Use a Wave Board

Have you heard of the new sport street surfing? The board itself is a combination of a skateboard, snowboard, and surfboard!

Steps

Learning to Ride

  1. Learn the proper movement of your feet, to propel yourself properly: move each hip individually in a twisting motion (similar to the twist) while moving your feet in response to this in an up and down motion.
  2. Before even attempting to ride the ground to get used to the feeling of it, so when you actually do ride the board, practice this motion while on the ground so you can execute this very swiftly, and comfortably. If you're a beginner, have someone stand in front of you (not in front of the board), so you can hold their hands until you find your balance.
  3. Place the board on the pavement on a flat surface or slightly downward slope. Make sure you have your protective gear on before stepping on the board! If your left leg is dominant, then that will be you leading leg. If your right is dominant, then your right will be the lead leg. Place your lead leg on the front portion of the board, and slowly push off with the foot that's still on the ground. Once the board begins slowly to roll, place your back leg on the back portion of the board.
  4. Create forward motion by twisting your hips and letting your feet follow. Your front and back feet should be moving in opposite directions as you snake your board. (This will create a wave like motion, which is why it's called a Wave Board.)
  5. Stop by leaning on either side of the board, (preferably the side you're facing) and walk forward to absorb the momentum.

Turning

  • Turn: Turning is simple to maneuver with little practice. Shift your weight in the direction you wish to turn. As simple as that, you will turn. Another strategy is to aim your front hip or tilt your front foot in the direction you want to go.
  • Sharp Turn: Is basically a regular turn except you use both back and front feet. To turn sharp tilt your front foot to choose the direction, then tilt your back foot the opposite way. Ex. If you go toe side with front foot then go heel side with back foot and vice versa.
    • Please note that when performing sharp turns you can adjust how sharp your turn is by how much you lean with each foot.

Slowing Down

  • While going moderate speeds or riding downhill, carve to control your speed or slow down. The most effective carve for speed control is a turn made by tilting the front foot while concentrating on keeping your back foot flat. You will know when you have it right because you will feel yourself slow slightly and you'll hear your front wheel roll noisily.
  • When carving, keep your weight evenly distributed on your feet, or else one of your wheels will kick out from beneath you and you'll crash.
  • If you don't have room to carve, alternate swinging your back foot in front of you and behind you to turn your board 90 degrees. Lean back and push against your board each time it's turned 90 degrees.
  • To stop quickly, bail off your board and run.
  • If you are going faster than you can run, you're screwed. Try to carve or bail before this point to control your speed, because when you're going too fast, you don't want to carve for fear of falling. Try to ride out your speed or bail onto grass.
  • If you're skating on a sidewalk, grabbing trees, street signs, or telephone poles (if you have gloves or wrist protectors!) as you pass is an effective way to slow down.

Locomotion Techniques

  • While going slow or up a short, steep ramp, shuffling your feet will give you good power, but it's tiring.
  • For cruising on flat land or up slight inclines, concentrate on lazily twisting your hips and letting your feet follow as you shift your weight back and forth. This conserves energy and let's you go a decent speed.
  • When you're going as fast as you can on flat land and snaking your board wastes too much movement, use this advanced technique: Push both of your feet forward at the same time without turning. Tilt both feet toward you so your board strafes back under you. Push both feet behind you without turning. Strafe the board under you again. Continue waving your board back and forth like this while keeping your board pointed straight forward at all times. This technique keeps you cruising at the highest speeds without snaking that would slow you down, but it isn't usable at low speeds and has no power to accelerate or climb hills.



Tips

  • Don't get frustrated this takes practice through trial and error.
  • If you're having trouble riding the Wave Board, check to make sure you're facing the right side. The front of the board is the one opposite the flat part.
  • If you are struggling to get the wave motion right, stand (or sit) next to the board and pull the front half of the board to you and away from you to get the motion right.
  • Wear at LEAST a helmet and wrist guards. A helmet will keep you alive and not a vegetable. And every time you fall your instinct is to catch yourself with your hands, wear wrist guards, one-third of all skating injuries are wrist sprains/fractures.
  • A 360 degree turn is basically a turn without taking the weight off of the board until you've spun around 360 degrees.
  • Main thing is to get the wave correct; balancing is quite easy.
  • If you feel like a pansy for wearing pads or a helmet, put awesome stickers on them.
  • Focus on the waves.
  • If you need more help, watch the DVD that came with your wave board.

Things you will need

  • Wave board
  • Open space with a paved or concrete surface
  • Helmet
  • Pads

Warnings

  • Although the wave is safer to ride than a skateboard, you should take precaution while riding it. Wear a helmet.

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Sources and Citations

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