Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Longboard Helps: Sliding

From new team member Danny Smith comes a little of his wisdom and expertise on an aspect of longboarding that can help take you to the next level....sliding. Foot-braking will only get you so far and may loose you "cool" points (as well as the bottom of your shoe). So here we have it...


Danny's Sliding for Beginners
My brother Ben doing a heelside slide

Who - Any longboarders ready to take longboarding to the next level!

What - sliding is the act by which longboarders achieve Nirvana. Or if we’re listening to the physicist it is when the wheels loose full traction and the wheel is not only spinning forward, but “sliding” crossways across the asphalt. It is a beautiful sight and an even more invigorating feeling.

When - In the morning, after brunch, throughout the mid-afternoon and even in dreams.

Where - In the steepest canyons in Utah, across the flats of Texas, in the middle of a dance combo, or right in front of your girl to impress her.

Why - What’s all the hullabaloo about powersliding? Well if you haven’t noticed there are only so many hills that you can ride without burning through the soles of your shoes. Sliding provides an alternative to buying new sneakers for every downhill session. A longboarder’s progression can only go so far without the skill of sliding.

How - Everyone has their own style of learning to slide, but I’ll share my experience. As I was riding I would get the feel for powersliding by placing my hand on the ground with an old work glove
covered in duct tape which acted as a temporary sliding glove.

Once I was comfortable with that I started trying to do a standing heelside 180 slide. This did not involve the sliding glove, but rather was a slide starting from my normal stance and ending in fakie stance while standing up. This picture below is the middle of a standing heelside 180 slide.

After I mastered the heelside 180 slide I began experimenting with speed checks (a quick slide that slows you down but doesn't stop you), front and backside slides, and more. Just focus on the basics at first. In my opinion though, the best way to learn is to just try it. Wear a helmet and when you cut up your elbows and knees just get back on and keep trying. There are countless instructional videos if you need visual instructions, so I’ll finish by giving you a one word sermon - COMMIT. If you don’t throw your whole weight into the slide it may end with a crunch (your body hitting the ground). COMMIT to the slide.

Check out Ben doing this awesome toeside speed check!

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing this! Learning how to slide definitely earns you some "cool points!"

I am trying to learn sliding and it certainly is taking me awhile!

Hopefully with your tips and tricks, I can accelerate that process!

Are you interested in sharing your experience on my blog ?

Let me know!

Cheers,
Michael

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Adam Clak said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lewis said...


I love longboarding, i liked downhill and dancing.
I have a meet to longboard with my friends on this weekend.
Have read this post and it's make me want today is sunday.
Thanks for sharing. This is so inspiring!

Mickle said...

Beginner should follow this blog for longboarding. You've done great job. Thanks for sharing.

Shawana said...

Love the way of description. He makes learning sliding over a longboard easy for me. I learned several tricks of longboarding from this website. You can also try this. Hope you will be beneficial.

Luke said...

No dooubt, longboarding is a very risky, So, longboarding techniques are so important to enjoy a better riding.

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Slick Revolution said...

Thank you so much for this – really clear, simple guide with lots of great tips and tricks about the best electric skateboard and longboard. I will definitely be sharing it with my friends!

The Lost Longboarder said...

Great article! Sliding is very difficult to learn, I think you are right on about how important it is to commit to the slide!

longboards geek said...

this longboard article is really amazing. I really like it. keep growing