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How to Stop on a Longboard? Your Easy and Quick Guide

Fact checked by Michael Derosier

how to stop on a longboard

Congratulations on getting to know the basics of owning a longboard! I remember the days where I just began skating. The feeling is great, and you feel that you can’t stay away from your deck for too long.

Just like any means of transportation, if you know how to get it moving, you should also know how to put it to rest.

Halting your longboard requires coordination with your foot and the speed at which you are about to stop. Without further ado, I will tell you how to stop on a longboard.

brake-on-a-longboard

What You Need

To avoid serious scrapes and fractures, make sure always to wear protective gear. Even if we don’t want it to happen, we should always anticipate scenarios that are not too appealing to make us even more aware of our environment and ride longboards safely.

The Speed Defines Your Approach

How-do-you-get-off-a-longboard

Suppose you’re traveling on level ground at a relatively slow velocity. In that case, the most convenient and apparent approach to come to a complete stop is just to cease applying force on the board and let the resistance of friction do the work to decelerate it. Make sure that there is room to do this task, too.

If you’re traveling at a moderate pace, you may simply get off your board and pick it up. Hit the tail of your board on the ground, and when it tilts up, catch it with your hand. Walk away with a knowing smirk on your face. I do not advise this for beginners, though.

Running it out at a higher speed is an option when you are going quickly. It is critical that you can run as quickly as your skateboard, or else you can trip when getting off. If you go faster than 20 miles an hour, you absolutely should not do this.

Using Your Foot As a Break

The use of your foot to slow down is one of the simplest methods, and experience allows it to be effective even at higher speeds. This ability is fairly simple to master and may be useful in a variety of situations, from getting about town to running downhill.

It’s well-suited for reducing speeds of modest quantities or coming to a halt when you’re riding slowly. If you are a newbie, you may want to tackle this first. While retaining the majority of your center of gravity on the front foot, put your back foot on the ground.

Begin by moving your foot lightly across the ground. Then gradually apply force to help you balance. To prevent accidents, you should not stamp on the ground with your back foot. Doing so will cause you to be ripped off your board.

The more you master this technique, the more quickly you can halt in short distances. Be careful of how frequently you use this procedure, since it may ruin your shoes if you perform this method frequently.

Taking Advantage of the Environment

If you can’t use your foot as a stopping tool, you might as well use your surroundings to help you achieve this task.

The easiest way to stop naturally is to look for an uphill area. The nature of uphill surfaces will help you naturally slow down due to gravity. Although this is the easiest method, not every suburb or neighborhood will have a slope.

Another helpful environment to put an end to your adventure is a grassy surface. If you can find a way to go towards a park or your garden, you can expect your board to slow down significantly in this terrain.

Carving to Reduce Speed

What-is-the-easiest-way-to-stop-on-a-skateboard

When on a slope, using your foot to stop might be difficult or even hazardous.

In this case, you may use carving. To descend down a hill, a rider leans against the slope while turning back and forth, as if trying to climb up the slope. Your aim is to reduce the wheels’ traction until they glide.

It may be possible for the wheels to lose traction and stop in a short amount of time. Carving keeps the wheels spinning while sliding lets you move the longboard sideways over the road to prevent the wheels from rolling.

Carving can consist of very tight turns, which lead to a reduction of speed when the turns are continuous. For long and deep carves, the trucks need to be unconstrained.

When carving, ability and repeated practice are essential. Plus, you need to have enough clearance for the wide turns.

Sliding Methods

Techniques such as Coleman slides are available for boarders to use. However, they are not easy to accomplish. These are recommended when you are going fast, for instant turnaround and immediate stoppage.

For downhill rides, it is important to know at least one of the hand-down slide basics, along with foot braking, before trying anything substantial. While doing hand-down slides to slow yourself, your feet don’t have to leave the board.

Your footwear will last even longer since this move does not require your shoes to work. However, the pace of hand-assisted slides is difficult to regulate versus foot braking. The thing that sacrifices the most in this technique is the wheels of your board.

To do the Coleman, sit on the deck with your feet parallel to the board’s deck and use your toes to slide on the deck. On a tight deck, ensure your heels are situated near the end of the board. Your front leg should handle all of your weight.

To complete the slide, hold your free hand in front and move it behind you and then towards your edge. Twist your shoulders to swing to the preferred direction. Watch out for possible obstacles.

Conclusion

The road to perfecting the skills of using a longboard can be tiring; you should not only practice how to improve stunts, but also the ability to safely get yourself off the board after use.

There are many ways how to stop on a longboard. The most fundamental step is to use your feet and create friction against the surface. Another method is to choose a suitable environment. Some users may prefer to carve repeatedly, while experts show off with a slide.

The best method of stopping your board is the one that you are most comfortable with. Always keep on practicing to get the best results. Do not get ahead of yourself. Doing advanced techniques like slides can even cause an injury for beginners who do it wrong.

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