How to Turn on a Skateboard

After learning how to ride a skateboard and skateboarding basics, your next goal should be to learn how to turn on a skateboard as fast as you can. Nothing is as entertaining as turning with accuracy while riding on a skateboard. You can take turns in two ways, either by kick turn or leaning with your torso. For smooth and incremental turns, learning is excellent, whereas kick turn is for an abrupt and tricky change in direction.

Turning a skateboard

Mastering skateboarding is not possible without grasping how to balance on a skateboard when changing direction while riding. Turning not only lets you change the direction of your skate but also saves you from falling and hitting something in front of you. Let’s suppose if you are going in a straight line with ultimate speed, and you suddenly see something, you are set to whack if you do not change direction.

What will you experience then? Definitely, you will fall badly and get yourself injured without any doubt. By learning to turn on a skateboard, you will change direction and save yourself from all types of obstacles and blows. In addition, if you aim to perform captivating tricks, then it is a must to know how to steer a skateboard. This article is for absolute beginners with zero experience in skateboarding.

How to turn a skateboard by leaning?

Every skater loves to perform skating stunts like ollie and kickflip, but before that, you should be competent enough to turn on a skateboard with perfection. In addition, you must also be an expert in skateboard front and back basics. The following steps will help you change the direction of a skateboard with leaning.

Check the tightness of the trucks

If your skateboard deck does not tilt a little bit implies trucks are tight, it will be tough to turn your skateboard. Similarly, if your skateboard deck tilts effortlessly means the trucks are loose. In this case, the board will turn sharply, which can be problematic while riding. Now, the question arises here how to tighten the trucks or how to loosen the trucks on skateboards.

Find out the perfect locale

For practicing the leaning turn, you have to find the appropriate place, which can be a sanctuary, ground, and a parking lot. Remember, do not ever choose your room and garage for that objective because if you fall, then chances are you hit solid stuff. In contrast, an open area allows you to perform what else you want on your board freely.

Start riding in your personal standpoint

Some people ride on skateboards by placing their right foot on the front side of the deck, while others put their left foot on the front flank of the board. You can try skating for a few minutes, and you quickly know what your stance is. Place the front leg on the top side of the deck and push the skateboard with the help of the back leg. Once the skateboard gets the momentum, place your back leg on the board as well.

Lean in the way you want to deflect the board

Skaters who put their leg foot on the front side of the board by exerting pressure using their toes. Aside from this, they turn the board to the left side by putting pressure through their heels. Similarly, those who place their right leg on the front flank of the deck will experience the turn in the reverse direction.

Maintain the balance

Keep your weight in the center of the deck, which you learn with time. The benefit of depositing your body weight in the center prevents you from off-balancing during bumps and blows on uneven roads. When taking a shape turn, slightly bend your knees to lower the fluctuation of your center of gravity.

Shift back to the regular standpoint

When you have made up your mind to stop the turning effect of the skateboard, put your weight back in the middle of both legs. It will force the front wheels to touch the surface again to finish the turn. Isn’t it simple?

Types of Turns

Various techniques will enable you to turn a skateboard, but we will tell you those which you can apply as a newbie as well. To master skateboarding, the following types of turns demand you to master first.

Craving

The easiest trick is to turn the board that both novice and expert skateboarders can employ during a ride on their board. Before you perform craving on your board, it is necessary to loosen the trucks of the deck. If trucks are tight, it will not be possible for you to turn the board sharply in a directed direction.

The following steps can let you do cravings on your board.

• Push the skateboard with the back leg
• Place your back foot on the board
• Lean in the way you like to swirl
• Practice and practice for enhancing the skills

Kick turn

Are you looking for tricks to sharply steer your skateboard during a ride on it? You will be able to change your course rapidly thanks to the kick-turn skating. Push the tail of your skateboard with the help of your back foot, and also make sure that its beak is up in that event. Now, guide the board through the placement of your front foot.  

The following steps will help you kick turn on your skateboard perfectly.

• Start moving by pushing the board with your back foot
• Position the back leg on the deck
• Raise the beak of the board
• Divert your leg in the desired path
• Land the front wheels on the surface

Tic-tac turn

The majority of us think that there are only two methods to turn the board, but there is a tic tac turn technique as well which we can say is the modified form of a kick turn skateboarding. If you want to steer on your skateboard, then a tic tac turn is what you need. Impressively, you will be able to turn the board in a 70 or 80-degree direction literally.

Following the below-given steps, you will be able to do a tic tac turn.

• Position your legs swiftly in kick turn technique
• Scantily drag your back leg
• Slightly raise the beak of your skateboard
• Change direction now
• Accomplish it again and again to make your muscles used to it

Final Words

All these turning techniques are those that are very popular among both pros and beginners. You can learn all of them one after one, but the tip of the day is first to learn how to turn a skateboard. What are you waiting for? Just take our skateboard and start learning these tricks, but again, I will say step by step.