subject: SkateAmerica: Different Ways to Stop or Brake in Skateboarding [print this page] Once they have learned these things, they dive into skateboarding right away. More often than not, beginners tend to forget learning one more important thing: stopping. The reason why beginners fall to a crash a lot is they do not know the ways on how to brake from a glide or how to fall from a jump. SkateAmerica, one of the leading online action sports store, will enlighten you about the different ways to stop or brake in skateboarding.
Here are the top and safest ways to brake:
Foot Breaking Advanced skate boarders say that this is the easiest way to stop. You just have to put your back foot (by back foot, meaning your foot which is near the tail of the board) on the ground. Initially, you should put it gently so as not to hurt your foot and to decrease speed first, then drag it against the ground to come to a stop.
Tail Stop This type of brake is the most commonly used one because it is also easy. Position yourself by bending your front foot and leaning backward. Make sure your other foot is stepped on the tail. Gently allow the tail to touch the ground. If you are on high speed, allow the tail to touch the ground in a non-continuous manner by letting it touch just for a split second then pressing it down again repeatedly. This way, you can decrease your speed first.
Although tail stop is very easy for you to perform, it may not be as easy for your skateboard. Dragging the tail over rough surfaces can make it thinner and thinner every time. This way is preferably done on smooth surfaces.
180 Tail Stop This type of braking requires you to initially do the regular tail stop just to decrease your speed. Once you lose speed, try sliding 18o degrees back side while still dragging the tail over the surface. The difference of 180 tail stop from the regular tail stop is that it will allow you to come to a stop much faster. Once you have mastered this, you can try sliding front side as well.
Power slide Many skateboarders prefer this way of stopping because it actually looks cool to do. It may not be the easiest but this adds grace and style on your tricks. You just have to put your front foot near the front bolts while your back foot, using your toes, on the tail part of the board if you want a back side power slide. If you want a front side power slide, do the same but place your foot on the heel side of the board.
180 Power Slide Similar to 180 tail stop, you can use 180 power slide to stop in a quicker way. You can do the power slide first to decrease speed then try a 90 degrees power slide and another 90 after that.
Practice the different ways to stop or brake because each trick requires different ways too. But whatever you do, make sure to always wear safety gear and use quality skateboard parts to decrease risks of accidents. Visit SkateAmerica.
SkateAmerica: Different Ways to Stop or Brake in Skateboarding
