Are you an amateur who is curious about “How long does it take to get good at skateboarding?”? If yes, you’ve landed in the right place!
To be skillful in this sport, it’s a long process. It depends on your ability, the learning method, the technique, and more. So the learning time will vary from person to person.
For that reason, we will clarify what you should prepare, what you have to learn, and more helpful information in this post. If you’re ready, let’s start!
See also:
- 10+ Easy Skateboard Tricks for Beginners: That Won’t Take Time to Master
- How to Get Better At Skateboarding: Step-by-Step Guide
- How To Teach A Kid To Skateboard
What Do You Need To Learn Skateboarding?
Have A Good Health
Good health is a prerequisite when you start practicing any sport. It ensures a smooth practicing process as well as minimizes potential risks or accidents.
And skateboarding isn’t an exception. Make sure you only learn when your body is in good condition. Especially, you don’t have any injuries or diseases that can affect your physical situation.
Find The Place
You need a suitable place to seriously practice and start your new journey. Certainly, not anywhere can become your playground. There are a few conditions that you need to consider to determine the right venue.
- Ground surface must be flat: It’s not about the slope but the quality of the pavement. The surface with many potholes isn’t a perfect choice as you can’t practice well, leading to unexpected accidents.
- Keep away from crowded places or where there are many vehicles: People or vehicles are the huge hindrances and it’s really dangerous if you have a collision with a car or hitting another person.
- It’s wide enough: Basically, the skateboard is quite large, and you also need a lot of space to slide. That’s why wide space is a must-have factor.
If you haven’t found out where to play, below are some references for you:
- Skatepark
- Actual park
- Empty parking lot (without warning signs)
- Empty garage
Choose The Right Skateboard
Skateboard Type
There are more than ten types of skateboard as they can be clarified based on different features. In this post, we want to introduce you four categories that are most popular and easiest to use.
Mini-cruiser: It has a compact size with impressive lightweight. This type is suitable for teenagers, women, or anyone who wants to get started easily and simply.
Carve skateboard: It’s more suitable for the professional than beginners. You can perform skillful techniques or tricks with carve boards.
Classic longboard: An ideal choice for all users. Not only ideal for practicing simple steps but it’s also suitable for performing advanced skills.
Downhill longboard: It can balance well and give you a higher speed. For steep mountain roads, no type is better than this one.
Check It Quality
Board deck: It would be better if the board deck is made from Maple wood or Bamboo as these two are best at durability and flexibility.
Your skateboard is lighter and easier to slide if they contains fewer layers of wood. However, don’t choose a deck that is too thin as it will be fragile.
The wheels: The best diameter is about 70mm. Besides, the Urethane material gives you a smooth ride and prolongs the product’s life.
The trucks: Metal alloy and aluminum are highly recommended for a quality board truck. You should pay attention to the construction as it affects the balance and effectiveness of your practicing process.
Prepare Equipments
There are some equipment and gear that you should prepare before starting practicing. These items will protect you throughout the process to limit injuries, especially when you fall.
Helmet: Choose a helmet with good material and durable enough. They must protect your head in the event of hits.
When wearing your helmet, make sure it fits your head snugly and isn’t loose. After locking the side straps, make sure you can still put your two fingers between the chin and them.
Elbow pads and knee pads: They will protect your body from scratches, bruises, etc. Also, pads will help minimize the impact of hits and limit injury occurring.
Wrist guards: Beginners tend to land on their hands, so it’s better to prepare this gear. Obviously, they reduce the chance of breaking your wrists or twisting.
How Long Does It Take In Total?
There is no exact answer to this question. The learning process of each player isn’t the same so it can vary from a few weeks to a few years.
If you’re an amateur and don’t have any experience before, you will have to spend more time getting used to using the board. This isn’t about how to slide, and you should understand the mechanism of action and basic information first.
In case you’ve learned about skateboarding before, it’s a bit easier to learn. You can start the basic steps first, then practice regularly to master them before trying advanced skills.
Besides your ability, practicing frequency is also important. How much time do you take to learn each week? If you practice for ten hours a week, your process is certainly shorter than those who spend three hours only.
Overall, you need one or two months to skateboard stably and smoothly. There is a condition that you have to practice seriously and spend at least 5 hours a week training.
How Long Does It Take To Learn The Basic?
Now, you’ve got all the necessary gear and a suitable place, and it’s enough to get started. So, do you know how you should learn?
It would be best if you learned in a certain order from easy to difficult. When mastering the basic knowledge and skills, implementing advanced ones will also become easier.
Standing
Standing on the board is the most basic that all players have to learn. You may burst out laughing and think that “there is nothing to know more”, but are you sure?
Put on your shoes first. Remember that you should choose one that is flexible enough for better movement, and you’re totally comfortable when wearing it.
Place your skateboard on a flat and dry surface. Put one foot on the board and use a few seconds to stabilize. After you feel it’s firm and balanced, lift another foot and stand on it.
It sounds easy but standing stably isn’t an easy task. Beginners tend to fall due to the fact that they can’t adjust the body center and the board will slip.
Standing Position
Balancing
All right, the next step is to balance your body to avoid falling. It requires some skill to adjust the body’s center as well as stabilize your posture.
When you’re standing on a skateboard, bow your body slightly to lower your center of gravity and reduce the tottery feeling. You can spread your arms wide to two sides for added balance.
Now, be careful and stand up slowly to divide the force evenly on both feet. Otherwise, your skateboard might tip over.
This step will be challenging if you have no experience before. Anyway, don’t give up and make more effort. As usual, after trying about twenty times, it will be easier.
