how to adjust your foot positioning for beginner skateboarders

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Title says it all. Adjusting foot positioning is hard for brand new skaters. Here are some fun exercises to work on to improve your riding, balance and board control.
0:00 intro
0:26 awkward beginnings
1:00 tip one
1:40 tip two
3:17 phase one
6:02 phase two
7:05 phase three
8:34 final thoughts
10:01 final advice
I hope you liked this video.
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[@kalinamorales2971]

I thought I was the only person struggling to pivot my foot. I felt like all my weight was in my front foot so it kind of felt stuck in that position! I got super discouraged but this video helped a lot!

[@SarahParkMatott]

Ah, that's awesome! I'm glad to hear it helped 😃

[@thedarkriver1]

Agree!!

[@mikehulsebus]

This is one of those very fundamental skills that, for some reason, just doesn't show up on youtube. Thanks for posting this

[@SarahParkMatott]

Thank you Mike! I'm glad I was able to make this 🙋‍♀️

[@Shastings1287]

I'm so glad I found your channel! It's so nice to hear tips and advice from someone who remembers what it's like to learn these things. I feel like so many of the "How-to's" from skaters who have been doing this stuff their whole lives just gloss over what feels natural to them already, when to us beginners, NOTHING feels natural. You're doing such a great service for those of us without a foundation, and solo skaters who don't have anyone to learn with.

[@SarahParkMatott]

Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you've found my channel so helpful and to be able to help my fellow skaters 💪

[@217BLASTA]

Just started skateboarding and couldnt figure this out for the life of me, they way you put it was so easy to understand i literally got it in my session today

[@SarahParkMatott]

Yes! 💪 So stoked to hear that! Keep pushing!

[@thedarkriver1]

I think I just found my answer in your vid! I am lifting my foot and not pivoting! So foot placement is always changing!! Wow I got to go try this!

[@karlsonmackay1453]

❤❤ This video is one of the best beginner videos I have ever watched & I’ve watched everything which has been helpful but this one I #THANKYOU for you truly are a master of your craft.

[@rudybertazzo]

Thank you for this detailed video!

[@ribtickle4143]

This was really useful to me, good lesson!

[@TheNameisVision]

Thanks for the help and support of the video Sarah.

[@thedarkriver1]

I will be going out soon to try these tips. Thank you for sharing this!!

[@surfskaterelaxation8616]

One of the best teachers .Thanks Sarah

[@SarahParkMatott]

thank you! 🙏😃

[@thedarkriver1]

This vid is excellent!! Foot work is super difficult for me!

[@ruledtrendy5066]

This is such an awesome channel. You've got a great way of breaking things down and you cover things a lot of other channels never mention

[@larskvist9546]

Thank you for your commited help. Its a small revolution in skating that you can spot these things😃!

[@SarahParkMatott]

aw, thank you so much Lars! 🙏 Trying to get the little details!

[@junimo4817]

i'm so glad i stuck upon your channel, all these things and little details you're mentioning are so so so helpful and make such a HUGE difference, i can't express that enough. these are tutorials i was looking for a loooong time, thank you thank you thank you

[@user-zc4vn7qd7x]

THANK YOU i knew the first tip was gonna help

[@padawan6853]

Thank you for your help! I really struggle with foot positioning but now at least i know how to practice it to get better :))

[@panaroyal]

i remember when i got my first board , i would push then do a little hippie jump to correct the foot position for 3 days until i got the idea to twist the ball of my feet haha🤣🤯 and now we have youtube 👍

[@SarahParkMatott]

😂😂 but really, learning to hippie jump so quickly is awesome 💪💪 Super underrated trick for beginners. Funny to think back about that stuff though

[@panaroyal]

when I'm 17 I'm not afraid to fall but now at 35 it's a different story it's really hard to commit 🤯

[@rccollin7699]

Nice tutorial. Learning how to move your feet on your board when you are first learning is important for a lot of things. One of the thing I have learned is that if you do a little hippie jump to get in to pop tricks is how I learned to ollie up and over stuff. However that is practice in itself.

