You may be interested in learning some tricks in skateboarding but are also concerned about the time and effort you may spend. In skateboarding, no one learns in just a blink of an eye. Skateboarding might be considered a lifetime activity that begins with the fundamentals and progresses from time to time.
Skateboarding may be learned more quickly if you put in daily practice and focus on the basics. In this article, I’ll be discussing how to manual on a skateboard. I will make it easy for you; surely you can do this!
Table of Contents
What You Need
Before you practice a manual, check your skateboard to make sure it works well. You should wear protective gear like elbow and knee pads as well.
Finally, find an open area with level ground and no obstructions.
5 Easy Steps to Manual on a Skateboard
The manual is a skating practice or trick in which the skateboarder maintains balance while lifting one set of wheels & moving forward. It’s like a wheelie on a bike.
The manual is a fantastic skateboarding trick to master and improve your skating skills. It differs from the variations of flip techniques that are often seen as typical. Plus, learning to manual on your skateboard isn’t that difficult; all it needs is a good sense of control and patience.
Step 1: Roll forward & position your feet
Begin by rolling forward and put your foot on the skateboard tail. Skateboard manuals require that you move forward. However, if you have trouble executing it, you may also want to learn your manuals while standing stationary.
In your usual riding posture, roll forward at a moderate, controlled pace. Then, as you prepare for your manual, reposition your rear foot to the tail section of your board. Place it in an area that is convenient for you. Typically, your rear foot must cover a lot of the tail’s curvy part. Your front foot should be positioned towards the front trucks’ center.
Step 2: Knee bending
Bend your knees. When doing a manual, balancing is essential. To execute a manual, you must make minute changes to your stance to maintain a stable and balanced weight distribution. This is considerably more difficult to do with your legs in a straight posture.
Before trying to manual, ensure that your knees are slightly bent while you roll forward.
Step 3: Put your weight on the back foot & lean forward
Now, transfer your weight to your back foot. Begin putting weight on your back foot slowly and gently. Lean slightly forward with your upper body while you do this. The increased pressure on your rear foot should raise the skateboard’s front wheels.
Leaning forward keeps your center of mass over the board, which reduces the likelihood of the board slipping out from beneath you.
Step 4: Stay balanced
Keep your balance in check. By now, you should be rolling forward with your board’s front end in the air. Your objective now is to continue doing this for as long as possible.
Focus on your natural balance; if you start to sway forward, lean back and put more weight on the board’s tail. Whenever you feel yourself slipping backward, just lean forward a little bit. The key here is not to overcompensate; instead, make tiny, controlled movements while adjusting your weight.
Step 5: End the manual
It’s not enough to know how to start a manual; you must be able to make the transition from manual to regular skateboarding without falling. Only then can you claim you know how to manual.
Gently shift your weight to your front foot from your rear foot. Restore your upper body’s natural upright posture as you do this. It’s great if the front of your skateboard falls to the ground as a result.
For a visual representation, you may refer to this video so that you can do it accurately.
Things to Consider When Doing a Manual
If you’re just getting started, consider the skateboard instructions or guidelines provided below.
- If you’re new to skating, you may want to spend some time becoming comfortable with your board before beginning to manual. That said, if you’re a tough beginner who wants to learn to manual before learning how to skate, that is entirely up to you! Ensure that you have read or watched some videos related to this topic.
- While doing manuals, transferring your weight to your back foot is a complicated step, and you will almost certainly feel as though you are losing your balance if you don’t focus.
- It is fine to extend your arms and use them to regain your balance. Don’t hesitate to do it; everybody does it, even the experienced skaters!
- When starting to manual, always wear a helmet! Learning the manual skateboard trick is a process of balance development, and you will almost certainly fall a lot while training. Occasionally, you will stumble, and your skateboard will launch forward in front of you.
- When this occurs, there is a good possibility you will hit the back of your head extremely hard on the ground. While helmets may not seem nice to wear, they will guarantee your safety.
- Nose skateboarding manuals are a variation on manuals that involve lifting the rear wheels off the ground while keeping both front wheels on the floor. They are harder to execute than regular manuals.
Conclusion
In theory, you could learn to do manuals in approximately a day. Within an hour, you should have mastered the bare essentials, although it will be uncomfortable. Do not be disheartened. Always remember that it takes time for you to get more comfortable and proficient at skateboarding.
Skateboarding is a lifelong skill, so make room for improvement and skill development. The greatest thing about skateboarding is that you can develop at your own pace. We hope you’ve learned how to manual on a skateboard through this article and know what you need to consider first before doing it.
If you find this article interesting, please share it with your friends!
Hi, I am Charles Harris. I opened this site to write as much as I can about my biggest passion – skateboarding!
I started as a clumsy yet passionate rookie 10 years ago to now a still passionate yet much better skateboarder! But I have to tell you, the whole journey has always been fun and rewarding, indeed not without hardship.