Beginner: different surface types and other questions
ok, so I’ve got my first board and am just learning to stand and push and have a few questions:
(1)
From a learning point of view is there a difference to the difficulty of learning on different surfaces?
raw concrete vs polished concrete vs asphalt vs timber (decking) vs polished timber (aka skating up and down the hallway on the polished floorboards)?
Do they behave the same? or are some surfaces more “slippery” than others and will “roll faster”?
(2)
Is there such a thing as “beginner bearings” that offer more resistance to assist while building balance skills? or is this a Bad Thing and should be avoided?
(PS. I have Manton ABEC 9 bearings)
(3)
Have had some spectacular stacks so far from leaning backwards and having the board shoot out form under my feet. It usually happens when I think I want to slow down and so I lean back (there’s some weird instinct going on here - probably shying away from a potential impact? Any psychologists want to interpret that one?). Then I try and do a tail slide, but the tail doesn’t grip as much as I think it should and cause I’m off balance…. shoot ; off it goes and I fall back on my arse….. much to the amusement of my daughter who just starts laughing.
Have ordered some guards to protect my wrists etc which may help with the confidence…
Any suggestions to fix that?
(4)
Anyone suggest somewhere to get some lessons in Melbourne? Preferably somewhere where the class isn’t filled with 5 foot tall pre-teens so I don’t stick out that far 
(asking out of ignorance here - so any help is appreciated).
hey I’m Eamon and welcome to Boardworld
Q1 The surface you ride on doesn’t 100% matter but whatever feels smoothest to you should help a lot, I like to ride on polished concrete.
Q2 you will eventually get use to your bearings but if you would like something a little slower go for a lower abec number eg. modus abec 3 this will also help you with falling in Q3.
Q3 over time and practice you will learn to balance and not fall so often. but some things to help would be
1 holding on to a pole or railing whilst practising.
2 placing an old deck or piece of wood on a 2 litre bottle of water. an practicing balancing. this helps a lot!!!!!
Q4 OCD skate shop in Braeside Melbourne offer private lessons there website is
http://www.ocdskateshop.com.au/
braille skate boarding on youtube is also another great this to learn with this is the link
https://www.youtube.com/user/sprocker7
I hope I helped you
Eamon
Worth nothing: it actually helps learning tricks like the ollie on carpet or grass as the board is more stable and won’t roll away from you as easily.
I would start off with a set of entry-level bearings which cost around the $20 mark. Something like Mini Logo bearings or Modus Black, or even Modus Abec 3 as Eamon mentioned. Abec 9s are fast, and yes, this can make it harder to learn and progress.
Have you checked out our range of trick tips on the website? It’s worth having a look. Go to https://www.boardworld.com.au/skateboarding and click GUIDES & TUTORIALS (on the right of the page). There you will see a list of different trick tip videos we produced. Here is the introduction video and a couple of trick tips to get you started.