[@JR_X915]

thank you so much! as a beginner, its hard for me to find correct posture!

[@kanna2746]

I was trying to move my whole foot across the grip tape and it was so hard lift and move is so much easier thank you

[@SarahParkMatott]

woo! so glad it helped 💪

[@justaguy6437]

Still a bit confused about the stances but im gonna try learn it anyways. And thanks for this video, im sure its gonna be very helpful.😊

[@jeffysgolfgame7855]

Amazing vid! I feel inspired to hop on the board and work on this. Ty for making this tutorial

[@SarahParkMatott]

Yes!🙌 Go have some fun with it! Glad you liked the video 😃

[@morphosis7655]

Great upload.

[@nihoa9123]

Thank you for this video! I appreciate you responding to the questions in the comments as well :)

[@SarahParkMatott]

Ah thank you! 🙏

[@i-never-look-at-replies-lol]

there's one way to adjust your foot, but it's more for once you're comfortable on your board because it's usually for when you're going faster and you do it quickly while in the middle of pushing, which is shifting most of your weight to your back foot when you set it down to push so that your front foot comes up off the board and then now you can either adjust your front foot or let the board itself slow/down speed up underneath you to where you want it. it looks like a small fast micro hop that's barely noticeable if you do it. i mean you're just literally stepping off your board for a microsecond and then hopping back on.

[@chelaru7266]

tysm for the tips! i've been struggling quite a while to adjust my feet and this helped a LOT :)

[@SarahParkMatott]

woo! happy to hear that 😃

[@MaxxRemKing1]

This is the second video of yours I’ve seen and both times you’ve given great insights. I started stating a few weeks ago and I am comfortable positioning my feet but there have been several times I end up riding switch and it’s a whole other world. Your advice to get basic foot positioning now when I’m riding switch really makes sense. The challenge will be fun now and the pay off will big later 😎 Thanks for video!

[@SarahParkMatott]

ay that's awesome! happy to hear that 💪

[@kyuss6448]

Yet another great post,,

[@SarahParkMatott]

💪💪😃

[@geraldbelak9112]

I'm not going to lie, I already know how to board! I just wanted to go back and see why I have a different habit and position that is not "normal" but I am capable of "dropping in", Manuals, Ollie, switching, and sliding stops. I just can't describe my regular footing position. It's weird! I put my right foot on the back part of the board and Aggro push with the left and face right

[@isavage1064]

i love ur content

[@extraextra9771]

This is really underrated🌟 Really helpful, this helped more than any other video I watched, this was the best❤️

[@SarahParkMatott]

Happy to hear that 😃

[@nathanwilliams9695]

Thanks helpful

[@ZooDinghy]

Wow! Just wow! One of the best educational videos I have seen on KZbin so far!

[@SarahParkMatott]

ahh, stoked you liked it!

[@oa3114]

Glad to find your video …

[@TZU-shapelessBeauty]

W Videooo!!! Really neeeded this cuz I knew you had to be comfortable riding your board and just with it in general but was struggling with it. Tried noobily skating on the streets at 4am when there are barely any ppl and had trouble riding straight when it came time to push. I just instinctively PUT MY FRONT FOOT OVER THE BOARD (like sticking out) because I guess that felt more natural and comfortable, which was a major problem I had that went unnoticed until now and which was also a major problem in shifting my feet correctly to and from the correct pushing stance. I think people normally glance over that aspect and didnt realize the correct position until now watching your vid and examing how u ride (plus comparing it with others to see that I was riding wrong) Im so happy I learned this now and my confidence pushing has rose dramatically!! (Yeah, it's awkward trying to push when your front foot is sticking out in front of the board) It just took a few tries to get used to and Im also happy to announce that I CAN COMFORTABLY FRONTSIDE-TIC TAC NOWWWW (not as comfortable as backside but still...MAJOR IMPROVEMENT LIKE FROM 30% TO 95%) and I give this video credit tooo for it haha. Strugged with it for like a good 4-5 days so yeah..major W. Something just clicked honestly...and i cant pinpoint exactly what. So I just wanted to say thank youuu for letting me know I was riding fundamentally wrong because this simple change made all the difference. Thats how important the basics are. I feel so elated and confident now cuz I know/can ride, push, and tic tac with more comfort than ever before and Im only getting started. This growth and improvement is truly what makes anything, but especially skateboarding so much fun! Side Note: also had my second actual fall today cuz I got carried away celebrating my backside tic tac achievement. Came out with a few scrapes but no worries, just part of the journey :))

