lunedì 15 febbraio 2010

Top Quality Skateboarding Equipment Is A Good Investment

Top Quality SkatebTop Quality Skateboardingoarding Equipment Is A Good Investment

 The best skateboarders, both professional and amateur, know that there is much more to skateboarding than just the board – they know that is the is complete skateboarding equipment packages that adds to the fun, safety and performance.  Of course, without the beard there could be no skateboarding and choosing the right type of board for a specific type of skateboarding – freestyle, speed, slalom and so on – can make a huge difference to a boarder’s performance.  Before using any type of skateboard the rider should check for damage in the form of broken or loose parts or cracks in the board surface and so on – these could lead to serious accident.  The wheels are specially prone to damage and need to be checked regularly.

 Falling and risking injury is an inherent part of skateboarding but the risk can be kept to a minimum by the use of the right protection.  Among the most common protective skateboarding equipments available are helmets, padded shorts and padded jackets, as well as padded guards for the hips, elbows, knees and wrist and also special gloves that protect the hands from cuts and scratches in the case of a fall.  Many people make the mistake of buying protective gear just because it looks good – while that is fine, the primary function of this skateboarding equipment is to protect the skateboarded and everything else comes second.  The problem in choosing the most effective skateboarding equipment is that at present there are no federal government performance standards to rate the different makes by.

 There are however, a few things that, if kept in mind, will help you in choosing the right type of protective skateboarding equipment.  Jackets, track pants and guards are meant to protect you when you fall so ensure that the padding on them is thick enough to offer protection.  It should also fit properly – to tight and your movements will be restricted and too loose and it could slip of during an accident leaving you unprotected.  Helmets should have a comfortable fit and a chin strap that stays in place.  It is also important that the helmet should not block your vision in any way.

 It is worthwhile to spend time visiting websites devoted to skateboarding and skateboarding equipments and reading the reviews and user comments.  There is nothing like getting inputs from actual users to help you evaluate which makes are right for you.  A properly equipped skateboarder will not just be able to perform better; he will be able to do it in the confidence that he has minimized his chances of getting hurt.

The Basics Of How To Do An Ollie On A Skateboard

The Basics Of How To Do An Ollie On A Skateboard




Once you have reached a level of confidence in your skateboarding abilities, it is time to begin learning a few tricks. The first trick everyone learns is how to do an ollie on a skateboard because that is the most fundamental of all skateboard tricks and forms the basis of a great many of the advanced ricks that the professional skaters do. It's not hard to learn and once you know how to do it, other tricks become much easier.




The very first thing you need to learn is how to place your feet on the board - the front foot must be between the middle of your board and the front bolt heads while your rear foot must rest on the tail. The rear foot should have the heel raised so that all your body weight is resting on the ball of your foot. You front foot should be almost horizontal to the board. This is an easy position to maintain but practice it while still and then moving until your balance so perfect.




Now, while motionless, try pushing down with you back foot so that all your body weight is on the tail of the board - this is the fist movement you will nee to do to perform an ollie. Now try this while moving and you will find that the more you bear down on the tail of the board, the more the board wants to keep moving - this is the energy that will get it off the ground. Now we come to the actual ollie itself - while moving at medium speed press down on the tail until it hits the ground and then jump up and try to bring your front knee near your chest. Drag your front foot up the board as you jump as this will cause to board to move up with your feet and give to appearance of the board sticking to your feet while it is in the air.




Keep building you the speed at which you do the ollie and you will find that you will be able to jump higher and higher. The secret of how to do an ollie on a skateboard is to remember that that there are three actions to be performed - pushing down on the tail, jumping and raising the legs. Timing is everything and all these three actions have to be done at the same time.

Skateboard Online Shops: Top Picks

Skateboard Online Shops: Top Picks

 Skateboarding is one of the most popular sports today.  There are men, women and children all around the world who are avid skaters or fans of the sport.  It’s important to have all the right gear and you can save yourself a lot of time and hassle by going to online shops.  There are more than enough stores to choose from but if you want to save yourself time, hassle and money then shopping online will be your best bet.

 Of the plentiful online stores up and running today, AI Skateboard is one that stands out.  They sell everything you need to get started in skateboarding or to add to your collection.  They offer very unique pieces so your gear will stand out from the rest of the crowd whether you’re down at the local skate park or planning to show off your skills at a skateboarding competition.  They make shopping easy and you can even search by brand name.

