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How to Drop In

As a beginner, dropping into a ramp on a skateboard is one of the scariest – and funnest – things you can try. It’s a rite of passage in the Great Journey Of Skateboarding that every skater needs to learn.

Dropping in may be scary at first, but it’s also very easy. Do it a couple of times and you’ll be wondering what you were ever worried about!

The two things to remember are:

  • Dropping in is really easy, and you are going to make it.
  • If you don’t commit, you’ll slam and it will hurt. So commit!!!

Find a nice small quarter, bowl or miniramp to start with. Wood hurts less than concrete, and if you do slam you will land on your bum, elbows and maybe head – so if you have any protection, put it on. However, if you just commit 100% first time, there’s no reason to ever crash doing this at all. It’s that easy!

Any board with a kicktail will be perfect for this, we recommend a shorter regular shaped skateboard for all transition skating.

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Get Ready

Drop your tail onto the coping, placing your back foot on the tail. Make sure that your back truck is slammed against the coping.

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Foot on the nose

Keeping your weight back on your back foot (over the deck, on the tail of the board), place your front foot on or just behind your front truck bolts. You should be able to stand like this indefinitely – but don’t psyche yourself out, and don’t hog the ramp! Stay relaxed and stoked.

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Commit and Lean In

Move your weight forward into the ramp, and onto your front foot. Commit with your whole body weight, keep looking down and ahead. It’s really important to commit 100% here – if you lean back you will fall off the back of the board and land on your arse!

This feels scary the first few times but after a couple of goes you’ll be wondering what the fuss is all about.

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Look where you're going

As your weight moves over the front truck, you’ll feel the tail lift up and come off the coping. Stay committed and step through your front truck. Keep looking down and forward where you want to go.

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Front Wheels Down

Keep your weight forward over the nose of your board and ride it down the transition. Keep your knees slightly bent and your posture relaxed. If you’re in a miniramp or bowl, start looking at the opposite coping, ready for your first trick.

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Ride Away Clean

Congratulations, you just dropped in on a skateboard! Stay tuned for the next move…

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Next Steps

Do this repeatedly until it isn’t scary anymore – which should only take a few goes. Finding a bigger ramp to drop in on is obviously the next thing to do. If you’ve learned to drop in to a bowl or miniramp, try doing a kickturn straight after dropping in.

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Try these setups...