If you want to become a skater, starting with the correct equipment is important. Visit a specialty shop, and they will hook you up with the safety gear and a skateboard that matches your skill levels and physical characteristics.
Balance
Once you have all your gear, the first step toward becoming a skater is to maintain balance on a skateboard. Place the feet over the bolts, one in front of the other, when practicing. It is okay if you feel wobbly or uncomfortable at first. Just practice standing on the board until you can jump off and on with confidence.
Riding
Once you have the balance down, practice kicking off and riding the skateboard in a forward motion. Do this by keeping the front foot over the top set of bolts while you kick off with the other foot. Once you have kicked off, place your back foot just behind the bolts and ride a short distance. Once you are comfortable riding the board with one kick off, increase the amount of kick offs until you can ride the skateboard comfortably for long periods of time.
The ollie
The graduating step and core of all tricks is the ollie. It is also the bane of many skaters. Quite a few skaters give up at this point because they did not learn the initial stages properly, or they go about practicing the ollie the wrong way, which can be painful.
In essence, the ollie is the process of jumping in the air and coming back down with your skateboard. Rather than simply jumping up, you launch yourself in the air by "popping the skateboard."
Place the front foot on the board about three inches below the front bolts, and rest the back foot on the tail end. Bend your knees and shift your body weight abruptly to the back. As soon as you hear a popping sound, quickly jump while your back foot lifts the board into the air and your front foot slides up the board.
Once in the air, level out both feet so you won't wipe out on the landing. When coming back down, bend the knees and plant the feet on the board, where the bolts are, for balance and a smooth landing. The trickiest part is to get the timing right, but practice does indeed make perfect.
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