try the heel drag—turning your back foot sideways. Then touch the ground with your heel. This also helps you come to a stop! Practice in a safe zone until you become proficient at it. It will take just 5–10 minutes to learn to stop skateboarding.
How Long Does It Take to Learn the Easiest Tricks?
Learning the easiest tricks in skateboarding depends on many factors. There is your fitness level, dedication to practice, flexibility, and overall comfort. Many easy tricks are available, like ollies and kickflips. You can start with these and get better in just a few weeks to a couple of months with more practice. Let’s talk about Ollie and Kickflips now:
The Ollie: The Magic Trick of Skateboarding
It is one of the fundamental coolest and gateways to a thousand tricks for skateboarders. This trick makes your board jump into the air without using your hands. Beginners enter the skateboarding trick world by learning these tricks. Sometimes people want to know, How long does it take to learn an ollie? Usually, it takes one week to one month for beginners to learn the tricks. But it takes a few more months to master it. How to do an ollie on skateboard guides;
- Foot Placement: Put your back foot on the tail, hanging off a bit. Your front foot goes in the middle, parallel to the skateboard.
- Bend Your Knees: Bend both knees a little, getting ready to jump.
- Pop the Tail: Press down on the tail with your back foot. Quickly slide your front foot forward towards the nose.
- Jump: Jump into the air as you pop the tail.
- Level the board: Bring your knees up towards your chest. Use your front foot to level the board in the air.
- Land Smoothly: Look for where you want to land. Land with both feet over the bolts, and bend your knees for a smooth landing.
The Kickflip:
Before practicing kickflip, make sure you’re good at Ollie. After learning the ollie, practice the kickflip. Many people ask, How Long Does It Take to Learn Kickflip? It is very tough to answer this question. But for new skaters who practice a lot, it usually takes a few weeks to a couple of months. In this section, we discuss how to do a kickflip. Here’s how:
- Foot placement: Start in the ollie position, with your front foot a bit back on the board and your toes hanging off the edge.
- Flick: While doing the ollie, kick your front foot out from the front of the skateboard using your ankle. Imagine you’re trying to “brush” the rough part of the skateboard with your shoe.
- Follow through: Keep your front foot moving upward after the flick to let the board spin freely.
Now, it’s time to combine the ollie and the flick into a beautiful kickflip. Skateboarding is a personal journey. There is no timeline. Dedication and regular practice are the key elements to becoming proficient in the Ollie and Kickflip. Celebrate the small progress that you make and have fun while you’re learning.
How Much Time Does It Take to Learn Advanced Tricks?
If you’ve nailed the basic skills, now you can jump into the advanced tricks. Advanced tricks are more sensitive for every skateboarder. There are many types of advanced tricks. Here’s a list of advanced skateboarding tricks:
Grinds:
- Bluntslide
- Feeble Grind
- Hurricane Grind
- Suski Grind
Slides:
- Switch Flip
- Frontside/Backside Flip
- VariaI Flip
- Inward Heel Flip
Combos:
- Kickflip to Grind
- Ollie to Fakie
- Bigspin to Manua
- Pop Shuvit to Fakie
- Kickflip to Wallride
Learning advanced tricks can take different amounts of time. Some people may learn these in a few months, while others could take a year or more. It varies depending on how much you practice and how quickly you pick up the skills. Consistent and focused practice is crucial for learning these methods. Just keep it up and enjoy the process!
How Long Does It Take to Get Good at Skateboarding?
Consistent practice and a positive attitude are important to getting better at skateboarding. Skaters who spend more time on their boards focus on practice sessions and try to learn new tricks to improve faster. The important thing is that this is not only about tricks but also about developing a personal style. How quickly you get better depends on several factors, including:
- Your natural ability and athleticism: Some people learn fast, while others might take more time to get the basics.
- Your practice frequency and intensity: If you skate more, you will improve faster.
- Your access to resources: Having a good-quality board and a safe spot to practice is important for enjoying it. You need some supportive friends or coaches who encourage you, which can help a lot.
Remember, everyone progresses at their own speed and with their own dedication. There’s no specific timeline for becoming “good” at skating.
Conclusion
Learning to skateboard is like baking a cake: if you mix in the right ingredients and practice a lot, you’ll soon be shredding like a pro! So, have you figured out “how long it takes to learn to skateboard?”
There is no time limit or magic for skate skills. It depends on your ability, environment, equipment, etc. Some people pick it up quickly and balance it smoothly. The hidden trick is that he practices more and more. Skateboarding is all about enjoyment and feeling the wind in your hair, not about winning a race to the finish line.