Never-ending questions from a beginner

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Permalink Reply by Niko Basquez on December 4, 2011 at 12:11am

Hiya Maho...first off on your question about sizing, lets say you wear a size 9 in womens then you would want to get a size 7 in mens to fit you(or actually 7.5 for women and 8.5 for men in aus sizes). Each site you go to when you purchase skates lets you know how the skates run in size. Some skates run a size smaller, a size bigger or true to shoe size. Some sites to check out are http://www.aggressivemall.com http://www.inlinewarehouse.com or http://www.rollerwarehouse.com . To answer the other question about re learning to skate, if you used to skate fitness or rec then you have a basics of skating but aggressive skating is completely different in the sense of speed, style and mobility. Example: What was easy to gain speed and momentum on rec skates will now be twice the work on agg skates and your wheels are your babies....don't want to skate 3 miles accross town on rough ass concrete to get to a shred spot...your poor wheels will suffer dearly. I enjoy doing both rec and agg but agg is the life and heart of blading and if you wanna shred than I would definately give it a shot. Its all about letting go and not giving a shit, no boundaries yo and hella confidence. Hope that helps ya. Laterz- 

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Permalink Reply by Maho on December 5, 2011 at 4:14am

Thanks Niko!

I will be sure to give this a try. Lol, if i need to work harder in aggs, i'm sure there will be less of a chance my feet fly out from under me. Gosh, there aren't many smaller sized skates are there :\

Righteo, so say i head to a skate park - skate etiquette??????

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Permalink Reply by Niko Basquez on December 5, 2011 at 8:09am

Hey Maho,

In etiquette do you mean rules or regs? If your looking for a list of park rules some places are different but if I had to lay down some etiquette tips for the park they would be..... 1.) Don't pretend that you are better at skating than you really are cause 9 out of 10 times you are gonna get busted and look like an ass. 2.) Don't take stuff with you that you'll end up having to stress over to watch as in some people are sleazy and try to steal your shit. 3.) Don't be ashamed to wear pads and a helmet, its a confidence builder and you can't skate if your in a coma. 4.) Wait your turn on ramps, rails and ledges....as long as other dudes are giving you respect and your turn then give them props but if they are asshats, forget being courteous and snake their asses! 5.) Figure out a time when there's not alot of people crashin up the park and get some alone sesh time. The less people= more practice and less people to kill your pride. Hope those things help you out and if you need anything just give me a shout. Laters~

~NIKO~

As far as the skates go you should check out some Xsjados (depending on how old you are and how much more growing your foot has left to do) they are adjustable from sizes 5-9 or 9.5-13. Awesome skates, you can use your shoes too, check em out.

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Permalink Reply by Sam T on December 5, 2011 at 11:47am

I think Niko covers what I've found at the park except for snaking the asshats. I've seen fights break out over confrontations and I'm there to skate, not fight. I suggest ignoring the asshats and finding another part of the park to work on things.

If things are crowded, watch the flow.  At the parks I go to, there are certain areas that for the most part become one way when it gets busy. If you want to hit it the opposite direction, it can mean a lot of waiting.  As Niko pointed out, it's best to figure out a time when there's not a lot of people.

And don't be intimidated.  When you get there for the first time, you may feel you have no business being there as a beginner and particularly if you're the only one not on a skateboard. That's okay, everyone started as a beginner and most people remember those days.  I've had skateboarders pick me up, check if I was okay, then tell me to try hitting it again.

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Permalink Reply by Maho on December 11, 2011 at 12:44am

Thanks guys!! I'll be sure to keep those tips in mind - yeah, i was always worried that there would only be skateboarders around, but what the heck, i'll be different.

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Permalink Reply by Krystin Johnson on January 8, 2012 at 10:10pm

So i am also just starting out. I live in tucson, az and idk anyone that is a girl that skates and all the guys here are just dicks so its kinda intimidating starting out. I also used to just rollerblade i can skate backwards and jump..not off of things but its been years since I've done it and want to get back into skating and start aggressive skating so i need some help on where to start and what to do also. so any advice will help! haha thnx:)

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Permalink Reply by Niko Basquez on January 9, 2012 at 1:39am

Start by just chillaxin and get your basis down, rushing only hurts your body and your ego. When you feel confident enough to land small jumps start doing some flat spins: 180,360,540..etc. Move on to jumping gaps....like small 2 or 3 step stairs, then add some spins or grabs with your gaps. By the time you've moved on doing gaps with 180s on 10 step stairs you should have you balance down and ready to grind..skate, have fun and fuck those haters!

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