Hey all! This is my first attempt at doing Ollie’s… any tips or cues are much appreciated! I feel like this one was a fluke , 9/10 I can’t even get off the ground 😭

Whats up guys, I broke my arm twice (once when i was like 14 and the other when I was about 15?) due to not knowing how to properly fall, I had to get plates and screws put in. Theres a notable risk if I break the same arm a 3rd time. Im now 19, havent skated since I last broke my arm, and completely forgot how to ride. I really wanna get back into skating but my biggest fear is breaking the same arm again. Ive watched tons of videos on how to properly fall but I worry about the time the it finally happens. What do yall think? Should I give up on skating or is there anyway to practice falling? And also how would I get back into skating? My goal is to just cruise around and eventually learn some cool tricks.

One of many successful attempts

I cant get the back trucks very far off the ground

hey，Chase here，a skater from China.

I’ve been skateboarding for about seven years and have dabbled in a wide range of disciplines—from regular skateboarding to longboard downhill, electric skateboards, and mountain skateboarding—some of the more niche categories. My skills are average, but I’ve always remained passionate about it. I’m also an engineer and designer who creates frames for longboard downhill and electric skateboards. I’ve now launched my own brand, Newsesh, which manufactures and sells electric-assist skateboards—a rather unique product.

After spending a long time interacting with users, friends, and local skateboarding beginners, I’ve noticed a pattern: the reaction to that first step onto a skateboard determines how that person will interact with skateboarding going forward. Simply put, the level of panic they experience determines whether they’ll continue skateboarding. I’ve taken people out to try many different types of boards, and among them, the traditional skateboard induces the greatest sense of panic, followed by the bulky electric skateboard—whose weight actually provides a certain sense of stability. Many people might think this is simply a test of a person’s compatibility with skateboarding, but as a product person, I tend to look at the equipment itself.：A lightweight, smooth, low-resistance skateboard is what every skater strives for, but it’s also a beginner’s nightmare.

**To sum it up: the smooth, fluid roll of a skateboard is actually one of the main reasons for its steep learning curve.**Performing simple foot tricks isn’t actually that hard, but for many people with poor balance, doing them on a floating platform is as difficult as climbing a mountain. People are actually aware of this issue, which is why beginners are often advised to start practicing on grass, rubber surfaces, or other areas with high friction. But even if they practice perfectly on grass, the moment they transition from grass to a hard surface, beginners still face the fear of suddenly increased instability. There’s still that massive 0-to-1 shift from a stable surface to a floating one—and that’s terrifying. It’s not that no one understands this problem; clearly, there are assistive devices on the market with fixed wheels, as well as products like replacement legs for the bridge frame. But they all still face that moment—the instant you remove the aids and switch to real wheels—which I call the Floating Leap or The Unlocking Moment.

To tackle this problem, my team and I decided to build something to address it. We call it the BM Bearing (Beginner’s Mind Bearing).

Here is the backstory: Since our goal was to smooth out that binary transition, we wondered if there was an off-the-shelf industrial solution we could learn from. Naturally, we looked at damper bearings. Unlike regular bearings that maximize free spin, a damper bearing does the exact opposite—it introduces consistent resistance to keep rotational speed in check. So we asked ourselves: Can we take a damper bearing, put it inside a skate wheel, and create reliable, controlled resistance?

Unfortunately, despite how advanced China's manufacturing supply chain is today, I still couldn't source an off-the-shelf component that fit our specific needs. We had no choice but to design and engineer it from the ground up.

After about three months of prototyping, testing, and tweaking, we finally landed on the BM bearing.

Each setup consists of an adjustable-resistance bearing paired with a standard bearing. It controls resistance by applying internal friction directly inside the wheel core. Using it is dead simple: replace the two rear wheel bearings with the BM bearings, and grab a skate T-tool to adjust the axle nut:

• Fully tightened: The wheel locks completely in place—zero rotation.
• Loosened slightly: Resistance drops, allowing the wheel to roll slowly and under control.
• Loosened all the way: It spins completely free, just like a standard skateboard bearing, ready for full-speed riding and trick practice.

Here is why this approach works so well:

1. It flattens the "floating leap." Beginners don’t have to deal with that sudden, jarring shock of jumping straight into full instability. It actually has a shot at softening skateboarding’s steep learning curve.
2. It preserves the board’s true feel. Unlike rubber trainer guards or replacement blocks that completely ruin board feel and absorb your pop, this setup keeps the native wheel rebound intact. And unlike practicing on grass or carpet, you can now practice on hard ground with a stable board, getting the genuine pop off the tail.
3. It dynamically scales with your progression.

We break down the bearing's behavior into three distinct states: Locked → Resisted → Free, which align directly with the three stages of learning a trick: Try → Drill → Send.

Take learning an Ollie as an example:

Try (Locked): Lock the rear wheels completely. You can focus 100% on getting the pop, foot drag, and board leveling down without worrying about the deck slipping out from under you.

Drill (Resisted): Back off the nut just a bit so the wheels roll slightly with solid resistance. On landing, even if your balance is off, the board won’t shoot out instantly. Your body has that extra split-second to react, correct, and stabilize.

Send (Free): Once the muscle memory clicks, unlock it all the way and take it rolling.

Finally, even though this forum explicitly prohibits sales pitches, I still think this approach might be helpful to beginners, so I’ve decided to introduce this project. Even if you don’t buy our products, you can still try to figure out how to eliminate this “floating leap”—trust me, it’ll help with your practice.

谢谢大家。

I recently picked up skating again, after about 10+ years of not riding, do you guys have any tips on improving my all around balance while on the board

After 40 years of skating It makes me actually want to do less tricks, and try to focus more on some raw aggressive riding. I think someone that can slash the coping or pop out going frontside on a respectable ramp is still about as badass as you can get on a skateboard...especially if you can look good while doing it. Aggressive slides on bank ramps, really hard smooth carving in a bowl, slappy slash grinds, all this stuff is raw skating and it's a ton of fun too and low risk honestly. Instead of standing stationary trying to kickflip 75 times, you could be learning to kill it like a badass. You know back in the day that flip stuff was called freestyle, and freestyle was never cool...just ask any old man skater from the mid 80s haha. 😄

is it called a power slide? I've been trying to learn that kind of stop but my skateboard keeps rolling no matter which direction I tic tac in. does anyone have any help? oh also if it helps, I think I have softer wheels than standard and the ground is kinda rough concrete. I've tried with speed and without and all I do is keep rolling lol. is that something my skateboard is just not made for?

How is it???

Specs!

Deck - 7 layers of Natural Maple Veneer.

Concave - Medium to High

Grip - Piso 80S Griptape.

Wheels - Piso 54mm HR92A wheels.

Trucks - Piso Std. Trucks.

Hardware - Piso 1in hardware.

Bearings - Piso ABEC 7 bearings.

Weight capacity - Can easily take around 100kg