How To Stop On A Skateboard
Riding a skateboard is lots of fun. You whizz along at a variety of speeds with the wind blowing in your face, doing tricks, wending your way around people and things, and looking cool. However to enjoy skateboarding you have to know how to stop safely. If you don’t, you’ll end up with cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Fortunately there are a number of safe ways to stop a skateboard. Most can be mastered by even a beginner. Others look cool, but take a lot of practice.
Jump off
The fastest and easiest way to stop a skateboard is to simply jump off of it. The skateboard will keep rolling, but you can come to a safe stop. There are certain times when jumping off your skateboard is the safest way to stop. One is when you are going relatively slow. Another time when simply jumping off your skate board is your best option is when there is no other way to stop quickly without getting injured. Jumping off your skateboard in emergency situations might get your board damaged, but save your body from getting battered, bruised, and broken.
The Foot Drag
Another simple and popular way to stop a skateboard is to do a foot drag. Dragging your foot slowly eventually stops the skateboard, although it does wear down your sneakers. To do the foot drag you simply place the heel of your back foot on the ground and drag it. As the board begins to slow you can drag your entire back foot along the ground. This will help you to slow your momentum and eventually stop the board no matter how fast you are going.
Tailstop
The tailstop is one of the most common ways to stop a skateboard. However, it does require good balance and lots of practice. To execute a tailstop, simply bend your front leg, put your weight on your back leg, and mash the tail of the skateboard to the ground. The tail of the board will drag along the ground and the board will gradually slow and then stop. The more pressure you put on the tail of the board the faster it will stop. This technique can be very helpful if you are going really fast and don’t want to stop suddenly. Plus it saves the sole of your sneakers.
Powerslide
The powerslide is the coolest and fastest way to stop a skateboard. It is also the most difficult. It requires the skateboarder to turn the board to the side and skid. This is a technique you can use no matter how fast you are moving. However in order to do a powerslide you must master the kick turn. To do the powerslide you have to put your feet over the trucks, put your weight on your foot, bring the rear wheels around 90 degrees, lean back slightly and push down with your feet. This will make the wheels skid and bring you to a quick stop. It looks really cool.
