So you have just started longboard skating and want to know what to do and how you can simulate longboard surfing on it. At the lowest level the body mechanics required for each is the about the same. But it goes beyond that. I will presume you ave bought a decent board all set up for simulating longoard surfing rather than slalom or new school riding. If you are not sure or just want to see what I think of boards read this here !
A drop knee is a drop knee on surf or land ... here I am setting one up to swoop around the bend !
Hey it might be ages since you stood on a skateboard, if you longboard I doubt you have never stood on one but they have changed a lot. So the following are reminders of what to do :
Pushing off ... people that push with their front foot are called mongs in the skateboard world. But what's the difference I hear you cry ... well apart form being more unstable it means after you have placed your front foot back on the board you still have to move your backfoot towards the rear or onto the kicktail if needed. If you push along with the back foot you just have the front where you need it and place the back one where you need it ... makes sense eh ... so don't be a mong !
Stopping ... the next most logical thing to learn to do. I get lots of mail asking how to stop which is a bit of a worry ! For cruising the easiest way is to use your rear foot as a brake by placing it to the side of the board. Put your heel down first and then transfer weight onto the front of your foot. Wears the soles out real quick but still. One thing though this is great for slower speeds ... DO NOT try it going fast or Mr Wilson will visit real quick ! Another way to slow while cruising is to carve your speed away. Make big sharp turns causing the wheels to increase the friction and thus slow you down. Don't make small wiggly turns as this PUMPS the board and speeds you up (more of that later). Other ways of stopping include objects such as wall, cars etc but tend to take away the cool look that riding a long board just gave you !
So now you can go along and slow down and stop ... whats the point you may ask. Well practice makes perfect and practicing say cross steps on your surfboard means you waste the wave you have just hassled for. I for one am loathe to try anything too new on a good wave for fear of falling and then spending the next 20 minutes hassling with the pack for the next good wave. Practicing walking on your longskate when the surf is shit is the way to go. The following things are easy to practice on your skate and believe me will make a difference when you get on a good wave next :
Style ... We all know we all want to look like Joel Tudor when we are surfing. Mr Cool himself makes it all look so easy while doin' it in STYLE. But charging down a fast section is not the time to practice your arched, hands behind your back style mongering. But cruising along the sidewal IS ! From soul arches to quasimodo's the plank and sidewalk is the time to practice ! Head dip that overhanging hedge (check how soft and leafy it is first though), cheat five under that railing there. Railings and hedges are tube city cyclists are drop in mechants ready to be burned ... now you need never be out the water !
Walking the plank ... You can shuffle and leap up your surfboard or learn to look like a style merchant and start crosstepping to the nose. Now you would think that walking would be an easy thing to do. But cross stepping on a moving wobbly bit of wood or fiberglass is a bit different to say the least. Start by practising how to cross step on the carpet. Watch a good longboard surf video. Practice it until you can do it without looking down or thinking about it. Then start doing it on your board on a carpet. Get used to doing spins walking back down the board etc. Move onto a slow moving board, its better to do it on a slight incline to stop the board rolling backwards as you take a step. Walking down is OK but be real careful when you take a step backwards from the nose as the board tends to move forward under your feet ... you will see what I mean. Get used to cross stepping and planting your feet on the nose and then moving back again. Cross stepping back form the nose is hard on water or land but keep practicing it on land and you'll do it without thinking on the next good wave. Doing it on a skate on a mild bank gives the real feeling of instability inherent on a wave. Start by doing it as you go up the bank before relying on the more surf simulation way of doing it at the apex of your carve, before coming back down ! On a surfboard not having a leg rope helps the feel. If this is not possible then at least get a knee cord to keep the rope away from your feet !
Ok so you can cross step and walk so what to do now, well SPINNERS is a good start. Basically spinners take you rotating around on your board. They are easier at slower speeds than either stationary (you will not be stationary for long if you do them) or at higher speeds. Start out by practising them on a deck on the floor or even the floor itself as it's familiarity with the footwork that will make them work. On a surfboard you need to be surfing without the hinderance of a legrope to try these.
Easy one first ..... rotate your front foot towards the little toe side,while doing this bring your back foot forward. OK now you will be riding switch stance near the nose of your board. Then start looking behind your shoulder while your back foot rotates around and you rotate back, turn your body to look forward and you are back where you started. To start with the stepping back will be hard as your board tends to accelerate if you "push" with your feet. the trick is to keep nimble and not to "push" with your feet as doing it.
