Recently, we have been analyzing that many longboard riders face a significant issue about stopping on a longboard. Unquestionably, it is challenging, especially for beginner riders. However, once you have learned the steps of stopping on a longboard or skateboard, you will not only know that how to stop on a longboard but also stand a chance to achieve multiple other goals.
For example, you’ll be able to participate in racing events with your fellows, the use of longboard helmets and gloves will be automatically decreased, and most importantly, it will be a massive step towards becoming an experienced longboard rider.
If you are new to longboarding, we would like to tell you that there are no brake modes given on traditional longboards, but if you have a motorized longboard, you don’t need to learn the steps of how to stop on a longboard. Boards that run with a remote control device have different modes which help you stop quickly. Thus, while riding E-Longboards, you will require safety pieces of equipment only.
How to Stop on a Longboard – Best Ways
There are multiple ways to learn and stop appropriately while riding a longboard. Here we will be discussing the five ways that we have personally tried and found beneficial. The tip to all learners is to practice those steps for a few days, and you will be able to stop your board instantly. Most importantly, if you are a lover of downhill riding, you should not give it a try unless you learn the basic steps. Let’s skate into all the ways of stopping on a longboard without brake mode.
Stopping a Longboard with Foot Braking
Our first way of stopping on any board is one of the most easy ways and belongs to the beginners. As simple and non-electric longboards don’t contain any button or device to break, you will have to use your feet to avoid an accident while riding a longboard. This method does not only help you stop but also keep the momentum of your ride.
Keep in mind that if you are going at a higher speed than expected, your deck may wobble, which results in an injury. Therefore, it is highly recommended to keep your sensitive parts of the body protected with the longboard protective gear. To avoid any mishap, you need to be prepared throughout the ride. Here are the steps you need to implement to stop a longboard with foot braking,
Steps to Implements:
Keep in mind that you need to apply these steps in a practice session and not in your regular rides.
1. First of all, ass soon as you achieve the higher speeds, start putting your weight on your front foot (the front foot can be your right or left foot). By doing this, you will have enough power to break off easily. Furthermore, during the practice, we observed that a suitable pair of longboard shoes is highly-suggested when you are learning how to stop on a longboard.
2. Secondly, the center of gravity should be as lower as possible. Because if you are moving at high speed with uneven weight distribution, you will struggle to pause the ride. Including me, many pro skaters think that this step requires a lot of practice.
3. With a foot braking step, you need to be ready to stop before 2-3 meters distance ahead. Because the foot braking method takes a few seconds before you entirely stop the longboard. This is where an electric longboard responds better than the traditional ones.
4. Once your weight is distributed evenly and you want to stop, put the weight on the front foot and slowly take off the back foot. This is where the shoes will be doing their job; they will grasp the ground very well and let you stop the longboard with less friction.
In the end, keep all the steps in mind and start practicing. Within a few days of implementation, you will be able to learn the whole process of how to stop on a longboard with foot braking. A complete newbie might take a few weeks to learn all this.
Build up and Gravity
If stopping a longboard through foot braking seems difficult to newbies, they can confidently go for this one. Build up and gravity process is more straightforward because it does not require any experience to learn. Firstly, you will have to find an area with almost no traffic. Secondly, a hill going down will be essential.
This technique is suitable for those who often ride a longboard down the hill. We don’t recommend it to those who ride longboard on flat surfaces all the time. The most important thing we noted in this technique is that it is a great way to build up confidence in riding. Below are the steps you can follow to learns this method;
Steps to Learn:
1. You must wear a strong pair of sliding gloves to apply this strategy. You will have to place one of your hands on the ground, start decreasing the speed and then push the board again.
2. Secondly, you will have to reach a higher speed level and then try it stopping with your shoes. In other words, you can apply the foot braking method here.
Coleman Slide Technique
Cliff Coleman is a professional skater who invented this scheme for the first time. Therefore, it is named as Coleman Sliding Technique. Join the most fruitful discussion regarding Coleman slide in my Reddit group. It is not only suitable for stopping a skateboard but also a great way to begin the learning procedure of sliding.
We locate one of our hands wearing a glove to the surface and minimize the speed. While doing this, the quality of the sliding gloves matters a lot. It will provide maximum stability and help you stop quickly whenever you need to. So, you need a strong pair of gloves and practice to learn the most beneficial way of stopping a longboard.
Opposite to build up and gravity technique, you will not need a road going down the hill for practicing purposes in Coleman sliding technique. Instead, you will have to find a flat surface only with more minor gaps and cracks.
Firstly, you will push the longboard harder to achieve the maximum speed and then stop it with gloves by keeping the same momentum and stability. It took us a week to learn this whole process; it did not only help us learn how to stop on a longboard and taught us the basics of longboard sliding.
