A newbie's quest for pumping wisdom

[Erin Riffel]

Questions about pumping:
1) can you pump the board in a straight line or does it always have to be turning?
2)trucks - how tight - does it matter much?
3) camber in the board - does it help or hinder?
4)tips to help in learning and practicing this technique?
Please enlighten me.
thanks

[Tod Oles]

Erin,

check this out, http://viewtopic.php?t=809

[Wesley Tucker]

Erin,

I kept waiting for someone to step up and address your questions, but other than referring you to Dan's article, the responses have been a bit sparse.

Let's make this simple: "pumping" is nothing more than transferring YOUR STRENGTH into your board as a means of acceleration. Trucks, wheels and decks do nothing to improve your pumping, they only make your pumping more "efficient."

To pump your board is to turn it. So to answer your question, it's really hard to pump in a straight line. Although you can get your pump so tight and repeat it so fast that you zig zag down the street in a nearly straight direction (Does that make sense?)

When you turn, you push. That's a pump. You will go into a turn, push hard with your legs and feet and subsequently accelerate out of the turn. Do that over and over and you're pumping a tight slalom course. Do it with a little more irregularity and you're making a hybrid. Learn to do it between cones spaced far apart and BLAMMO! You're making a Giant Slalom. Simple, huh?

Camber, flex and board length come into play once you learn to pump your board as a means of "controlling" the pump. The grippier the wheels, the harder you can pump without sliding out. Truck tension is a matter of strength. If you have little leg strength, then you might loosen your trucks so as to make the next cone. If you have good leg strength, though, then you can tighten the trucks, push hard and turn sharper and accelerate faster. (See how all this goes together?)

There's a lot of discussion about flex and camber. Some guys race really well on wooden planks that are hard as a rock with no camber. Other guys ride FibreFlexes that are so squishy it feels like a trampoline when you stand on it. Some boards have such a slight amount of camber that it's not noticeable and others ride so high in the middle you get nose bleed. What does it all mean?

Personally, I think flex and camber are more issues related to "control" more than "pumping." Remember, all pumping comes from your legs and strength, not the board you ride. A flexible board, though, compliments the issue of wheels and trucks and make the board more controllable. Think about this: when a board flexes, either up or down, it alters the TURNING RADIUS. This in turns alters the way you can either make or not make the next cone. Sure, there some parameters of slalom where flex does impact your pump, but that's something you learn after riding slalom for a while. Learn to pump before you go up again Chicken or Mollica in a grudge match.

So, here is what I think is a good analogy that might help you understand what pumping is all about:

Your body and legs are your engine. Pumping is the transmission of power from the engine to the road. Wheels, trucks and bearings are the suspension that helps control the power and make it work effectively in getting down the course. Just like a race car. Think of pistons, transmissions and shock absorbers and the concept can be a little clearer. You're the engine, your pump is the transmission and your wheels can either be Goodyears or Avalons, but the results are the same.

Let's review:

1) can you pump the board in a straight line or does it always have to be turning?

You more or less have to zig zag to pump, but you can go from Point "A" to point "B" in a straight line by pumping.

2) trucks - how tight - does it matter much?

The tighter the better, but don't ride so tight you can't turn around a cone and make the course. It matters in that the tighter your suspension, the more power you can transmit to the pavement and go faster.

3) camber in the board - does it help or hinder?

That is a questions that is purely of a personal nature. Ride a flat board and ride a cambered board and decide from experience where you feel the most comfortable. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY where you feel you can make the most improvement in your racing and getting faster.

4) tips to help in learning and practicing this technique?

This is simple: find a wide open stretch of road or parking lot, get a skateboard, push off a couple of times and then wiggle your board while pushing as hard as can through each turn. Do that everyday for the rest of your life. You'll get faster, more comfortable with pumping and eventually dominate your opponent. Oh, and try to find a stretch where you can pump "cross country." Maybe do laps in a parking lot or a long straight running trail. Someplace where you can turn, pump, coast, turn, pump, turn, pump, pump pump, pump. The more you do it, the stronger you'll get. And strength is what it's all about.

[Jack Quarantillo]

So, here is what I think is a good analogy that might help you understand what pumping is all about:

Your body and legs are your engine. Pumping is the transmission of power from the engine to the road. Wheels, trucks and bearings are the suspension that helps control the power and make it work effectively in getting down the course. Just like a race car. Think of pistons, transmissions and shock absorbers and the concept can be a little clearer. You're the engine, your pump is the transmission and your wheels can either be Goodyears or Avalons, but the results are the same.

Excellent analogy, Wesley (hopefully Erin is a gear head )

Q

[Erin Riffel]

Wesley, that was Very useful. Thanks for taking the time to explain pumping in terms that an ordinary mortal can understand!

[Adam Trahan]

Questions about pumping:
1) can you pump the board in a straight line or does it always have to be turning?
2)trucks - how tight - does it matter much?
3) camber in the board - does it help or hinder?
4)tips to help in learning and practicing this technique?
Please enlighten me.
thanks

Hello Erin,

Thanks for asking the question, I think you are in a good spot to extract information from a skilled set of skateboarders.

I'll try to answer your questions in number. It's early, so I will probably get to only a couple before I have to go to work. I will answer all of them eventually.

1) can you pump the board in a straight line or does it always have to be turning?

