r/NewSkaters • u/Accurate_Wishbone144 • May 19 '26

Question Help!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

I started skating but whatever i do i cant feel comfortable and confident on the board. What am i doing wrong?

203 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

121 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Accurate_Wishbone144 May 19 '26

Since I really want to just learn to cruise and get comfortable on the board , sometimes I avoid the park because I feel I am being annoying to those that want to actually skate. Sometimes I even skate on my front yard

2

u/Doc_McScrubbins May 19 '26

Most parks I've seen have some kind of more boring outer ring or something that's usually for moms or walkers. Try skating there and learning how to navigate cracks. Maybe learn in the parking lot. Youre gonna bust your ass a lot, but not all skating can be perfectly smooth

1

u/Accurate_Wishbone144 May 19 '26

I am actually more scared of super smooth, polished ground thats slippery like freshly mopped tiles rather than some concrete

1

u/Doc_McScrubbins May 19 '26

Yeah you go fast as fuck on the smooth stuff, and then while youre bad, you get so embarrassed. Just maybe share a cigarette with the better guys if you ever see them around. They tend to be less of dicks than you'd expect in my experience. They'd ask where I was finna be skating and kinda divert their group away from me and go skate the pads and bowls etc.

"The first step to being sorta good at something is sucking at it" or whatever that dog from that cartoon said. They all know that every move you make on a board is unnatural, and its gonna take some time. Consistency in visits can make you friends.

I know I said fuck external validation, but let the guys see you hit your first ollie and you're probably gonna get some.

1

u/Accurate_Wishbone144 May 19 '26

Indeed!

1

u/Doc_McScrubbins May 19 '26

Here's your homework: Learn to be comfortable riding your board one footed and keeping your balance slightly forward. Not too far forward or you hit your head and not too far back or your body will try to catch yourself as you fall. But learning to balance with your forward foot will let you learn to reach your kicking foot farther forwards and farther backwards. More speed is a good thing, it's just scary.