As with everything, when you start to longboard you’ll need to learn the basics. They might not be the most glamorous moves, or the ones that will impress your fellow boarders, but they are the building blocks for everything to come. Below are the three most important areas to concentrate on when you first start longboarding…

Firstly, you’ll need to learn how to brake. At the beginning, you’ll probably just jump off and run alongside when you want to stop, but this is frowned upon and needs to be sorted out ASAP. At slower speeds, practice running the foot along the ground gently to reduce speed – a process called foot braking. When travelling at faster speeds though, you’ll need to learn how to slide, which is when the board turns 90 degrees and therefore slows quickly, just like a snowboarder does. The latter is tough to master, and you’ll…