Ok the harder version .... take your front foot forwards to the nose (this could have been the culmination of a nice cross step sequence. I always start by moving my front foot back then cross stepping with the rear as this leaves room to do another step and end up in your natural stance at the nose .. so long as you have a 48" + board !). Then pivot on the heel and rotate the back foot so you are riding looking backwards. Cross step towards the rear with the foot that is on the nose and pivot so you are looking forward but in a switch stance. Bring your rear foot forwards in a cross step and you are back where you started !!!!
What to do while on the NOSE ... straight from the water to the asphalt .. hang those feet over to create Hang 5's and Hang 10's. They are relatively easy on a skate but still look cool. Practicing them on a bank is good practice for the surf. You can practice the timing neccessary for fading nose rides and also practice keeping the board in trim while on the nose by actualy carving while hanging 10 on your skate.
One way to make Hanging 10 harder is to hang those heels over instead ... just rotate on the nose and try it !
Cheater fives, good way to practice the stretch and body position to make it easier n a surfboard. Will have little use on a longskate except for the practice but still. From your normal riding stance just stretch the front foot til you are hanging off the nose. Then crouch while doing it .... try and use all the board.
When the Hanging digits is no hassle anymore turn them into nose wheelies. This is where the back end will lift and stay in the air for a priod of time. Good practice for surf nose rides as the balancing act is much the same and the hasty retreat is the same ! The trick is to lean back. Start with tight front trucks or hard bushings in the front. Soft and medium torsion bushings make life harder as the trucks will turn while you are taking the back end up. In the end though it's still possible ! Original Randals are the best tucks I have found for nose wheelies to be honest. To get the feel you may want to start off with one footed nose wheelies which actually are easier as you can swing the other leg to keep balance ! If you practice back stepping as soon as the back end lowers down again it is great practice for those fast back pedals in the surf.
Tail tricks can mimic tail stalls in the surf. Put one foot on the back and lift the front end. Then readjust your weight and put the front downand run for the nose. Can be done on a skate from a stationary position, while moving and finally at the top of a mild bank. Of course the skateboard kickturn is just an extension of this !
Drop knee turns...The drop knee is the most powerful stylish turn in longboarding. It is also the most difficult to master. The turn is used in three instances : to initiate a backside bottom turn, as a frontside top turn and as a full frontside cutback.
So a longskate is the perfect vehicle for practicing the body motion without wiping out and losing your hard fought for wave !
On a surfboard they are a method of putting your weight over a rail while keeping your torso central over the board thus minimising the risk of digging in a rail. About the same is true of a longskate, imagine turning on a moderate hill at slow to medium pace or down a bank you may often find that you lean and turn only to find that you overbalance trying to turn the rail and then trying to get back over your board. This is worse when using tighter less responsive trucks and surprisingly when using soft bushings on torsion type trucks. In these situations drop knees are the answer. Why ? ..... well a drop knee puts a lot of weight over the rail (thus turning the board) yet it keeps your torso (and thus centre of gravity) over the centre line of the board ! This means that it is easy to return to a stable position or drop into another turn. The downside of drop knees are that they are not a quick turn to do and requires a more drawn out line approach to your skating. It also is more suited to longer boards (50") plus which turn sharper from the tail.
However drop knees can and are used for no other reason than to look stylish !
There are a myriad of ways that the humble drop knee can be put in a sequence of moves. But first lets look at the basic turn.
Firstly to do a drop knee well you need to know what it feels like to turn onto your rail while having a lot of weight on the last third of your board. You may think you already know this but most people still have their feet fairly central on a longboard when turning. Even when kick turning shorter longboards you still have the front foot as far forward as you can. So move your foot back onto the tail and then your front foot in the middle or slightly backwards of your board. Then lean into a heelside turn .. you'll whip around fairly sharp and will probably feel awkward ! Thats what it feels like when you do a good drop knee although it will be more drawn out and you will not feel like falling on your rear end !
So here's how to do a basic drop knee .....
Put your feet in a position where the back foot is on the tail area, your front foot is either bought back slightly or left (depending basically on the size of your board).
The front foot is angled so your toes are moved slightly towards the way you are turning, this can almost be felt as if you are rolling your foot onto its outside edge.
Your rear knee is dropped down towards your front foot heel, this will put your rear foot onto its ball and rotate it towards the turn side.
Your body twists at the waist slightly, head looking into the turn.
There we have it, simple eh !
So what has happened while you are doing that, well your weight has gone onto the turning rail and made your trucks turn. However you will see that your centre of gravity has remained over the centre line of the board. If doing a normal lean turn your centre of gravity moves away from centre line of the board !
Obviously then drop knees can only be done to one side, the heel side.
