How to Start DH

Ok, so I’ve already written a how to on just longboarding, but now I’ll write one on specifically downhill longboarding.

The first, and most important thing (other than a board), is to wear protection. Longboards can go up to speeds as high as 79 mph, and a crash at that speed can be fatal. Of course, for beginner,s there’s no need to worry about that, but protecting your head is just as important. Your just as likely to suffer a concussion or crack your skull open at lower speeds. So….WEAR A HELMET.

Other safety gear to wear include knee pads, which are useful in bailing; elbow pads are nice, and also slide gloves. Slide gloves are essential to DH longboarding, whether to drift corners or to slide to a stop. You can make your own gloves or just buy some. Whatever you do, get some slide glvoes. (Also, a lot of pros wear fullface helmets and leather suits, but for a beginner, this is complete overkill so don’t worry about it.)

Once you’re all padded up, you’re ready to go. The first thing you should practice is footbreaking. Footbreaking is the most useful technique in downhilling. The ability to slow down before corners and shave off speed is the key to longboarding. You wouldn’t want to bomb a hill not knowing how to stop, so learn how to footbreak. Another useful skill is sliding. Safety slides are when you put your back hand to the ground and pull into a hockey stop and come to a complete stop. Sliding can help you stop when you are about to run into a car, or off a cliff or whatever. Another common method for slowing down is to carve it out. However, you can only carve out so much speed, and in races or freerides, when there are a lot of people around, carving can cause others to crash when you get in their way, so it’s generally not the best idea.

As a beginner, I would have to say learn to carve first, and at the same time learn to footbreak. When you start to get to higher speeds than you can run, then practice sliding.

As for the actual riding downhill, it’s pretty much like riding a longboard on flat ground, except you don’t have to push. Bend you knees and do not stiffen up, or you will cause speed wobbles. Relax and take it down the hill. One thing about speed wobbles is that it is mostly in your mind. If you think you will get wobbles you will. So just relax and take it easy.

Remember to work your way up the hill. Do not start at the very top. Instead take it to where you are comfortable. After a while, find you comfort zone, and start a bit higher to push yourself, otherwise you will be stuck on the same spot forever and never get better. Also, bring your friends or find a crew, especially in case something goes wrong, which is inevitable. You will fall. You will scrape your arms. You will get hurt. However, wearing protection will minimize these injuries. I have never heard of a speedboarder that has not gotten hurt, so always be prepared for a spill.

Other than that, just skate and have fun. It’s not exactly the hardest sport to do, but it is pretty damn tough to master. IF you have any questions just hit me up. I’ll also write more about tucking and how to maximize speed later, but for now, just go out and skate my fellow boarders. Skate hard, Skate smart, Skate safely.