Chance are you bought a skateboard prior to knowing how to ride one. Chance are you tried to skateboard a few times but ended up falling and then gave up.
It is not as easy as learning how tot ride a bike. You must first figure out if you are regular or goofy stance. I know what you are thinking:
What the heck is regular and goofy?
Well, regular stance is having your left foot on the front of the board and goofy stance is having your right foot on the back of the skateboard.
How do you figure out whether you are goofy or regular?
It is generally figured out by which foot you feel more control with when pushing. If you play soccer, do you prefer to kick with your left or right foot? If you have done any board sports, like surfing snowboarding or wakeboarding, you will likely have the same stance on a skateboard.
If you are still having trouble determining your stance, just relax. You will learn by trying both ways. Eventually, a habit will form around a particular stance.
After picking out a stance, we will need to teach you how to push. To push on a skateboard, you will need to put your front foot on the front bolts. This foot must be slightly angled in order to feel comfortable for the push. The back foot will push off the ground so if you front foot is not angled than it will feel really uncomfortable.
Before you push, make sure to place your weight over the front of the board. It would be enough weight so that you could dangle your back foot in the air for several seconds with out pushing. When this is achieved, begin to push. While pushing, and contacting the ground, be sure not to transfer the wieght to the back foot. This is the primary reason why most beginner skaters fail to learn how to push.
This article was written by Rob Dunfey, owner of www.goskate.com, a nationwide skateboard lesson service that comes to your closest skate park. Available in all 50 states.