When you want to go downhill on a longboard, even at moderate speed, it is imperative to be able to slow down and stop your longboard. There are several ways of braking or stopping with its longskate and the one who masters perfectly all these techniques will be able to evolve serenely on any type of spots, by minimizing the risks of fall.
Explanations and video.
Drop Foot
The most accessible way to brake is to put your back foot on the ground and press it down to slow your longboard. This is an effective way to reduce your speed and/or stop completely. The Drop Foot is a simple way to manage your speed. Be careful not to abuse it too much, you would be forced to change your shoes quite often...
Note the limit of this braking mode: as soon as you reach a certain speed, it becomes complicated to brake in drop foot and the risk of falling is important. It is then necessary to learn the Powerslide.
The Powerslide in longboard
With the slide we switch to a more serious braking mode, more technical but above all more fun and offering a lot of openings in your longboard practice.
The powerslide consists in making the wheels of your longboard unhook in order to put you in opposition with your direction of evolution. The slide is a very efficient way to slow down your longboard, to stop and more generally to manage your speed.
On the principle, the slide is quite close to the movements that we can realize in snowboard. The main difference is that tar is less suitable for sliding than snow and the fall might be less fun. However, you shouldn't make a mountain out of slide in longskate. Well protected, once the gesture is mastered, it becomes natural and particularly useful.
To begin :
- Equip yourself with a helmet and body protections.
- Wear slide gloves. These gloves allow you to put your hand on the ground safely, even at very high speeds. Gloves from slide give you a lot of stability, whether you're doing your powerslides backside or frontside.
- Even if you can make slides with any type of wheels, to favor the "stall" and the glide, you can use rather hard wheels or even dedicated to the practice of slide like the Orangatang Kilmer 86a or the Blood Orange Morgan Pro.
The Powerslide technique
At the first attempts, getting your longboard off the ground at slide seems quite engaging! That's why we advise you tolearn step by step. Start on a flat ground, at low speed and possibly on a slippery ground (in descent to skatepark for example).
The 3 important points to get started:
- Get into a curve.
- Put your weight on your front foot to lighten the back of your longboard.
- Rotate your body 90 degrees, directed by your shoulders, so that you are in opposition to the slope. While doing this, push horizontally on your back foot in the direction of the slope (or simply at 90° to your direction of travel if you are on flat ground).
You can launch your longboard slide in one direction or the other, in backside or in frontside. It will depend on the direction in which you are most comfortable. Before going into detail, we invite you to take a look at the following video:
The longboard slide in frontside (Heelside Pendy)
Many riders naturally opt for the slide frontside in their early days. The fact of facing the slope makes it perhaps more accessible and slightly less technical than the backside but that remains to be proven... The idea is going to be to perform a slide leaning on the heels, always keeping your weight on the front leg to lighten the back of your longboard.
To stall easily:
- Start by entering a curve and then transfer some of your weight (with your upper body) to the ground, in opposition to your direction of travel.
- To keep your stability, put one hand on the ground while leaning on the puck of your glove.
- You can eventually grab your longboard to stay as compact as possible.
- At the same time, your back foot will push horizontally down the slope to position your longboard at 90° to your direction of travel.
You find yourself sliding/sliding and your speed is reduced. When you want to spread out, lift yourself up gradually while bringing your back foot back into your initial trajectory.
Tip: While it is not advisable to start engaging your first slides at high speed, it is important to know that the faster you go, the easier it will be to stall your longboard.
The longboard slide in backside (Toeside Pendy)
We take the same recipe but in the other direction... In backside, the movement can seem slightly less natural but by putting your hand on the ground (always having put on your gloves beforehand slide), you will be able to easily make the wheels of your longboard stall by grabbing your board near the front truck.
Unlike slide in frontside, you can position your back foot at the level of the rail of your longboard and push on it in order to facilitate even more the skidding of the wheels. Be careful not to lean too much towards the road or you will be unbalanced and fall off your board. Try to keep a straight position by concentrating a good part of your weight on your front foot.
To start again, once you have slowed down enough, you just have to stand up and bring your back foot closer to its initial position.
Tip: To perform a nice and controlled slide, avoid making sudden movements. A slide should be done smoothly so that you keep your balance throughout the maneuver.
That's it for the theory, all you have to do now is grab your longboard and put it into practice. Finally, we can't repeat it enough: don't forget your helmet and your protective gear!