Standup Slide with the Frontside
We are down to our last 2 ways of how to stop on a longboard. So, we have tried both Coleman’s slide and standup slide to differentiate them thoroughly. Coleman’s method outperforms this technique in terms of stability but somehow works well enough to stop a longboard. A flat pavement is a preferred place to learn the standup sliding technique.
Most importantly, if you wish to build up your confidence in longboarding under various challenging conditions, this formula is more beneficial than where you have to ride down the hill.
Although we suggest to protect yourself with helmets and gloves all the time. But while you learn standup sliding, never go without wearing a high-quality pair of knee pads. Because when something goes wrong in this scenario, we have seen that people often injure their knees.
Lastly, go through our step-by-step guide on standup slide with frontside method and start practicing today. Also, stay focused as this method requires more attention than the previous ones.
Steps to Apply for this Method:
1. The first step is an essential one in this mechanism and requires a lot of practice for stopping a longboard. First, you need to distribute your weight equally while your knees stay a bit bent throughout the ride.
2. Once you feel that your skill of weigh distribution with the bent knees is better, you now have to start pushing your longboard, keeping the same position. Some pushes are required because you can’t try on lower speeds. If you have access to steeper hills, it will be more beneficial and easy to learn.
3. The next step is crucial; you will keep bending your knees a little as you reach the higher speed. Before you start sliding, make sure to move your head in the direction you want to slide. The position of your legs remains the same. As a result, you will be bending your knees a bit more and your head movement will decide the direction of your slide.
4. Now, you are good to make a sharp turn, but slowly. In other words, you will have to carve yourself along with the longboard. It would be best if you had a longboard that supports the pumping or carving process for doing this stuff. While you slide, your front hand needs to be kept down, and the other one remains busy in keeping the slide momentum.
5. You are not done here yet, as a few steps are still remaining. When rollers of your longboard are doing well in the sliding position, keep the momentum under control by giving most of your weight to your heels. It will result in stopping your longboard without facing an injury. To execute this plan accordingly, you will require a set of sliding wheels for longboarding that will minimize your effort.
6. In the last step of this practice, bring back all your body parts to their original position.
This is how you do the standup slide just with the help of longboarding knee pads. According to a rough estimate, you can have an excellent grip on this procedure within a week or two. The tip is to keep performing the mentioned steps again and again.
Toeside Down Slide with Hands
Last but not least, toeside down slide with hands is another exciting skill to learn for stopping a longboard instantly. We had to try and review this technique as it is considered more accessible to learn than Coleman’s slide. However, both are quite the same in steps so let’s differentiate them. While you learn this method, you use your hand often rather than your foot and heels. Also, it is a great way to polish your breaking skills on a longboard.
For performing the toeside slide with hands, you do the same process of achieving a reasonable speed to make yourself comfortable for a carve. After you have taken a sharp turn, change the position of your front hand to your back on the ground. Again, make sure you wear gloves while trying to do toeside downslide. Within a few seconds, you will minimize the speed to none. After that, you just need to keep practicing to this method until you become a pro at this.
FAQs
How to improve braking on a longboard?
First, you reach a reasonable speed on a longboard by pushing it and then stopping it in different ways. The best way to practice how to stop on a longboard is to practice sliding. You can learn Coleman’s slide or standup slide. You place your hands on the ground at a higher speed in a curving shape and try to decrease the speed. Most importantly, slide gloves are essential while learning sliding methods.
Do longboards need braking?
Yes, in a simple longboard, there is no breaking button or device given to stop like an electric longboard. However, if you take the learning process of stopping as a headache, we would suggest you invest a bit more in a remote control board. You can control an electric board by pressing the brake button given on the device.
Is it hard to turn a longboard?
Apparently, it is, but it becomes easier if you have a suitable longboard that prefers your riding style. Multiple types of decks available are helpful in cruising, carving, commuting, and sliding. So, you can minimize your effort by buying a good longboard according to your riding style.
How to slow down on a longboard downhill?
To learn stopping a longboard while riding downhill, you need a road going down the hill with no traffic. It gives you more confidence and lets you implement the steps perfectly. Firstly, you reach an average speed and then you try to minimize it by placing your hands on the road. This technique is not recommended without gloves.
Final Words on Stopping a Longboard
We felt it necessary to provide our visitors with a complete guideline about how to stop on a longboard. There are several ways to learn the braking system of any board. We have shed light on five of the most effective methods that will not only help you stop but also give you more confidence in sliding, carving, and cruising.
A few more interesting tips have been added to the existing techniques so that you can choose the one you feel more straightforward. Furthermore, all of the discussed techniques require a little practice, and you are good to go. Make sure you cover yourself all the time with longboard protective gear. In the end, go through the steps of each of the ways and choose one for yourself that you think is easier to learn.
