For my second week of 20time, I finally bought my skateboard and safety gear. After looking through the information from the previous week, I decided to purchase a mini-cruiser. It's a reasonably-sized board - not too long/wide or too small. Originally, I wanted to purchase my board from an actual skate shop so that I could also ask for additional tips, but due to time and budget constraints, I simply chose to obtain it from my local Big 5 Sporting Goods Store. Also, to make sure I was on the safe side I bought a bright, neon yellow helmet to protect my head should I fall. |
Once I purchased my board, then it was time to practice...after some quick research. Before I actually got on the board, I needed to find out what basic steps/skills I had to master in order to successfully learn how to skate. After looking at several YouTube videos and reading a few online posts, I was able to find a very helpful video, appropriately titled "Learning to Skateboard!" created by Braille Skateboarding. It provided me with a few essential tips that I felt were easy to follow along and understand. | |
| After watching the video, I prepared to go out there and give this skateboarding thing a go! Since this was my first time around, I wanted to focus on the first two steps shown in the video and then progress from there. First, I began by practicing how to get on & off the board. Although this seemed like a pretty simple task to complete, I did have a bit of trouble finding my balance at first. I started by stepping off the board with my "pedaling" foot (my left foot) which proved to be a bit of a struggle; however, once I began to switch the board around and switched over to stepping on/off with my right foot it felt a bit more comfortable. |
After stepping on/off the board for a while, I then decided to practice just pushing and pedaling on the board, but without actually stepping on. Since this video was taken, I have continued to practice these basic steps and have begun to feel more comfortable with the board. As I continue to learn how to skateboard, I definitely do think I need to find a larger area to practice, become more accustomed to the idea of falling (which might help me become less hesitant about stepping on the board), and start putting both feet on the board after pedaling. Let's see how it all goes!!