Obstacles (or features) are the first step in progressing as a skateboarder. Skaters interact with their environment to perform tricks in harmony with the architecture surrounding them. This pursuit creatively engages skateboarders of all skill levels, and each skater has their own unique approach to skating various features.
In order to fully express yourself the way that you would like to, you need to build a foundation with certain key obstacles. Features constantly evolve in shape and scale, as does your comfort level with tackling them. You may find that you gravitate toward certain features more readily than others. However, when we’re beginners, a few obstacles will teach us a lot about our boards and help develop our skills so that we can develop a preference.
A line in the Concrete:
Believe it or not, cracks on any sidewalk can provide hours of fun and progression for any skater. Skateboarders can use lines on sidewalks, parking lots, or courts (think: tennis, basketball, or kickball) to test their balance and coordination at any level. Most skaters start interacting with lines they see by learning how to manual from one crack to the next, counting how many lines they can cover with each attempt. You can apply the same concept to ollies or any other trick you’re working on: the faster you skate and the higher you jump, the more lines you’ll eventually cover.
Cracks and lines are valuable features for any skater because of their low risk factor — there are few consequences (if any) that arise from making a mistake when practicing tricks between lines. They’re also a great tool for challenging other skaters to friendly competition: everyone can join to see who can hold the longest manual! Cracks open the door to other obstacles in skateboarding, and change the way you see the concrete world around you.
Banks:
Unlike quarterpipes or halfpipes, banks are sloped surfaces that don’t curve as you ride up them (skaters call obstacles with curves “transition,” but we’ll cover more about these sorts of obstacles in another article). Banks serve as another important stepping stone to improving your skateboarding. You might find a bank at a schoolyard, parking lot, or your driveway if you live on a hill.
Banks are valuable because they add another element of timing into a skater’s repertoire. To successfully perform tricks on banks, skateboarders need to wait until they reach the apex of their trajectory on the bank, right before they reverse direction to roll back down the obstacle. This maneuver takes time to grasp, because you’ll need to learn to distribute your weight to absorb and transfer the momentum of your original movement. Finally, banks teach us how to roll back down in our opposite “switch” stance from the one we started riding up the bank with. This explanation may seem complicated, but in reality, banks are like most other basic obstacles — you’ll understand how to skate most of them with a little bit of practice. Go find a bank nearby and see for yourself!
Curbs:
Trust me: curbs are among the most entertaining features to skate, hands down. Curbs exist everywhere, and in endless variations. They teach a lot about timing, and are the entry point for learning to grind on a skateboard. Grinds are when skaters balance and ride on a curb, rail, or edge using only their trucks, not their wheels. Most people associate grinds with the grinding noises they make — music to a skateboarder’s ears!
If you’re looking to learn how to grind on a curb, find a curb that’s been painted; you’ll also need some wax. Skaters rub candle wax (or similar materials) onto surfaces they grind to reduce the friction between their trucks and the object they’re grinding. Some surfaces are almost impossible to grind no matter how much wax you use, while others will slide on their own. Painted curbs fall closer to the latter end of this spectrum, but it’s always nice to have some wax around, just in case. Practice with your friends to see how long you can grind for, or try different variations of grinds once you’ve learned the basics. Because curbs are only slightly raised off of the ground, they’re a reliable and confidence-building tool for learning new grinds — even professionals will use a curb to practice and learn something new.
Keep an Eye Out:
I hope that my suggestions come in handy the next time you’re looking for something new to skate. While I only covered three options in this article, there is a never ending array of obstacles for you to consider in your urban environment. Skateboarding opens creative pathways for skaters to look at the world with a new perspective — you never know what lies in store down the next city block!
