Scott Wagenblast OK, so I'd suggest holding the board so she can jump on it, but trying to get her to paddle in on her own to start with and just emphasise the straight legs, back arched, Oreo Biscuit technique and see how she gets on with it.

If that's not working, then push her in, but hopefully it won't be necessary.

Don't overcomplicate things, eg when you're on the beach teaching her the walk up, just have her lie down, then stand a few feet in front of her and tell her to get up and walk towards you whilst looking at you and she should pick up the technique easily 👍

How old is she? It could make a difference.

When you're starting to walk up, your back knee is sticking out to the side, instead of coming straight forward.

Also, you end up with your hips up, but your head down, all of which tends to look very ungainly.

Look at the Walk up drills and practice that until it becomes muscle memory.

Still, when you do stand up, you're nicely stacked on your front foot 👍

It's the back hand (your coffee cup arm in OMBE training) that's the important one, bring that forward, then point the coffee cup where you want to go.

The most important thing with the front arm is to get it out of your way when you're trying to turn 🙂

Your feet should be at roughly 45 degrees to the stringer (centreline of the board) to help you balance, but also to let you twist and look back at the foam.

For a beginner, that's looking pretty good 👍

I'd suggest the next thing to work on would be to square up your hips and shoulders so your hands are over the rails and lift your elbows so you're stacking on the front foot.

You should find this more stable and, when you want to turn, just point your hands where you want to go.

No idea, but a fantastic coffee cup 👍

Scott Wagenblast Yeah, I've tried various ways of going through the bends, eg coming in on the inside then heading up to the "lip" before dropping down again or staying high on the entry etc, but I've not yet found one that reliably works for me or that I can get the timing right on ☹️

I believe Clay recommends CX trucks, but if you already have C7s I doubt it will be a big issue.

To find your stance length, put a tape measure on the floor and stand on it with your feet together at 45 degrees and the zero mark on the outside of your front foot.

Pivot your back foot 90 degrees on the heel, then 90 degrees on the toe and stack on your front foot, then compress and extend a couple of times and let your back foot move to a comfortable position and record the measurement on the outside of your back foot.

You might like to do this a couple more times just to check.

The "Wheelbase" of a skateboard is the distance between the rear bolts of the front truck and the foremost bolts of the back truck and that should be approximately the same as the length of your stance.

The board should be wide enough that, with your feet at 45 degrees, your toes and heels aren't hanging over the edges and, if you prefer, should have a slight "dish" shape between the edges which helps the feet stay in place.

A nose kicker isn't necessary, but they pretty much all come with a kick tail.

Personally I'd recommend the Carver Triton range which are reasonably priced and have the CX trucks and 89a wheels (fairly soft, good for streets and rougher surfaces), although I swapped mine for 95a Park Wheels which are harder, so a bit faster, but more suited to concrete skate park bowls etc.

Yes, it says they're reopening, but I have to wonder if there will be more disruption ahead with all the legal hassles... 🤔