Skateboarding Tips and Tricks

Skating half-pipes is one of the most thrilling aspects of the sport of skateboarding. This book introduces relative skating novices to half-pipes, also known as ramps, starting with safety equipment and measures, and then moving on to beginning tricks and techniques, finally working up to more complicated and advanced maneuvers. The book gives succinct, easy to follow instructions on how to successfully pump on a half-pipe, drop in and then move on to grinds, slides, stalls, fakies, flips, and airs. Images accompanying the steps also prove an invaluable aid to readers just starting out with this exciting subset of skating activities.

Enthusiasts who want something less conventional than traditional skateboarding might look into two other related sports: street luge and dirt boarding. This book explores these two offshoots of skating that have much in common with the winter sports luge and snowboarding, while also highlighting these sports' unique attractions. Street luge gives riders the speed they may not get from regular skating, while dirt boarding enthusiasts like being able to skate on uneven terrain year-round, with or without snow. From safety and equipment to beginner lessons and beyond, this book is a valuable resource for skaters looking to go off the beaten path.

From its origins as a land-based alternative to surfing, one that incorporated the wheels and trucks used by skateboarders, longboarding, developed in Hawaii during the 1950s, has come a long way. In the 1970s, when the sport was seen as a form of self-expression, it was more of a do-it-yourself hobby. Today, longboarding is bigger than ever. This book describes the sport's history, gives riders an idea of how to choose their equipment and begin practicing this unique sport. From mere transportation, to obstacle slaloming, freeriding, dancing, and freestyling, readers will be impressed with the many styles of this ever-changing pastime.

As skateboarding has grown in popularity, the venues built specifically for skating have grown in number, too. Much like earlier generations built baseball fields and basketball courts, modern-day municipalities and other entities are building skate parks. In this book, readers will discover how there has rarely been as good an era to skate street courses and obstacles at local parks, which provide the challenge and variety skaters used to only be able to find on the streets. This book provides safety and equipment guidelines, and gives step-by-step instructions for popular tricks, like ollies, grinds, manuals, flips, slides, and more.

Riding bowls and pools is another challenging and exciting genre of skating. This book gets readers comfortable with riding in pools and takes them from simple techniques and tricks through to more advanced ones. Whether skating empty pools or enjoying the smoother ride skaters find in specially built concrete or wooden bowls in their local skate parks, skaters at all levels of expertise can enjoy this built terrain. Once readers are schooled on safety gear and how bowl and pool skating differ from other kinds of skating, they are ready to learn slides, carving, basic grinds, stalls, and airs.