Longboard freestyle – the basic forward railride
January 24, 2008
In this article, we will learn to ‘pull’ the basic, forward railride. We sailboarders are lucky. The wind Gods - or the Gods of wind, if you will - have given us windsurfing, and for longboards, they’ve given us the possibility to railride. [Read more]
Longboard freestyle or the art of fun windsurfing
January 7, 2008
Why freestyle? Simple: freestyle is fun, and I want to share this with you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s longboard or short board, beginner stuff or advanced - there’s nothing more delightful than seeing someone try new moves, try to improve, and just have fun. To see their face when it works for the first time, and having them going out for more (in my case, for more punishment!).
Longboard freestyle - generalities & terminology
December 6, 2007
This article is a mish-mash of general advice and thinking around freestyle and practicing freestyle. There is no one-shot, magic tip that will make all tricks easier to learn. Freestyle is an attitude as much as skills. If freestyle was pure skills, I just wouldn’t be here, that’s for sure. Learning a new move is all in the approach, the forethought, the perseverance, the will to perform, the visualization, and so on. [Read more]
Longboard freestyle - on the railride (rail ride)
November 19, 2007
This is an article on railriding in general. Further articles will address the different railrides, one at a time. This is special enough a move that it deserves its own introduction.
Railrides is half the specialty for competitive-level longboard freestyling, if there was one. Railriding is more advanced freestyle, but it’s not incredibly difficult either. After all, in the 80s a fair portion of the sailors could do it, and even non-freestyle racer friends could pull at least the basic railride. You can still see on the Internet the railride being ridden on modern Konas and Starboards, for instance. So I must not have dreamt it…