Skateboard Sense (1976)

[Music] a [Music] there's no way to avoid falling if you ride a skateboard but if you know how to fall and are wearing the proper safety gear you can fall on asphalt and concrete and not get hurt hi there my name is Tom padaka I'm the executive director of the proam skateboard RAC Association what we're doing here today is to brief you on safety equipment such as the gloves the arm pads the knee pads the shoes and the helmet the helmet is by far the most important piece of equipment because your head is the most important part of your body then your elbows and your knees being that your elbows and your knees are the least protected parts of your body it's only natural to have some type of safety equipment on them it also helps you break the fall by wearing the safety apparel I have more confidence I can do more tricks I can go [Music] faster without your safety equipment on the story usually goes like this you're going to think you're a real hot shot get out there and start going fast fall on and hurtt your knee oh then you can get up fall down and hurt your hand ooh then you're going to pick yourself up and sooner or later you're going to run into a pedestrian [Music] then you probably hit your head and that's really dangerous and if you're lucky you'll pick yourself up again start skating down the street this is the way it usually goes and it really isn't that much fun to fall on and get her all the time and everybody will [Music] you doesn't have to be this way at all if you're wearing safety gear like we're wearing you are protected if you have your glove on your hands are protected [Music] with your elbow pads your elbows are protected and won't get hurt with a knee pad your knees are protected in the same [Music] way even if you don't have all this equipment you should at least have something even if it's a pair of gardening gloves or some arm pads or knee pads you make yourself by riding with this type of safety equipment you can ride better and faster without the fear of getting all scraped up [Music] for safe skateboarding you always want to check your skateboard before you start skating every day it's a good practice to get into the most important things to check for are your wheels make sure that the cone nuts and the lock washers and the nuts that hold the wheel onto the board are always tight making sure that your trucks are tight they're not too loose for the situation that you're in if it's a steep hill you always want to have your trucks tight because you'll get speed wobbles you must always check the nuts and bolts that hold the truck to the board because if you lose one of those nuts chances are you're going to fall down and really hurt yourself okay now that you got your skateboard tightened up tuned in the next thing to do is look for a good good skateboarding spot crowded streets just aren't the place to ride I mean you can't have any fun skateboarding with crowded streets there's just too much in the way like pedestrians cars parking meters sooner or later you're going to run into something or someone [Music] [Applause] [Music] so why go to all the trouble of skating on the street when you can find yourself a nice smooth area enclosed with no traffic no pedestrians an area where you can concentrate some place like this where you have Banks you have Flatlands you have downhills you don't have to worry about the pedestrians the parking meters the cars now this is fun skateboarding [Music] oh [Music] you're always going to fall if you're a skateboarder but if you know how to fall properly and are aware of the forces you can avoid getting seriously hurt so what I'd like to do with you right now is explain the impact forces of the fall now when you take a fall you want to always turn your head away from the fall you want to absorb the impact on the meaty parts of your body being your upper arm the big muscles in your arm your thigh your calf and then down into your foot this is the correct way to absorb the impact of a fall if you feel that your trucks are starting to Wobble the first thing you want to do is to lower your center of gravity relax and if you have to fall just turn your head away from the fall [Music] so once again skateboarders what you want to do is to get your tennis shoes the proper safety equipment make sure your board is in good condition stay off the streets avoid pedestrians on the sidewalks have a good time oh [Music]