 They feature all the top brand names in the skating industry including Blind, Element, Flip, Girl, Independent, Mystery, Spitfire and Black Label.  You can even go to their site and start building a board from scratch.  Another skateboard online shop you can visit is Warehouse Skateboards, where they retail skateboards at wholesale prices so you can always get a great deal.  Warehouse Skateboards is another fantastic skateboard online shop that has a huge selection to offer.

 These are full, ready built skateboards that are ready to ride and all you have to do is purchase the ones you want and have them delivered right to your front door.  They always have new arrivals and have some of the most unique and popular boards around.  Then there is also 360 Skate to show another prime skateboard online shop that’s worth checking out firsthand.  Or you could head to 360 Skate which is a skateboard online store infamous with the younger crowd because of their hip, unique designs.

 Just remember wherever you go shopping that comfort is the most important factor here.  You need to move your legs around to do tricks and if your clothes are too tight you’ll be restricted.  Remember that these are just a few of the different skateboard online shops.  Whether you want to get crazy designs or get a plainer and basic look, you can find whatever you want and make it easy by shopping online.

Pro Skateboarding – The First Steps

Pro Skateboarding – The First Steps

 Skateboarding has grown from a sport to a big business where there are huge amounts of money to be made by the best skateboarders.  Prize money in pro skateboarding today is really good, but beyond that is the chance to earn in six figures and more through sponsorships or video game involvement.  This may seem like a distant dream to those just beginning on skateboarding, but there is no reason why that dream can not come true as long as you follow the basics of learning how to go about it.  And even those who do not reach the pinnacle of pro skateboarding will find that top class pro skateboarders make a very good living from the sport.

 It may sound silly, but no matter how good you are, you need to keep skating as much as you can – skate everywhere you can because the more time you spend on the board the better; but only practice your difficult moves and new tricks in safe places like skateboard parks.  Remember that when you are learning, you are going to fall a lot so it’s important that you wear a helmet and the rest of the protective gear – as major injury could end your ambitions in the world of pro skateboarding.  Spend time researching the companies that sponsor pro skateboarders to see what exactly they are looking for so you can target your style to the companies you are contacting.  Spend money hiring a professional cameraman and editor and make a video of your best moves – spend time on this and don’t cut corners; it is what is going to sell you to the sponsors.  Your skills will keep improving so keep investing in new videos of your increasing skill levels – it will be like a models portfolio and keep posting updated videos online.

 These videos are great for learning – watching yourself will enable you to spot flaws in your technique and errors in your style so you can correct them quickly and move up to the next level.  Becoming a name in pro skateboarding is not something that will happen over night – be prepared for rejections in your quest for sponsorship and study the moves of those who got the deals you didn’t – it will help you to better understand what the sponsors are looking for.  Never let the fun go out of skateboarding – if it becomes a grind you will become stale and flat and that will spell the end of the creativity and innovation that you need to be a top level pro skateboarder.  And finally, don’t let success go to your head – pro skateboarders need their popularity and being arrogant is one way to lose it.

Learn How To Skateboard: The Three Most Basic Moves

Learn How To Skateboard: The Three Most Basic Moves

 Skateboarding is now recognized as one of the most popular sports in the world.  There are professional skaters who make a living at this sport and who are known around the world.  Anyone who’s interested in getting started in the sport is going to need to take the time to learn how to skateboard.  Anyone can get started in the sport, learn how to skateboard and become a skilled skater, if they learn a few basic moves.

 First you must get the proper equipment but all you really need is a board and although not always required, a helmet is a good idea for safety reasons.  You may also want to get some knee and elbow pads since you’re just starting out because you’re liable to fall down a couple times while you’re trying to get the hang of things.  The Ollie is the first move ever invented in the skateboarding sport and one of the first you should focus on.  For beginners it’s best to try and Ollie while the board is still, rather than when it’s moving.

 To perform the trick you want to place your front foot in the middle of the board and back foot at the tail end.  Then you bend your body down a bit and push hard on the back end.  The more power that you can put into the board with your Ollie, the more air you’ll get.  Just be sure that you keep your feet close to the board at all times so that you don’t lose your balance and fall off on the landing.