Ok so onto reverse drop knee turns,
this is where you take your front foot and step behind the back foot
(passing on the heel side). Your feet will need to start in a normal
'central' stance. The tricky bit is putting your foot down on the
rail. It has to be done with your foot almost straight and you will
place it down on the ball of the foot. The rear foot stays where it
is although the knee will bend. In fact both knees are slightly bent,
with what was your front leg bent more. Body english is not as
important as in the standard turn as you will find the board whips
round as the rear heelside rail takes the brunt of your weight.
Now try finding a path (preferably one with a slight lean to it like a very mellow bank) and turn toe side with a normal lean turn, then go into a dropknee. As soon as you are nearing the edge of the path execute a toe side lean turn, then a drop knee etc. On a mellow bank this action acts almost as a 'pump'.
Another cool combination is to switch stance using a pivot move and then do a reverse drop knee to initiate a turn. Instead of stepping back just pivot on your feet and end normal stance again. Note you feet will be closer together than normal.
Take them to a big mellow bank and you can feel the lip spraying on your face !!!!
If any one wants to add to the combinations then feel free to write in !
Taking the drop
Bigger wave surfing on a longboard sort of revolves around the drop. Make the drop and bottom turn and you could be OK. On a longskate the same feeling can be got by going off a steep bank where you normaly have to angle the board along to meet the transition at the bottom or by going down steep sharp hills on a curve. The bank option is just 90% a head matter, when you feel you can do it then just do. While dropping in the same body position works as surfing. Too far forward and you'll nose dive. Bad enough in shallow water which may contain rocks but to be very scared of on a concrete bank where the landing is guaranteed to bloody hurt. Too far back and you will shoot the board and and land on your back which again hurts a lot more on concrete (although you will not be carried over the falls I suppose).
On a road I will just say build up to it as it's a different kettle of fish when you hit 30mph +. Your board reacts differently, you may get the speed wobbles and bailing is no longer an option believe me. Ride a steep hill out and you will get the same feel as dropping into a set wave.
Remember high speed skating is dangerous and you should use saftey gear esp. if you are just starting out !
Stopping at speed :
There are two ways of stopping at speed. One is to fall off or hit something.... the preferred way is to slide. A Coleman slide is the best way to stop and below is a description of how to do one from Cliff Coleman himself. If you want to use the description be aware it is his copy right and I have permission !
Best learnt in a controled environment and with harder wheels than the 78a I always say are the way to go.
SLIDING
Everyone young, old, male or female who intends to ride a skateboard on the public roadways should learn how to slide their skateboard. Then use this technique to safely slow your speed or stop completely if necessary.
WHY.... SAFETY !
Have you ever been chased by a dog while skating or had a car suddenly pull from a driveway right in front of your line of descent? Maybe you just took off on a speed run and your trucks start to wobble before you've reached the level or uphill run-off. If you've encountered any of these or many other frightening situations because you happen to be going too fast to run it out, then learn to slide and eliminate or reduce the severity of these problems permanently.
HOW TO :
Assume a sidestance position. Feet should be about shoulder width apart and pointed to about one o'clock and eleven o'clock. Now crouch all the way down and put your knees together. I call this position a surf-tuck. This is a very stable position. With your body centered above your legs there is equal weight directed towards both the front and rear trucks. To ride in the surf-tuck you will have to balance slightly on the inside of both of your feet. This is the position to assume for stability whether going forwards or riding fakie. Simply do this before and after your slide to eliminate wobbles. You will master this rapidly. Now you are set to slide. Assume the surf-tuck. You have an uphill hand and a downhill hand. Drop your back knee towards your front foot. Place your downhill hand on the ground, right next to your body. For this you must wear cliffslider gloves with plastic sliding surfaces or the equivalent! Now that you have dropped your back knee forward it should rest almost on top of your front shoe, pointing downhill. As your knee drops, your uphill hand should swing forward, reaching out in the direction of the slide. As you start this maneuver, you will lean your weight to the inside of your board and start a right or left turn depending upon whether your regular or goofy-foot. The board will begin to slide. Keep your downhill hand on the ground beginning close to your side and then drifting out to a place of balance as you slide. Your uphill hand should continue reaching in the direction of the slide. After sliding 180 degrees, you will be riding backwards, actually sidestance in a surf-tuck. This position will have you riding opposite of your normal or goofy-foot stance. To deal with this properly, maintain a crouching surf-tuck with your knees together, once again centering your weight equally between front and rear trucks, giving stability.
Whether you begin your slide regular-foot or goofy-foot, remember, keep your downhill glove on the ground, your uphill glove in the air, in the direction of the slide and stay compressed.
To close, I'd like to point out that there are many variations to be learned. However, these two basic slides can allow the skater to descend any hill and in the skater's own lane.
Good Luck,
Cliff Coleman
Copyright, Cliff Coleman, 1999
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