[@SarahParkMatott]

ah, that's amazing to hear! I always think it's best to learn every single foundation--every tiny detail can help so much and just give you extra skills to build upon. Really happy to hear that. Keep shredding and getting more and more comfortable! 💪

[@noobg6908]

most of the times i adjust my feet like you did in the video but i think the most optimal way to adjust your feet is to do little jumps,bc its faster and dont wear off your sole, but you get tired faster bc you are always jumping

[@SarahParkMatott]

Haha as a freestyler, there is nothing that can save the sole of my shoe 😂 but, that’s an interesting way to do it 🤔

[@shadyacr]

that's how i do it a lot of the time, it feels cool when you do a really good precise tiny jump

[@raytodd6]

You have been sounding so much more comfortable speaking. Thank you for the video

[@SarahParkMatott]

Thanks! It's definitely getting easier to talk to electronics 😂 Glad you liked the video!

[@chunkyaa6775]

I just got a new board with different curvings for the deck. It feels like learning foot positioning all over again because it is in v shape strongly towards the centre which makes a parallel foot positioning awkward. I feel sometimes, with the amount I push, it isn't worth swapping positions but try to force one anyways. You talked about keeping foot positioning forward if you want to, and that made me question why I even bother swapping to parallel because where I skate it is a complete straight path for several kilometres . There is no need to turn so it makes sense that you can keep your toes forward. I just moved and this is not where I usually skate + new board made me think I needed to force a swap because I had to back when I skated in places which had curves in the road everywhere. Funny enough, this video taught me that I don't have to adjust foot positioning every time. Thanks 👍

[@SarahParkMatott]

that's actually awesome 🙌 the best take away is always make it work for you haha

[@jasonmurkin3364]

Thanks for the video. Super helpful for a 49 year old total beginner 🤘🏻

[@SarahParkMatott]

happy to hear that 💪😃

[@FeatherzMcGraw]

Great video, 20 years since I road a board with any kind of comfort... Still struggling to believe I ever did 🤣. This is the kind of content I need 🤙🔥

[@SarahParkMatott]

ah! That's awesome though. Welcome back to skateboarding 💪 stoked this kind of video can help!

[@joshuahutchings558]

I taught a friend how to ride this summer and I told him to adjust between having his foot parallel on the board when pushing and then across it while riding. He found he was more comfortable putting his foot at a halfway between angle the entire time. I was kind of shocked and then began evaluating whether I knew what I was doing on a skateboard.

[@SarahParkMatott]

haha everyone will feel comfortable doing different things. 😂 That makes a lot of sense to me because that 45 degree angle lets you open your shoulders and face the direction you're rolling in without the foot being parallel to the board. I do it pretty often too.

[@thedarkriver1]

Sarah! I ride goofy and I can't understand as to why my foot want to ride almost above the bolts. I push and push then just glide. When I go to push again I find that my foot has traveled up again. Today I fell hard pushing because my foot was too far forward. I don't understand why I am having to babysit my front foot. Any idea why this is happening?

[@cwbyace]

Yo thanks for this! yesterday i immediately went into doing Ollie’s, obviously that wasn’t a good idea but I ended up learning how (took me 4 hours while holding myself up on a bar) but I couldn’t put it to use because I had no fucking clue how to move properly. after practicing for not even 30 minutes everything felt so much better and smoothier :)

[@hello7795]

How’s your skating now? Sorry for the really late reply, i just started and im curious as to how people improve

[@juliaschweitzer4286]

Hey Sarah, i really enjoy your videos! What kind of setup do you ride?