 Another basic tip that’s important to focus on when learning how to skateboard is the Manual.  This is a trick that lifts the front wheels of the board up and has you balancing on two wheels while moving.  To start you need to get the board going at a relatively quick speed.  You push the board and get going at a relatively fast speed, then Ollie onto a rail or other object, land on your back wheels keeping most of your weight at this end.

 With proper balance you can ride on the board and do a Manual for as long as the board is moving.  Boardsliding is another really cool trick which you can do after you have mastered the Ollie.  Get the board going and head towards a rail, when you’re near the rail you Ollie then make the board go sideways using the strength of your legs and land on the rail so that you’re sliding the board down it.  This trick can be a bit more difficult to get the hang of but is amazing when you perfect it.

Is Giving Skateboarding Lessons A Good Idea?

Is Giving Skateboarding Lessons A Good Idea?

 Approach any large group of skateboarders and ask them if they think skateboarding lessons are a good idea and the chances are that you will get two completely different opinions.  Some people will tell you that skateboarding is a natural instinct, like riding a cycle and except of a few safety tips, nothing else can really be taught.  The more modern school of thought feels that with the sport having become as complex and technical as it has, providing proper skateboarding lessons will enable learners to get the fundamentals right and be able to progress to skateboarding at high levels with the right skills.  There is truth in what both sides have to say, but if you have skills that can benefit others and are prepared to work at passing them on, you can make money by giving skateboarding lessons.

 Keep in mind that having skateboarding skills is not enough to be a good teacher – you will need patience, understanding and the ability to provide encouragement to those students whose confidence levels and learning abilities are low.  If you have those qualities in you, then the first thing you need to do is identify your target market –will it be young kids who want to learn or teens who want to improve their existing skills or older people who want to try something new for fun and exercise?  Whether you choose one of these groups or something else, each student group is different and will need to be taught differently, with a different teaching plan, if you are going to make a success of it.  This is more than just a list of the things you will be teaching them – you will have to identify what they need to learn and why, the stages in which you will do it, in what sequence things will be taught to make it easier for the learners and how long the instruction course will last for.  And of course how much to charge – too little and it may not be worthwhile devoting all that time to it and too much and you may drive potential clients away.

 Never make the mistake of starting with a large group of students – things can get out  of control for an inexperienced instructor and the whole thing could end in chaos so it better to start small, get a feel of how things will work and then expand.  And since you will need to give individual attention to each student, starting small will enable you to see how much time you will need to devote to group instruction and how much to personal.  With this information, you will be able to plan your skateboard lessons in a way that enables you to teach your students what they need to know and also to bring you the maximum money.

Important Dates In The History of Skateboarding

Important Dates In The History of Skateboarding

 The sport of skateboarding is one that has a very long and interesting history.  The history of skateboarding is full of different important moments and events.  The history of skateboarding is full of key figures and different important moments.  The history of skateboarding truly begins around the year 1950.

 It was a casual idea thought up by some surfers in California who figured that if they could ride boards in the water, why not do it on land?   The first skateboarders actually used wooden boxes that were attached to roller skates.  They were obviously quite difficult to balance on but this was how the whole thing got started and when the first skaters began to take interest in the sport.  It was around the year of 1963 when skateboarding really began to take off and became an incredibly popular hobby.

 It was around this time that a wealth of skateboarding companies began to open up and competitions started taking place where people showed off their athleticism with the sport.  Although the sport did take a dive several times and people weren’t sure just how long it would be around, it made its way back full force in the hippie era of the 1960s.  In the hippie era in the 60’s, skateboarding came back full force.  Different skateboarding tricks were invented during these years, including the Ollie.

 This trick was created by a man named Alan Gelfand who was an avid skater and known as Ollie.  To perform the trick he slammed his back foot on the tail of the skateboard and as he did, jumping into the air at the same time, the board popped up with him as he jumped.  The Ollie is now one of the signature moves of the sport and is really the basic trick of skateboarding.  After the year 2000 things really continued in a positive way and competitions started being held all around the world, encouraging avid skaters to hone their skills and work hard at their craft.

 It was no longer thought of as just a silly side hobby and instead as a profession that one could have and be successful at.  No one knows where skateboarding will really go but it is now a globally popular and established sport that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.  The history of skateboarding will only continue with more monumental occasions and situations that will be remembered for the rest of time.  Some even think that skateboarding may soon become recognized as an Olympic sport.