How to Powerslide on a Skateboard (Video and Images)

There are many ways to brake on a skateboard, but the powerslide is definitely the coolest one. Knowing how to do a powerslide can help you in many situations; it is a fast way to brake without taking your foot off the board, and that can give you enough time to avoid a crash.

Your skateboard lines will also look a lot cleaner if you use a powerslide instead of the foot brake. The powerslide has many variations, and they are used in different scenarios. If you angle the powerslide, you can drift toward a direction while braking. You need to use different variations depending on where you are facing and where you want to turn.

The powerslide is a trick you can learn within one skate session, but you should be prepared to fall a few times. If you start with low speed, you won't hurt yourself, but it is much easier to powerslide when you go faster. Skateboard power sliding is a lot easier since it has smaller harder wheels.

It will be easy to powerslide after you know how it feels, so let's take a look at how to powerslide with a skateboard.

Frontside Powerslide

Frontside powerslide is usually the first powerslide variation you learn. You do a frontside powerslide when you push the tail forward with your back foot so that you slide on all four wheels. It is an excellent way to brake if you downhill skateboard or if you want more options.

It is possible to learn the f/s power slide quickly, but there is a chance of hurting yourself since you need a decent amount of speed. Having a good balance will help a lot, but you can master this trick and how to balance over time. You should learn to tic tac if you want to avoid injuries; there will be many occasions where you will need it to stay on the board while practicing.

How to Powerslide

Keep your front foot on the hardware and your back foot on the tail. The front of your heel should be on the edge of the board so you can slide it forward more easily. When you start the powerslide, you have more weight on your front foot to make rotating with your back foot easier.

You need to turn your body forward when you have enough speed for the power slide; it becomes much easier if you crouch down and stand up while doing it since there will be less weight on the board.

Remember to keep the pressure on your front foot to stop the rotation when facing forward.

Stay in the Balance Point

It is important that you mostly stay static while sliding if you want to last. If you Lean too much backward, you will fall on your butt, but if you lean forward, you won't slide at all. It will feel natural to stay in the sideways position after a few attempts.

You want to lean slightly backward while powersliding to stay in the sweet spot. Stop the powerslide if you feel yourself falling too much backward, and start to tic tac if you fall forward. It will only work to tic-tac if you have a relatively low speed.

Keep your body weight in the center of the board as you normally would while skating.

Head and body position

You should lean your head forwards while sliding to remain in control. You will fall backward if you open your body fully, so keep the front side of your board a little bit ahead of the backside and have to keep your body twisted. Your arms should face the opposite way that you are turning.

How to Finish the Powerslide

You have two options when you finish a powerslide; you can either hold it until you stop or revert to the normal rolling position.

You need to put less pressure on your back foot if you want to continue rolling after a powerslide. You will automatically snap back into the regular position and continue rolling.

How to practice powersliding

It is sketchy to try your first powerslide, but you don't need to make them long for it to count. You should count it as long as you hear the powerslide noise while being somewhat sideways.

Find the Right Flat Ground

It is much easier to powerslide on smooth ground, so start out on concrete, wood, or other smooth ground. It is possible to learn it on asphalt, but you have a much higher chance of falling.

Powersliding works best when you are skating downhill, but you should learn it on flat ground before you try it downhill.

Flat Spots

The biggest downside to powersliding is that your wheels will develop flat spots. It will take longer to develop if you have hard wheels, but you will eventually get it if you keep sliding. It will also be easier to powerslide with hard wheels since there is less friction.

Flat spots are exactly what they sound like; spots on your wheels have become flat from sliding on the same spot. It will become uncomfortable to ride your board if the spots get too large; this will also make your board go slower.

Flat spots shouldn't stop you from doing powerslides; it takes a long time for them to appear, and you delay the wear down on your shoes by braking with your wheels. You develop flat spots faster if you have soft wheels, so slide less with cruiser wheels if you want to avoid getting flat wheels.

Protective Gear

It is easy to fall and hurt yourself while powersliding, so make sure that you use protection, at least when you start practicing it.

It is especially important to use wrist guards since it's easy to fall on your wrists while practicing. It is most important to use a helmet, but you are much more likely to hurt your wrists.

You should at least use it while practicing new tricks if you usually don't wear safety equipment. You fall much more when practicing new tricks, so stay safe and avoid permanent injuries.

Conclusion

You can use Powersliding as an alternative for braking; you can also powerslide to make your lines look cleaner. It is a great trick to learn before moving to more advanced tricks.

You won't be able to powerslide if you don't have enough speed, so make sure you have a large flat area to practice. It will help to know how to tic-tac if you want to continue rolling forward after stopping.

Remember to use safety gear while practicing; you usually fall a lot while trying something new, so you can extend your sessions by protecting yourself.

Start by practicing at low speed and speed up as you get more control. You can't slide for long with low speed, but you can learn the motion. Powersliding is the fastest and coolest way to brake so have fun learning it.