Keep in mind that you need to master this step before moving to the next one. It’s important because if you can’t balance, you won’t be able to do any other techniques.
Sliding
You’re ready to slide and move. Don’t be hurried, you should calm down and determine your posture: which leg is jogging one and another is the supporting one.
If you’re still confused and don’t know how to choose, here are some tips for you to find out your supporting leg:
Based on your experience: which leg do you usually lift first when you climb the stairs or kick a ball?
Based on the reflex: Ask your friend to multiply when you aren’t attentive and gently push you. Then observe the one you use to prevent yourself from falling.
The supporting leg will be placed in front of the board, and it’s usually fixed while you’re sliding. Make sure this one is comfortable, and you stand firm enough to keep the balance.
Use another leg to push back gently to slide the board. Try to control the force properly and navigate in a certain straight direction. At this time, lean your body forward to accumulate the weight for the supporting leg.
Always start with low speed first. Once you can slide and balance simultaneously, accelerate by increasing the force on the pushing leg.
Turning
Turning is a bit hard to do, and not many players can do this at their first training. You need to prepare your mindset and be ready to accept falls that can happen at any time. Then, choose the places with more space to practice navigation.
To turn, you need to increase the power in the tail (back side of the skateboard) by pressing it lightly. At this time, the nose (front side) of the skateboard will be lifted.
Simultaneously, you need to adjust your body according to the turning direction by leaning. Remember that this and the above manipulation should be done at the same time and quickly.
Stopping
As usual, there are two common ways to stop. You can learn more about them and then make a decision about which is more suitable for you.
The first one is slowing down by using your back leg. Lift your foot and place it parallel to the deck, then drag your leg along to the ground to increase friction and traction.
One point to note here is you should slow down gradually. It’s advisable to let your foot move at a speed slightly slower than the speed of the board. Avoid using strong and sudden pulls as it can lead to accidents and injuries.
Last but not least, distribute weight and force to both feet. Someone will make a mistake by focusing on the back leg only, and when they stop on the ground, their board is still moving.
Another method is using the tail. While sliding, you can press to the backside of the board until it touches the ground. This time, holding friction created by the tail and surface will slow down your speed.
For beginners, the latter method is safer and easier to do. However, isn’t recommended as it can damage your equipment and make it break down quickly.
So, how much time will you spend on the basic step? It’s dependent on each person. As usual, this period will be from about sixty minutes to more than two hours.
How Long Does It Take To Learn Advanced Tricks?
If you’re able to practice and perform all the basic steps, it’s time to learn the higher level – advanced tricks!
Ollie
Place the back foot on the tail and the front one in the middle of the deck; it would be better if it’s behind the front truck’s bolt. Then gently rotate and adjust the foot direction toward the skateboard nose.
When your board touches the ground, you need to jump and drag your front foot upwards. Remember to bend your knee and catch the board to land safely.
Kickflip
Your foot posture will be the same as when doing the Ollie technique. Lower down and use your back leg to press the tail. When you jump, the board will simultaneously rotate 360° in the air. Your mission is to catch it after it rotates and lands on the ground firmly.
Caveman
Keep your board in one hand, and it would be better if you hold the nose as it’s easier to perform. Or when you know clearly about this skill, you can try more and find out which holding posture makes you feel more comfortable.
Bend your knees and jump, and at the same time release the board on hand to the ground. You need to catch the deck feet when it touches the ground, and you can stand in a balanced position.
No Comply 180
Put your front foot in the middle of the board near the front-truck bolts and the back foot in the tail center. Create momentum with your shoulders to pop the tail and jump. Lift the front foot off the board, turn your body 180° and catch it by the back leg.
This skill requires the accuracy of manipulation. You need to move fast to be able to hold the deck with your back foot.
Hardflip
This technique is quite similar to Kickflip in terms of foot position and manipulation. However, it gets a bit more difficult when you have to do an extra frontside pop-shove-it.
Instead of catching the board with the forefoot easily as Kickflip, you need to use your back foot. This requires you to have faster and more tactful movements to land at the right time.
In general, a player can take several months or many years to be good at performing advanced tricks. The period is flexible based on your effort and practice effectiveness.
Advanced Skateboarding Tricks
Some Factors That Affect Your Progress
HardfSkill Accuracylip
We can learn the same knowledge or learn from the same teacher, but this doesn’t mean that everyone learns effectively. Technique accuracy affects your training effectiveness and performance.
If you practice hard and do the movements correctly, the practicing period will be shorter. In contrast, you will need more time to find the faults and correct them.
Environment
A rough track will definitely make your training harder than ever. One of the challenges for beginners is balancing then uneven roads become a huge hindrance.
Besides, a crowded place can interfere with your practice. You must avoid colliding to not cause an accident, so it will take longer than practicing in a place with a lot of space.
Equipment Quality
How do you feel if you were skateboarding and suddenly fall down, then your helmet breaks immediately when you hit the ground? This is what no players want to meet at all!
Equipment can negatively impacts your training and safety. Poor quality ones can’t protect you comprehensively when accidents happen.
Conclusion
We’ve provided you with all the necessary information about this sport studying process. So, do you know “how long does it take to get good at skateboarding?” yet?
The answer is numerous as it’s dependent on your ability, condition, environment, etc. But as usual, it will take you about one or two months to perform the basic techniques smoothly with the condition that you have to practice seriously and regularly,
And if you want to master advanced skills, it will be a long journey. Try your best, and never give up to reach your goals!
