The #1 Way to Get Over the Fear of Falling in Skateboarding

It's not gonna come to you in a month. Like anything, it takes time, dedication and most importantly of all repetition. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. The addage is you need 10,000 hours to master a skill. I know this is not wholly accurate, but it takes time. I've been skating for 9 months now, since last summer, and I only just landed my first kickflip yesterday [VIDEO]. I still struggle with basic stuff and "easy" tricks like pop and fakie shove-its. I'd say it takes me roughly 3 or so months to really learn a trick and the last one I learned was a rock to fakie on a quarter-pipe. Consider the skatepark like a Gym. Nobody cares that you're new, and the ones that do are probably willing to help you if you're cool about asking. The ones who make fun of you are not worth getting upset over and probably won't have many people backing them up. Every single person at that park has eaten shit hard at least a few times in their tenure and it's nothing to be ashamed about. You're going to get hurt, it's an unfortunate part of the sport. Your best course of action is to learn how to fall properly. It'll help your confidence and and build your skills when you know you're g…

First off, wear pads. It's amazing the sense of security you'll have by those few strips of plastic across your palms. The way I practice falling is usually starting in the grass. I'll stand on my board, and literally just lean back to kick the board away, and I'll fall back then roll out. I keep my hands opposite direction of the ground and usually catch myself on my shoulder then roll out. Another way to practice is to legit yeet yourself off a ramp. Catch on your feet and fall forward in the same motion to get a tumble going. Here's a video explaining some benefits to falling while learning tricks. [VIDEO] Just like when you're learning new tricks you try different foot placements, do the same with falling. Start with small falls, and when you get the rhythm increase to faster/higher falls to get that muscle memory going. Sometimes you're just gonna get fucked up. It's part of skateboarding. I'm a huge advocate for pads, yet I have two plates and four screws holding together my ankle, so you're not always going to be getting away injury free.