How to Drop in On a Longboard (with no tail)
Stepping off a concrete ledge with wheels under your feet seems dangerous. And that’s why dropping in can be one of the scariest things to learn on a skateboard or a longboard. Starting any new sport can be scary. And one main reason dropping in is scary is because it is often one of the first things you have to learn when skateboarding. Luckily most people can enjoy may parts of riding a longboard without ever having to drop in. That’s because many people do not ride longboards in skateparks. But dropping in is part of riding any type of wheels in a skatepark. So if you’ve been at the skatepark and ever wondered how to drop in on a longboard, we’re here to help!
To begin learning how to drop in on a longboard, I would recommend riders to first be very comfortable with the basics of riding a longboard on flat ground and through banked turns. It is a good idea to have a complete understanding of your longboard and how responsive it is to you and your body movements before you attempt to drop in.
Check out this article to learn a little bit more about riding a longboard in a skatepark without having to drop in.
Dropping in with a traditional skateboard uses a very different technique than dropping in with a longboard, especially one without a tail. Traditionally, a skateboard has a kick tail that sticks out past the wheels on either side. This allows riders to have their foot on the skateboard as the rider stands on the ledge. This is very helpful because it allows the rider start a drop in with their feet firmly planted on the skateboard.
But not all longboards have tails, especially a flexy freestyle or pump shaped board. But these boards can be a lot of fun in a skatepark or bowl. Often, it is easier for longboarders to enter a bowl or vert section of a skatepark via a ramp or a roll in. But not all skateparks or bowls have a roll in area. So you can either climb inside the bowl and get started from the ground inside, or you can drop in.
See it in action!
Dropping in with a longboard is much more of a dynamic movement than dropping in with a traditional skateboard. It is much more dynamic because the rider does not start on the longboard. The rider must jump onto the longboard at the same time that they drop the longboard over the edge.
Checking Out the Steps: How to Drop in On a Longboard
There are not many steps in the process. But essentially, dropping in should feel like one continuous motion. To begin, stand with the longboard in front of you while holding the board vertically with the wheels facing ahead of you.
In one movement, the rider should lift their front foot as they begin to jump off the ground. At the same time the rider should also drop their longboard and jump onto the longboard. Riders should aim to land their front foot on the board first and push the board to the ground with their body weight. Ideally you want your front foot on the longboard before your longboard falls to horizontal.
When landing on the board riders should keep their body weight mostly on their front foot. Do so while leaning forward with knees bent to absorb some of the impact of hitting the ground.
After jumping, the back foot should naturally follow and land on the longboard. Try to make sure your back foot lands all the way on the board, but not too close to your front foot. It is safer and more stable to have a wide stance when you land on the board.
When jumping, the rider should focus mostly on their front foot placement.
I would suggest, to any rider, many many attempts on flat ground before dropping over a ledge. Mostly to practice the motion, foot placement and landing with bent knees.
Once you have become comfortable dropping the longboard and jumping on it on the flat ground you can begin dropping the board down a mellow ramp / decline. Do this a bunch of times until your comfortable enough to try a steeper ramp.
After dropping in with your longboard on ramps, you can try to drop in on a steeper roll in area. One thing to keep in mind when practicing is that if you’re trying to drop in on a roll in, your wheels might start to roll before your feet hit the board. This is ok, just something to be aware of and something that may need to be anticipated.
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Once you have built the confidence and you know how you and your longboard will react to what’s about to happen, you will be ready to try dropping in on the coping! Start small and work your way up to larger and steeper walls!
I know this is all much easier said than done. But I have learned that this is a pretty fast motion and has to be done all at once. It may take many months of jumping on your longboard on flat ground before you try a ramp or ledge but that’s ok. Just keep practicing to build your confidence and abilities.
Thank You for Reading!
We hope that this article about how to drop in on a longboard was helpful! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave us a comment below. And we’d love to hear about your progress and success so share your experience and tips with us!
And while you’re here, check out these skateparks! These are some of the ones that we found are great for some cement surfing on the longboard.
- Centennial Skatepark in Salida
- Volcom Brothers Skatepark in Mammoth Lakes
- Orange Cove Skatepark in California
- Ulysses Skatepark in Golden
- Valmont Skatepark and Pump Track
Head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding shop to see our hand painted longboards like the one used in the article. We also design and screen print our own t-shirts and long sleeve shirts. Check them out!
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