ANSWER: Yes, you can pump the board in a straight line. This is not a typical response for standard slalom disciplines though. It's more in a downhill giant slalom mode. Here in Arizona, we have hills, BIG hills, all sorts of twists and turns, level spots and short ups and long downs. If I am in a tuck, and there is a level section and then a big downhill grade after, I will slightly lift from my tuck before the break down and then compress on the downslope. This keeps me "weighted" as I pass the break in the hill instead of getting "light" and it keeps me conected to the road. I have tried and tried to "weight and un-weight" in many different fashions and to put it plainly, the best that I can come up with to increase speed in a straight line is to simply tuck tight, find the most aerodynamic position and then STICK TO IT given everything is uniform. More information can be found in ski racing books.

2)trucks - how tight - does it matter much?

ANSWER: As tight as possible to a certain degree. The Carrasco's taught me to tighten my back truck first and to "tighten" my stomach muscles as I "jab" the board with pumping motion. I use a Seismic up front and a TTC in the back. This is an awesome combo. I got the suggestion from Gilmour and Kirby, two very knowledgable racers along with the Carrasco's. The faster that you can go, the tighter the trucks can be, back more tight and just how tight is a personal choice depending on your comfort level in turning at speed.

3) camber in the board - does it help or hinder?

ANSWER: It helps if the board has flex. A board with ROCKER ala the old Z-Flex's with NO FLEX are really good pumping boards. My Roe "Unlimited" with it's camber and stiff flex is my absolutely favorite pumping board set up with the before mentioned truck set up. I have made some goofy boards that looked really weird but you could really extract speed from them to a certain degree. A 36" flat board with Bennetts, Road Rider 6's up front, 4's in back, trucks so loose you could shake them rattle silly. That board would "SLASH PUMP" and was awesome for surfing the sidewalk or bank surfing. Another was a 27" Z-Flex rocker will very little flex, split axle Gullwings and Road Rider 4's. That board I could get up to a comfortable speed quickly and maintain it all day. My Roe is my favorite of all time though, great board.

4)tips to help in learning and practicing this technique?
Please enlighten me.
thanks

ANSWER: Practice with what you have. There is nothing better than having a mentor to coach you. Find someone here at this web site to help as you have done or are doing. Practice Listen to them when they tell you tips for your own technique. Ski racing books can help, goto the library or a used book store and search around. Practice Watch a race. Buy "This is NOT Skateboarding" the video or some of K.Mollica's racing video's and attend races in your area. Practice Be pro-active here and at other slalom skateboard web sites. Practice Let us know what sort of board set up you have. Some board set ups will steal your energy, hopefully you are in the ball park. Practice Take Dan Gesmer's article and study it, check Wesley's response, there is good technique tips in his answer. Practice

Looks like I got to them all. Sorry about being so sharp with you before. I have been personally "thrashed online" so much lately that I am a little edgy. You are really seeking it, not rattling my cage and again, I apologize.

When you get up to speed, bring back that knowledge you have learned and share it here with us will you?

adam

[Dave Gale]

What Adam speaks of is known as "pre jump" also! In skiing it is a means to keep the greatest amount of weight on the slope!
One thing to add to Wesley's post, that (not to be sexist) is that most females I see "pumping" don't get a whole lot of upper body input.. You'll find with time and practice, that if you can get a rythym starting from the shoulder area.and transmitting that motion in a downward and forward motion. That you will increase the energy input to the board! It's all about timing, be it full counts/half counts/double counts etc.. (that's where the control comes in) A good double or even triple pump between cones is a fine work of timing and rythym..Find yourself a nice flat smooth surface, so that you can witness and feel your productivity and efficiency, then apply it to a hill situation! You will soon learn to break the rythym and be able to see how you can decellerate vs accelerate!! I'd suggest trying this w/o cones, unless you can set a course w/ a nice flow to it!
Practice Practice Practice...Then it's 2nd nature

[John Gilmour]

As I post this I am wasted on pain killers... (from surgery)

Though like any artist from the 1960's occassionally a vision hits home while wasted.

It occurs to me that in order to learn how to pump you have to get some sort of rhythmic motion going before any speed is generated...and as speed begins to be generated you have to increase the frequency ie...do more of the same movement in a shorter peiod of time both intensifying the movement and also making the length of the twist or bounce shorter...

So some advice whilst I lay flat on my back straining my neck looking at this screen.

If you have a flexible longboard learn to bounce on your turns to get the board to pump.

Bouncing works better on longer decks.

If you have a very short board like 27 inches or shorter with a small wheelbase and very turny trucks....you must concentrate on twisting instead of bouncing. Twisting your torso while turning on a short deck will quickly generate speed as bouncing on a longer deck whilst turning will as well.


IF you read some of the pumping articles some things just won't work with some gear. If you have a long board and you are trying to tic tac your way to pumping.....it won't really happen....nor will bouncing on a short Logan Earth ski with Bennetts.

Figure out what you ahve to work with, what you are better at doing (Twisting likely for lighter guys) (bouncing for heavier guys) and get on the gear that will help you master at least one aspect of the pump so you can maintain your speed.

After you can maintain your speed you can start trying to add new techniques to your pump...ie pumping in circles, isolating different parts of your body to pump... foot position relative to speed etc....


Good luck --- use the gear that rewards your best skills. After gettting as many fast gains from your strong suits, then work on the harder stuff for you.

[Dave Gale]

Hey John,
That's basically what I said...'cept the equiptment part!! Hope your feelin' no pain and on the mend!!
Dave C