Is It OK to Push a Skateboard With My Front Foot (Mongo)?

Most skaters push their skateboards with their back foot, but sometimes skaters find it easier to push with their front foot instead. This is called pushing "mongo."

Pushing Mongo Is OK...Sometimes

Pushing mongo is all right for some skateboarders, but it's a bad habit if you plan to learn technical flip tricks. It's tough to say that pushing mongo is "wrong"  because there's not a right or wrong way to skate, and if it works for you, you should enjoy it.

Plus, you can be a big-name skater and push mongo— legendary skater Bill Danforth does. Some other well-known skaters also switch between normal and mongo, including Jacob Vance, Stevie Williams, and Eric Koston. So, if it's working for you, then go for it.

Reasons Against Mongo

If you are unsure whether to go mongo, don't. It's usually better to push with your back foot. If you are just learning to skate, this is a good time to re-learn to push with your back foot. Pushing "mongo" can get in your way, meaning you might have to shuffle your feet around before doing technical tricks. Here are some more reasons to avoid mongo:

• It's harder to steady and control your skateboard.
• It looks funny, and you'll probably have to put up with some teasing from other skaters.
• You won't be able to get as much speed.
• Your weight distribution will be off.

Argument for Mongo

If you have been pushing mongo for a long time, it can be a little more tricky to decide if you should switch to pushing with your back foot. There's nothing wrong with pushing with your front foot. At all. If you've already pushed with your front foot for a long time and it's not getting in your way, then why not stick with it? Here are some reasons to stay with mongo pushing:

• Skateboarding is about freedom of expression and creativity. What's more creative than mongo?
• It just feels right for some skaters, just as a goofy stance feels right for some.
• It's useful in performing certain tricks.

Pushing Mongo Tricks

Pushing mongo can be more than OK. That push with the front foot can spur some way-cool tricks, such as:

• The straight no-comply is really just a mongo push on steroids, and it has style.
• With a pre-grab, a mongo push becomes a powerful boneless one.
• Madonna air is simply a combination of a mongo push with a grab in the air. But there's nothing simple about this trick.