Everything You Need to Know Before Booking
Everything You Need to Know About Booking Skateboard Lessons in London Got questions about your skateboard lessons in London? Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about our skateboarding lessons: Lesson times and duration: How long is each lesson? Recognising your instructor: How will I know who my instructor is? Safety: What safety measures are in place? What if it rains?: We always have a wet weather location on standby. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to us.
Gerenal
Lesson times and duration
Lessons are available seven days a week, each day from 8am to 9pm. The shortest lesson time available is one hour.
How will I recognise my instructor?
When you have booked your lesson, you will receive a lesson confirmation email with all the details you need. This will include your instructors name and phone number for the day, the equipment you have requested, the time of your lesson and meeting location.
Once at the meeting location your instructor should be easy to spot as they will be wearing one a clearing marked instructor t-shirt, hoodie or jacket as shown below. If you cannot see your instructor, please do give them a call.
Can I book the same instructor for all my lessons?
Yes. We can even set you up with a weekly regular time with your favourite instructor.
What happens if I am running late?
At the time of booking your lesson you will receive a lesson confirmation message including your instructors name and contact details for the day. If you are running late, please inform your instructor accordingly. Your instructor may or may not be able to run over the designated time you have booked.
What happens if it rains?
Don’t worry, you can either move to your nearest sheltered location or contact us up to 48 hours before your lesson to reschedule.
Can I pay the instructor cash on the day?
No. For the safety of our instructors we do not take any cash payments.
Safety when skating
Be honest about your abilities. Do not attempt techniques that are too advanced for you, or that you have not been shown. This may well save you some embarrassment as well as an injury.
When you skate, you learn how to avoid falling and gain the ability to recover from slips, trips and stumbles. This will help you prevent future injuries and is a valuable tool to have in life too.
Rescheduling & Cancelations
You must give at least 48 hours notice if you wish to cancel or re-arrange a booked lesson. Failure to do so will result in your instructor charging you the full amount for that lesson.
Don't have any equipment?
No problem! We can provide helmets, skateboards and pads, free of charge.
Do I have the right equipment?
If you are not sure if you have the right kit, you can ask your instructor’s advice on your lesson or see our advice page. We can also bring a full set of equipment for you just in case, free of charge.
Where is best to practice?
You can find advice on practicing skateboarding on our Advice page and, if you’re looking for skateparks in London, you can find a comprehensive and searchable guide at SkateLDN.
For Parents
Pick up and drop off
When you book your lesson, you will be required to enter the name and phone number of the person that is dropping your child off, and the person that is picking your child up.
Once you have booked your lesson, you will receive a lesson confirmation email including your instructor’s names and the meeting location for the lesson.
Once you have booked your lesson, you will receive a lesson confirmation email with your instructor’s name and phone number for the day, the equipment you have requested, the time of your lesson and meeting location.
Once at the meeting location your instructors should be easy to spot as they will be wearing one a clearing marked instructor t-shirt, hoodie or jacket as shown below. If you cannot see your instructor, please do give them a call.
Once you have arrived at the lesson location, you very welcome to stay and watch the lesson. Or you can leave your child with your instructor and have a bit of ‘me time’.
My child has a learning difficulty
All Skates & Ladders instructors are very experienced teaching aspiring skateboarders with learning difficulties. The most important thing is simply just to let us know.
When you book your lesson, you will be able to note any information that would be helpful to your instructor when teaching your child. We want everyone to have fun and learn in a way that best suits them.
Can I join my child on the lesson and learn to skateboard too?
Absolutely! The world needs more skateboarding mums and dads! Just book your lesson at the same time as your child’s and you’ll be rolling together in the same session. We can even provide all the kit if you need it.
Accident Liability
Skates & Ladders Limited will not accept any liability for any incidents or injuries you encounter during your lesson or when practising the techniques taught during your lesson, nor are we required to provide any form of compensation.
You take part in our lessons at your own risk and therefore accept full responsibility for any injuries sustained during the lesson.
Skateboarding
What will I learn during my first skateboarding lesson?
In your first lesson as a beginner Skateboarder, your instructor will take you through every aspect of finding your stance, learning about your board and safety, learning how to step on and off a board, pushing and turning.
If there are specific skills, aspects and techniques you would like to focus on in your lesson, please let your instructor know as they are always happy help.
Lesson Plan: Beginner to Intermediate
Our beginner’s level plan is a step-by-step guide to your lessons and allows for learning street skateboarding, skatepark or both, helping to build skills, balance and confidence at your own pace, while choosing exactly what you want to learn.
Level 1
- Introduction to skateboarding, equipment and safety
- Stances, stepping on and off the board
- Pushing and riding
- Kick turning and carving
Level 2
- Pop the board into your hands, cavemaning
- Improved stationary kick turns, 180 kick turns
- Improved carving and avoiding obstacles
- Basic balance tricks
- Riding off curbs
- Stopping at speed
Level 3
- Getting up and dropping off curbs
- Advanced balance tricks
- Fakie 180 kick turns, introduction to reverts
- Rolling up/down quarter pipes and banks
- Rolling down small banks
- Fakie 180 kick turns on flatground
Level 4
- Learning to use reverts to avoid obstacles
- Improving reverts and increasing speed
- Introduction to stationary
- Pop-Shuvits
- Kick turns on ramps
- Riding down bigger ramps
- Basic balance tricks on banks
Level 5
- Introduction to power slides
Stationary - Pop-Shuvits
- Introduction to Ollies
- Dropping in on various ramps
- Introduction to intermediate ramp tricks
Level 6
- Improving power slides
- Improving Ollies (stationary/moving)
- Improved Pop-Shuvits (stationary/moving)
- Rock to Fakies and Axle Stalls
- Basic grab tricks
How hard is Skateboarding?
Although it looks quite intimidating at first when you see someone fly past you; it is not as hard as it looks. It’s the simple things like learning to step on and off the board safely, basic foot position and posture that makes a big difference. Like everything else, it is only hard if you do not know how to do it. You are never too clumsy or too unconfident. We guarantee to get you skating, build your confidence and most importantly make sure you have a lot of fun.
Rollerblading
What will I learn during my first rollerblading lesson?
In your first lesson your instructors main aim will be to help you find your feet and get you to start rolling. The next step is to learn how to stop. Once you have these two essential skills under your belt it will then be a case of building your confidence and developing your balance.
Lesson Plan: Beginner to Intermediate
Our beginner’s level plan is a step-by-step guide to help you build skills, balance and confidence at your own pace, while choosing exactly what you want to learn.
Level 1
- Introduction to rollerblading, equipment and safety
- Getting on your feet and learning to roll
- Braking
- Developing balance and learning how to make your first turns
Level 2
- Building up speed and developing your braking skills.
- Working more on basic turning
- Improving skating technique and avoiding obstacles
- Learning other techniques to brake
Level 3
- Learning how to skate backwards
- Learning crossovers and how to turn at speed
- Braking at speed
Rolling off a curb
How hard is Rollerblading?
Learning how to skate is much easier than you think with the hardest part being when you first find your feet. Once you have learnt how to balance and roll it all starts to come naturally and your confidence will quickly grow. Our instructors will help you pick up good technique which will set you up for your skating journey.