I got an e-mail from a reader a while back who says he's been skating for two years now, and he knows how to ollie, heelflip, a really sketchy kickflip, pop shuv it, fakie/nollie bigspin, bs 180 ollie, fakie/nollie heel, and the basic grinds. Pretty great work for two years of skating! But here's his question - he's always pushed mongo. Pushing mongo means that you push with your front foot instead of your back. This reader played a skateboarding video game, and noticed the rider pushing differently, so he tried it and liked it. Now he's a goofy skater, but he has one problem...
He can only do tricks if he pushes mongo...
So what should he do? Has he been pushing wrong all this time? Should he re-teach himself how to push? This is a GREAT question, and if you dig a little there's a bigger question underneath. The question really is, has he been skateboarding "wrong"?
The answer, short and simple, is NO.
If you don't know how to skate, or are pretty new, I would highly recommend that you push your skateboard with your back foot. Pushing mongo usually stunts the skater's learning all kinds of tricks. But if this guy has been pushing mongo for two years, and learned most of the tricks that an average skater dreams about learning, then he wasn't doing it wrong, was he? Skateboarding is ALL ABOUT finding what works for YOU.
And on the other hand, if you are in a similar spot, changing things up isn't wrong either. If you've been skating regular for a few years, and decide to switch it up, then great! Go for it! Pushing yourself and being creative is fun!
- For more, read "Is it OK to Push With My Front Foot?"
Comments
Wow…if every skater dreams of learning that stuff in two years,I must be God!I can do all that(and a clean kickflip to boot!) Plus varialflips,treflips,hardflips,crooked grinds,smith grinds,and a fs 180 ollie(and all those tricks fakie to!).Oh,and I can ollie a 7-set,and a nollie/switch kickflip and heelflip!And I’ve only been skating for two years and two months.And my buddy(who started at the same time)is sponsored!So thanks to this post,I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot more than I thought…so thanks Steve for calling me good(in a way).
All hail the Mong!
I have quite a few Mongo mates and apart from looking a little bit weird when pushing they have skated for years with little or no problems.
Everyone has different ways of doing things so what you should be doing is whatever feels right for you.
It is funny when we go snowboarding though as they insist on going Mongo on the button lifts. This has created a few problems, mostly hilarious. You can see some pictures of Mongo pushers at our web site in the gallery. But, can you tell?