[@SarahParkMatott]

Hi Julia, I have a few different set ups. In this video I’m riding a 7.75in deck with independent trucks and spitfire formula four tablet wheels. Edit: and thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos 😃

[@juliaschweitzer4286]

@@SarahParkMatott Thanks for your reply. I just re-began skating a few month ago and im trying to continue my childhood's hobby. But i realized being in my 30th and having a fulltime job, i need a lot longer for learning tricks. I like your methodological approach a lot and your trick tipps help me to envisage the motion. So please keep up this great work!

[@juliaschweitzer4286]

@@SarahParkMatott i also ride a 7,75 deck :-) and the size feels comfortable.

[@paulsamuels5637]

Wow Sarah , I just saw you mentioned on an Andy Anderson video! 💪

[@SarahParkMatott]

Wow, no kidding, what video was that? 😳☺️

[@paulsamuels5637]

@@SarahParkMatott it was on Mike Ostermans site. Andy was doing freestyle tricks saying that you should master this stuff before the Ollie and Mike put a link to your 20 beginner tricks video. Very cool. I think Andy is the best all around skater there is.

[@SarahParkMatott]

@@paulsamuels5637 oh yeah, I thought maybe that one. That was a fun one with Andy ☺️ he had that cool skateboard made with roller skates for trucks and wheels.

[@paulsamuels5637]

@@SarahParkMatott that guy can skate anything. Lol I got some time in at 5am and got rained out 😂

[@SarahParkMatott]

@@paulsamuels5637 i know. It’s fun to watch him skate😃 and wow 5am! Too bad you got rained out though

[@PENETR4TE]

You know i’m riding around 9-10 month but i still watching all the “beginners” title i don’t know why. Maybe skatin was super hard😂.

[@SarahParkMatott]

Haha skateboarding is super hard 😂😂

[@Aloockhard]

awesome! thanks for this💕 i had no problems with "pivoting" my front foot on my first day of riding, but i still have big troubles with going fast on my board and stepping off the board starting front foot (i usually step off my board with my back foot first, but i really want to get this cool fluid stepping-off-picking-up-in-the-same-time motion can you please make a video about stepping off the board? 💕🙏 And also how to step or jump off the board while moving fast.. And powerslide or mb exercise for building up skills for getting closer to powerslide. because every video about powerslids usually start with "go really fast..." and this is the problem. i need powerslide especially because i do not want to get really fast, i need them to slow me down while I'm trying to go down the hill and usually i don't even take my board with me when i have a big down-the-hill-road, because i feel like i am going to have holes in my shoe on the bottom of the hill bc of sole-dragging to slow down 😭 basically i need ssome stationary exercises for going fast which is kinda impossible task XD idk whatto do andd how to go fast on skateboard and not die...

[@noobg6908]

you can actually pratice powerslides stationary or with a low speed,you need to have your front foot on top of the bolts and your back foot just put anywhere on the tail,then you need to put almost all your weight on your front foot open your shoulders frontside and push your back foot foward,if you try to do it with some speed you will prob fall foward,so you also need to lean back a lot while going fast,i also recommend you to try to get confortable while riding fast,its scary at first but the more you do it the less scary it gets,smooth concret helps a lot with this

[@Aloockhard]

@@noobg6908 tnx, so is it a kickturn basically? i think for me going fast not as simple as that, because i ride for years now and i just keep chickening out @_@ when it starts speed-wobble i just hate it >_

[@noobg6908]

@@Aloockhard yeah i mean you can think like that,like a nollie kickturn but your wheels are touching the ground the intire time,the best way to really learn this is to pratice it like somethings i say may not work for you so you need to try and try untill something clicks and you get those powerslides on lock,and also i recommend you to tight your trucks to get less speed wooble

[@SarahParkMatott]

Hi there. It definitely is scary to go fast, although I wouldn’t recommend trying to jump off your board while going fast. However, one thing I actually like doing is reverting to slow down. It’s not a complete stop, but dragging your wheels along the ground helps to slow the momentum a bit. And I would also recommend mastering reverts first in general. It has some similarities such as learning to utilize the pockets and drag the wheels. You can use it to slow down while you get more comfortable going faster and faster. You could work on that for a while while getting more comfortable increasing your speed💪

[@thelomlishange823]

I can turn my foot but it ends up going off my board. I have longer feet but i skate a 8.25 how do i keep my feet in a comfortable position once i pivot?

