How to Slow Down on a Longboard

There’s nothing much more exhilarating than carving down a massive hill on a longboard. That feeling of speed and adrenaline is simply unbeatable. However, before you can start bombing down those big hills, there are some fundamental skills you need to learn.

One of these is how to slow down on a longboard. Whether it’s longboarding, skating, or racecar driving, where speed is called for, knowing how to stop is essential.

As a beginner, slowing down and stopping is one of the first skills you need to learn. Today, we’re going to provide some tips and methods on how to slow down on a longboard.

Method 1 – Foot Braking

The first method is foot braking. As you can probably tell, this involves using your foot to slow down and is one of the most common ways of slowing down on a longboard. It’s something you’ll end up doing quite naturally.

That said, slowing down with your foot is not as easy as just putting your foot on the ground and applying pressure. So the first thing that you need to do is balance on one leg.

Generally speaking, put most of your weight on your front leg. But, at the same time, bend your front leg at the knee while putting your weight on it. When doing this, make sure that your front foot is facing forward in the direction you are going.

With your knee bent and your weight on your front leg, you can now remove your rear leg from the board. Next, place your back foot on the ground, with your foot facing forward. When doing this, make sure that your foot is flat or with your toe facing slightly up.

When you are using your foot to slow down on a longboard, imagine your foot being like an airplane that is in the process of landing. You want your heel to touch the ground first, and you then slowly lower your toe to the ground.

Start by applying a little bit of pressure to get a feel for it. Of course, the faster you are going, the longer it will take to slow down.

When doing this, make sure to keep the majority of your weight on your front leg on the board. If you put too much of your weight on the foot being used to slow down, you will fall off your board.

Moreover, if you apply too much pressure with your braking foot, you might stop the longboard dead in its tracks; this will result in you being thrown forward.

Using your feet to slow down will destroy your shoes, and it helps to have shoes designed specifically for longboarding, but even these will only go so far. Also, keep in mind that using your foot to slow down when going really fast can be challenging.

Method 2 – Carving

The next way to slow down is by carving. This is particularly effective when riding down a big hill and having plenty of speed. This is the same concept as in skiing.

You will keep picking up speed if you are bombing down a hill and riding straight ahead. To slow down, you want to ride in an S pattern; keep going back and forth, left and right.

Each time you turn in the opposite direction, your board will slow down. This won’t stop you completely, but it will slow you down enough so that you can then use your foot to stop completely.

Method 3 – Slide

Another way to slow down is by doing a slide. Slides are somewhat challenging to do, although they can slow you down extremely quickly. Have both feet facing front on the board to perform a slide.

This is just like you would stand when you usually are riding. Put most weight on your front foot, more in the heel than the toe. That front foot will act as a pivot point with the weight on it.

Then, using your rear foot, place some weight in the heel and kick forward (outwards from the board). The aim here is to use your back foot to kick forward so that your board pivots sideways.

You want to end up with your board (the wheels) perpendicular to the direction you are going. In other words, here you are using the wheels to slow down.

When turning into the slide, make sure to turn both your shoulders and hips in the direction you are sliding. It will quickly slow you down with your board facing sideways to the direction you are going.

Conclusion

There you have three ways to slow down and stop on a longboard. First, take things slowly and exercise caution when practicing.