Senior citizen skateboarding: I get a Kahuna Big Stick. Love it!

Have you thought about longboarding (riding on a longer, more stable skateboard suitable for geezers like me), but are turned off by the difficulty of balancing on one foot while you push the damn thing to get it going, and then to stop it?

Turn off that turned off.

This senior citizen longboarder has found the solution to your worry. And also mine, because after starting longboarding I realized that pushing and stopping were what I enjoyed the least. 

Until the Kahuna Big Stick entered my life. It basically makes longboarding on land a lot like stand up paddling on a modified surfboard. You keep both feet on the board and use the Big Stick to push and come to a stop (on mild slopes, at least).

Have a look. If it looks pretty easy to do, that's because it is.

 

I got the collapsible version of the Big Stick (so it'd fit in my Mini Cooper) and also the Sk8pole (different brand, for comparison) after I seriously tweaked my right calf while practicing my longboarding on a paved path with a steady slight incline at Salem's Minto Brown Island park. 

I'd longboarded a different path the day before. I was feeling OK until suddenly -- ouch! -- my right leg, which was doing all the pushing, said no more, dude! Also, you're old! (almost 64). True. Often I can't do what I did when I was younger without my body complaining.

So that led me to search for a better pushing technique. Hardly ever using my legs at all, except on the board... yeah, that immediately struck me as an excellent way to not get hurt again. (My calf is still a bit sore.)

I've longboarded with the Kahuna Big Stick four times now, and with the Sk8pole once.

In general I prefer the Big Stick because it has a solid rubber pusher which works well for dragging/stopping. The Sk8pole comes with a "not for stopping" warning because its pusher is more flexible and less substantial. Works great though for pushing.

Now I have a whole different attitude toward longboarding. Using a stick is definitely the way to go for anyone, like me, who is older and/or adverse to balancing on one foot to push and stop. I feel much more secure and confident with the Big Stick.

It's helpful even when not pushing or stopping because it gives me a better sense of balance just cruising along, probably for the same reason a tightrope walker uses a "stick." I'm still learning how to use the Kahuna Big Stick to best advantage. Here's some tips from my experience so far:

(1) If you're new to longboarding, begin by practicing with your board without a stick, as well as with it. If you can push, turn, and stop unaided, you'll be a lot better off when you start doing those things with a stick.

(2) Watch You Tube videos about "stand up paddling" on a longboard before you set out yourself. Learning basic do's and dont's will save you some grief.

(3) Like making the mistake of getting the stick in front of a wheel. I've done this twice when my mind wasn't minding what I was doing. As several videos I've watched demonstrate, what happens is that your longboard stops but you don't. Both times I "ran" off the board forward without falling down. Still, this is something to avoid.

(4) Last practice session, I found that leaning forward on my toes while starting to push on my right side (I ride left foot forward, regular style, so my toes point toward the right) helped me to put the stick down safely to the right of the board, and also to get some rhythmic back and forth pumping action going. When I switched to pushing on my left side, I leaned backward on my heels at the start of each push.

Using a Kahuna Big Stick, or whatever, is great exercise. It makes longboarding into a full body workout if you're doing anything but coasting downhill.

Again, its changed my whole attitude toward longboarding. I feel a lot more confident now trying out new paths/roads. The fear of falling is much reduced since I've got both feet on the board almost all of the time.

Here's a few more Big Stick videos. The first shows basic tips and riding techniques. The second shows what longboarding with a Big Stick is like if you're skilled. (Both videos show the original "wheel" version of the Big Stick; I have the new version of the pusher, which is replaceable, like the first one was.)

 

 

Comments

[Jim Johnson]

Thanks again, Brian, for your investigations into longboarding -- they have inspired me to get my 50+ year old bones rolling around again.

Since I can't stop very well, I look for roads that go down and then up again to let gravity accelerate and decelerate. No major injuries yet.

I'll have to try a push pole like this to get around on other terrain. Good idea.

Hey did you see the new "ultralight" electric vehicles?

Check it out (dude): http://www.boostedboards.com/

[Brian Hines]

Jim, I can't stop very well either. But I sure feel more confident with the Big Stick, because now I can stop without dragging my foot on the ground.

Admittedly, the Big Stick works best to stop on mild downhills. But I'm going to experiment and see how well I can stop on downhills with firmer pressure. I just got two replacement rubber blades, anticipating that I'm going to be wearing down my current one fairly fast by dragging.

But, hey, it's still an inexpensive sport. $25 or whatever for a replacement blade. Even if I went through one a month (which I won't), that's much less than the price of a round of golf, or a snowboard lift ticket.

Also... I wrote the Kahuna folks and asked them to make a video that shows "beyond the basics" for Big Stick users. Like, how to stand up slide and otherwise stop with the Big Stick by means other than dragging it.

I told them that us geezers don't have a bunch of bros hanging around with their own skateboards who can offer style/technique tips. I rely on You Tube, but often those videos are done by dudes who don't explain what they're going, are fifty years younger than me, and already knew how to skateboard before they started longboarding.

[Larry]

Here's a 54 year old chiming in. I went with SK8TPole since it is "multidirectional" meaning both the handle ball on top and bottom push pogo stick hoof tip are always are in position to make a manuever. Whereas the Kahuna Stick was more "unidirectional" meaning it had to be in place like a canoe paddle to work. Awesome fun ! Adds a new dimension to boarding. It turns people's heads to see an dude going at it.

[James Goslin]

Nice to watch the video, It's amazing, Thanks dude

[Best Longboard]

Thanks, Brian, It's amazing!