[@90s_HipHop]

I am not sure if its my board length but how do you move both feet so they are on the nose and tail? For example to ride up a kerb.

[@SarahParkMatott]

I would put my weight on my front foot, move the back foot to the tail (freely) and then put a small portion of my weight onto the tail so I can slide (back and forth) my front foot up to the nose! You should be able to do it on any length as long as you have a wide enough stance for it! :)

[@alann5003]

Hi Sarah. I stand regular. Is it normal for my left foot to hurt after pushing for a while?

[@SarahParkMatott]

Did you do much activity before starting to skate? Pain is typically a signal of some sort. And I know I would get tight feet after practice manuals because you end up tightening up the muscles and they aren’t used to it. So, I tried to slow down, make sure I was stretching my feet and legs and trying to take rests so they didn’t hurt. It might be from the left leg trying to stabilize your body. I would look for some stretches and take plenty of rests and see if it gets better or worse.

[@GauravGogoi-ir1nd]

Love uhhhhh

[@burger1113]

So many people on reddit asking how to do this lol now I can just forward this video. I think you didn't touch on the hop method tho. Doing a tiny hippy jump and shift the feet or even the board, i feel it's the quickest and least abrasive(or expensive gear wise) way to shift the feet around. Eventually I'd say it should become more of a quick and tiny squat because hopping tends to look choppy especially when done consecutively.

[@SarahParkMatott]

Yeah, I've heard of this quite a bit. It's interesting. I just personally wouldn't teach a beginner the hop method. Like you said, it gets choppy, but more than that you also aren't really learning other important skills like how to shift your weight around, lift a foot up completely, angle your foot without jumping (as I do think pivoting the foot is faster and easier to balance when you're starting out, though that is case by case). I think hippie jumps are a super underrated and core skate skill in general though and am always recommending them. Big supporter of what's comfortable for the skater too. Wouldn't tell someone not to if that's what was comfortable and wanted to work on.

[@burger1113]

@@SarahParkMatott Makes sense. One can't jump before walking, or shuffling in this case.

[@SarahParkMatott]

haha well, apparently one can 😂 While and after making this, I was surprised to hear how many people do use that hippie jump method so early on! It was interesting. Hippie jumps seem so scary to work on before you're comfortable riding. So, I was surprised. I definitely needed to shuffle before hop 😂

[@ryzen5553]

When i pivot my foot the front of my borad kicks up

[@guiltykaidou1154]

I always loose stability when I try adjust my foot. Any tips?

[@SarahParkMatott]

are you moving a lot with your upper body to make the adjustment? Too much/too strong movement in the hips/upper body could equate to more movement in the board. Depending on direction, it could make the board move back and forth or lead to stepping off the board.

[@TroubleinZION]

Cannot seem to get my back foot to the tail to save my life. Tips welcome.

[@SarahParkMatott]

It's hard to give advice without seeing it...but how do you feel about balancing on a single foot in general? I know that, once I took some intentional time to build up some stability in my foot that stayed on the board, I actually much better at both pushing and adjusting my feet. And I just did it with fake pushing practice--standing on one foot. And then later pushing on the board but making sure all my weight was on that front foot.

[@rasengan37]

I'm watching this vid so that I can learn to ride switch lol

[@SarahParkMatott]

Hope it helps then💪

[@astralaish]

My mind the entire clip: "She is so effin sweet to tell all that!! Ugh!"