How to Ride a Skateboard - Includes: Pushing, Stopping, Turning, and More

Pushing
So once you know what stance you are, you can start pushing on the skateboard.
To push properly you need to have one foot on the skateboard at all times. Place that foot by the nose. The ideal place to have your foot is over top of the front hardware. That way when you place your back foot on, you don't need to move your front foot further up to make room for your back foot.
Your back foot will be the one pushing off the ground. Try to keep your back foot fairly close to the side of your skateboard. If your back foot is too far from the skateboard, you will lose your balance.

Stopping
There are a few ways to stop on a skateboard.

1) Drag
Dragging your back foot is easy and effective. With your front foot on the front of your skateboard's hardware, take your back foot off the skateboard and slowly drag your foot on the ground. Drag your back foot to the front-side of the skateboard rather than the back-side. Dragging on the back-side may cause you to lose control and trip over the board.

2) Scrape
Probably the most common way to stop. With your front foot on the front hardware and your back foot on the tail of the skateboard, apply pressure to your back foot to scrape the tail on the concrete. The harder the pressure, the faster you will stop.

3) Powerslide
The most fun and most impressive way to stop. A powerslide is when the skater swings the back wheels of the skateboard 90 degrees to meet the front. Once the skater is facing forward he/she continues to slide, but with all four wheels. The skater will slide like this until he/she loses speed and comes to a complete stop.
Tip: Wind your shoulders up the opposite way you will slide. This will allow you to slide the back wheels easier.

4) Walk Off
Avoid this method of stopping unless you absolutely have to. With some speed you simply walk off the skateboard. Hopefully, your skateboard will not travel too far and become a hazard for someone else. It should only be used if none of the other methods can be used. Yes, you can stop fast, but it shows you're an amateur.

Turning:

There are two ways to turn on a skateboard: leaning and kick-turn.
Leaning:
Simply lean with your weight on one side of the skateboard. The more you lean, the sharper you turn. If your trucks are loose, less pressure will need to be applied in order to turn the board.

Kick-turn:
A Kick-turn is when you press the tail of the skateboard with your back foot and guide your front foot in the direction you want to go. The best place to have your front foot is over top of the front hardware.

Getting On the Skateboard:

A few obvious and a few creative ways to get on the skateboard.

Stop and Go:
From a non-moving position, place your front foot on top of the front hardware and push with your back foot

Hop On:
Stand a few feet behind the skateboard. Get a bit of a run and hop onto the skateboard. Make sure you line yourself up to it or you might bail. As you hop onto the skateboard, aim your feet over top of the hardware. This wide stance will give you better balance. Once you land on the board, bend down to absorb the landing. Ride off.

Ride On:
For this one, hold the nose of your skateboard with one hand and extend your arm so the board is in front of you. The grip tape will be facing you. Take a few steps forward while still holding the skateboard in front of you. When you are ready, you will place your front foot over top of the front hardware as you drop the skateboard to the ground. Now, bring your back foot onto the board and place it over top of the back hardware.
Tip: Make sure your front foot is hovering over top of the skateboard as you bring it to the ground. If you don't, the skateboard can jump and turn in an unpredictable direction.

Bomb Drop:
This one is similar to the ride on. Start off just like before. Hold the skateboard in front of you with your hand extended. As you bring the skateboard to your feet, jump onto it. You want to bring your feet to the skateboard and then bring your skateboard to the ground.

Drop Flip:
This one is an awesome looking trick. Hold the skateboard with your front hand so the trucks are facing towards your body. Drop the skateboard, grip side down, onto the concrete. The deck needs to drop flat. If you do this correctly, the skateboard will pop back up and do a half flip. When the skateboard rotates around like a kickflip, jump onto the board and aim your feet onto the hardware.

Getting Off the Skateboard:
Once your riding you are going to be having too much fun. You are not going to want to get off;P