Diary of a Newbie Skater

[natureboy]

Day One:

I went to the park immediately after picking up my board. My trucks were way loose, so just staying on the board was a challenge. I recognized that I needed some work *outside* the skate park before I went back (tightening up my trucks, working on moving forward in a manner that doesn't look stupid, ollieing), so I went home and practiced ollieing. I got tired fairly quick, and couldn't stick an ollie at all. Went in and took a shower and a nap. Mind you, I had been up since 4 A.M. due to a down server.

Day Two:

Drove to LA to see some friends. Brought my board, but decided if I was going to do anything, I was going to practice pushing off/moving forward/whatever. Still am not landing an ollie, but I'm moving forward a bit easier.

[T O O L]

Nice man, work on it some more. You'll get it.

[NIGhtMAre]

Yea ollieing is the hardest. its a confidence stealer. I quit 2 times before i learned to ollie. but once you do its like you never wanna quit.

[R-dude]

it took me time to ollie to, but after i learn't the ollie the kickflip, heelflip and shove it came rolling in and a few days later you could see me kickflipping into a rail (but i fell like a thousand times before i got that one right), learn the ollie and the rest is a whole lot easier

[RadioActive782]

i learned my ollie in 1 day, it woz small but it woz an ollie.
so now keep practicing your ollie everyday, and ofcourse some flips or whatever. and you will get the clue without knowin' it.
Cheers..

[Skate or Try]

first day? inpressive.

[RadioActive782]

yeah..but it woz not high ofcourse. now my ollie is somewhat good enough for me i think.

[natureboy]

Day Three:

The skate park is deserted at 8:30 AM, save for one other older skater who looks only slightly more experienced than myself. Agenda for the day: Stop hanging around at the top and actually use some of the more gentle slopes within the park itself. Mission accomplished, but still not as graceful as I would like it to be.

Status Check:
Moving Forward: Still awkward, but awkwardness decreases every time I step on the board.
Ollie: We're not there yet. Tried the "Put the board on top of your feet, jump and land on top of it" training method, but I'm too much of a pu$$y to stick it just yet.

Question: What does it mean when you put your board down on a flat surface, but only three of the wheels touch the concrete? Do my trucks need to be tightened/loosened?

[grandmaster_owl]

What kind of a deck and trucks do you have?

[natureboy]

Deck is a generic Canadian Maple, a bit longer than most and 8" wide due to my large frame. Trucks are generic (whatever the skate shop threw in for the 'complete' deal). Is it a problem with the trucks? I tightened the kingpin down a lot because I tend to wobble a lot.

[dirtysock]

well im getting back into boarding, ill post my first day.

Day 1- got the board outa garage. was a lil afraid of falling and landing in dog poop(in bvackyard cuz around block there was block party and no room) so i held on to a horse at first...got a small ollie(about 5 or 6 inches) and tried with out horse..after couple of falls(no poop though :o ) i landed a 3 inch ollie. then i had to get cloths and it started raining. so i am prob done for the day.

[Sum1Stupid&Ugly]

ollies were sooo easy. Then i tried a kickflip and was like what the hell, its hard!

[natureboy]

Day 3.5

A co-worker suggested we go out to the park on our lunch. Landed two stationary ollies. Got more comfortable just surfing the park. Met two other newer skaters. Good time was had by all.

[grandmaster_owl]

Is it a cement park? 'Cause that's what it sounds like.

[natureboy]

Yes, it is a cement park. Very nice, with minimal trash. The locals take good care of it.

[natureboy]

Day 4

Lunch at the park again. Landed some stationary ollies. Met more skaters. Learned that I'm skating 'mongo'.

[iamflameboy]

good to see your still going strong and have landed your first ollie, it doesn't really matter weather you push mongo in the early stages of your skating 'life'...so don't take any crap from annoying little shits who carnt ollie about how you push wrongly

[grandmaster_owl]

Yeah, pushing mongo isn't exactly good, but you can grow out of it. Usually I see pros pushing mongo only when they're in switch, and I have actually seen a pro, although I don't remember which one, who skated mongo. It's not a big deal, but when you push regular it's easier to set up for tricks fast. Flameboy's right, though, don't take crap from anyone who's telling you you're doing it wrong. Whatver feels natural, man.

[Blind Sheppard]

i think mike valley skates mongo, any way concrete parks are the best, the one down in london is so smooth and its from the 80s and no1 judges any1 its just one constant skate session

[natureboy]

Nobody said anything particularly bad about skating mongo, they just mentioned what GM_Owl said, that it makes it harder to set up for tricks fast.

I might mention that I'm in Fresno, California. If anyone ever wants to go out skating, let me know.

[grandmaster_owl]

Sure, I'll skate with you. Buy me a ticket, I'm up here in Upper Michigan by Wisconson. Hahaha.

[blazingunz]

I very much agree with Sum1Stupid&Ugly, Ollies were mad easy.. Then when i started to learn how to kickflip, i was like, "What the hell is wrong with this!!" I had the biggest problem landing both feet on (could only get 1) now im past it all and double kickflippin :D

[blind ruler]

danny montoya skates mongo

[blind ruler]

lately ive been landin all my kickflips wit one leg. my front leg. its getting very annoying

[grandmaster_owl]

Yeah. I've been landing all mine with my back foot. It sucks, because I can pull these Kflip to axle stall on curbs but I can't just kickflip while going. I think my front foot gets nervous and stays out because I'm always falling on my ass by shooting the board out from under me when I land Kflips.

[NIGhtMAre]

my friend rides mongo and he is still good.

[natureboy]

Day 5

I'm typing this on my laptop as I wait for the skate park to open. I'll update when I get to the office (and if I get to skate).

edit
So I'm at the office now. Almost landing moving ollies now, but my feet and calves are incredibly sore. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just going to have to build up some serious calf and foot muscles?

[dirtysock]

day 2-4
im doing good. as some of you read i beat some kid i dislike in a horse kinda game....k/fed 2 stairs..almost got a boardslide....can ollie like 3 or so decks....

[R-dude]

Originally posted by natureboy
Day 5

I'm typing this on my laptop as I wait for the skate park to open. I'll update when I get to the office (and if I get to skate).

edit
So I'm at the office now. Almost landing moving ollies now, but my feet and calves are incredibly sore. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just going to have to build up some serious calf and foot muscles?

Dude how old are you:-12:

[natureboy]

I'm 25.

[Flip Boy]

Why the hell would it matter if you start skating til a later age.. He knows as well as I do that he will never become a professional skater, but he is skatinbg for the heck of it. Skateboarding is for fun people.. no matter what age.

Have fun mate ;)

[R-dude]

It's just that I thought he was round my age, kinna weird when you think that and find out he's over ten years older. Buy youre right, it's all about fun, every skater says so so I might as well say it again.

[Ramp]