Skate Goofy Or Regular: How to Find Your Skating Stance?

Skate Goofy Or Regular: How To Find Your Perfect Stance?

One thing I know about skateboarding is that you must undergo some obstacles before you master the sport. Knowing your skating stance is the most critical aspect of learning to skateboard.

The primary factor in determining your posture is your footedness, i.e., which foot is your dominant foot. While skating, your posture is defined by which foot is in front of the other. The skate goofy or regular stances are the two types of stances.

Learning your skate stance helps you master skateboarding or any other board game more quickly. No stance is better than the other. It all comes down to what feels comfortable to you when standing on a skateboard.

What is a goofy stance?


A goofy stance is when a skateboarder skates with their right foot in front of the board and their left foot behind it. This stance has been labeled “goofy” after the Disney cartoon character “Goofy,” who rides a surfboard with his right foot on the nose of the board.                  

What is a goofy stance?

It is not the conventional way to ride a skateboard. A skate goofy stance indicates that the back foot is the skateboarder’s dominant foot. The rear foot stabilizes and controls the board. The goofy stance is not widely used, but some individuals use it.

What is a regular stance?


A regular stance is the exact opposite of a goofy stance. The left foot is in front of the right foot in this stance. It is the most widely recognized skateboarding stance. The left foot is placed on the board’s nose, while the right foot is placed on the tail.

What is a regular stance?

The dominant foot, in this case, is the right foot, which controls the board. Regular vs. goofy skateboard stances have been the subject of intense debate. Arguably, no stance is superior to the other.

Your stance depends entirely on your comfort level while standing or riding the board.

Goofy vs regular: What are the differences?


The differences between skateboard goofy vs regular solely depend on how you place your feet and what direction you are facing. Let us take a look at some of them.

I. Foot Domination

For a regular stance, the dominant foot is the right one, and this foot is placed on the tail of the board for stability. The foot at the back of the board should be able to support your body weight and control the turns of a skateboard.

The goofy stance is the exact opposite. The left foot is in the back, and the right is on the nose of the board. Here, the dominant foot is the left one.

However, some people can use both stances with great stability, which gives them more credit among onlookers or their peers.

When a rider skates goofy, they face left, and with a regular stance, the rider faces right.

II. Some are differences 

In some cases, you might find that right-handed people also have a dominant right foot. As with the left-handed ones, this might help you determine whether you have a goofy or regular stance.

However, it is not always that a goofy skater has a dominant left hand or a regular skater has a dominant right hand.

I recommend choosing a comfortable stance regardless of whether you are right or left-handed.

How to Find out Your Stance (goofy or regular)?


There are a few ways of knowing your natural stance. I recommend trying both the regular and goofy stance to know which works best for you.

How to Find out Your Stance (goofy or regular)?

01. Often practice regular and goofy.

I suggest practicing regular and goofy to know how either stance feels under your feet. Why? Because your body stability has a preference for what stance works best for you.

In addition, you learn things more quickly and feel more confident if you use the most natural stance for your body. Determine what feels comfortable by riding in both directions.

Experiment with which foot feels better on the board and which feels better when pushing the board.                                   

02. Understand Your Dominant Foot

Knowing your dominant foot can sometimes help you know what stance works best for you. This is also referred to as “footedness,” which refers to which foot you prefer in the nose of your board or for any activity such as kicking a ball or balancing one leg.

It has the same concept as having a dominant hand but with the foot. Again, your dominant foot does not have to determine your stance; I recommend that you gravitate to the stance that comes naturally to you.

03. Run And Slide

This method is the easiest and the most fun. Find a smooth wooden or tile floor with adequate space and simply run and slide while wearing socks. The foot in front during your slide indicates the foot that should be in front of your skateboard stance.

04. Ask A Friend To Push You From Behind

Close your eyes, stand with your feet close together and ask your friend to push you from behind gently. The push should be done randomly so that you can’t anticipate when the push is coming.

Ask A Friend To Push You From Behind

The push should be strong enough to make you react. You will experience a sensation of falling, and one of your feet will attempt to balance you to prevent you from falling.

The foot you instinctively catch yourself with is your dominant foot, and it should be positioned on the board’s tail for stability. I recommend using safety gear like kneepads in case you don’t manage to brace yourself from falling.

05. Stand At The Bottom Of A Staircase

Attempt walking normally up a staircase. The foot you use to take your first step is your dominant foot. Try this a couple of times to confirm the first result.

If the first result was right, you should place your foot at the back of your skateboard.

06. Kick A Ball With A One-By-One Leg

Try kicking a ball, and the foot you instinctively kick the ball with is likely your dominant foot. Try riding regularly on your skateboard if you use the right foot to kick the ball.

Repeat with a goofy stance to confirm which is more comfortable. If a regular stance was more natural, that is your skateboard stance. 

07. Stand On The Board And Ask Someone To Roll You

Ask someone to roll you in the direction of your dominant foot. Ride for 5-10 minutes before switching directions. Stick with the first result if it is more comfortable. If not, stick to the alternative.

Stand On The Board And Ask Someone To Roll You

08. Feel How Your Dominant Foot Performs

Now that you have identified your dominant foot test it out by riding the skateboard on your own without the help of a friend. I suggest wearing protective gear just in case you fall off.

Place your dominant foot on the tail of your board and then roll for a few minutes. I recommend rolling with the other foot, just to compare both results.

Pick the stance that feels most comfortable.

09. Stick To Your Confirmed Stance

I suggest sticking to your confirmed stance; this makes it very easy to learn how to skateboard. If you feel comfortable with the stance, stick to it when learning to roll on the skateboard.

10. Continue Till Stabling Your Riding Stance

Start by placing your front foot on the nose of the board and lightly pushing the board with your dominant foot. Then lift your dominant foot and place it behind your front foot, letting the board roll on its own for a while.

It might feel uncomfortable initially, but once you get used to it and perfect your stability, riding becomes easier and more fun.

11. Get Comfortable When Pushing Off

Now that you have established whether you are a regular or goofy skater and your dominant stance is stable, it is time to practice pushing off when the board stops. After pushing off for the first time, take small pushes when the board feels stable and loses speed.

I suggest doing this a couple of times, then start taking longer pushes, making your board gain more speed.

12. Avoid Being A Mongo Foot

Being a mongo foot means using the foot that should be on the board as your dominant foot, i.e., to push off the ground. As a newbie, it feels more natural to do that, but being a mongo foot makes it hard to do skateboard tricks, and your stability may fumble.

I suggest sticking to your natural stance and mastering it before trying other stances.

How To Determine Your Stance On Other Boards?


Besides being comfortable and stable, the type of board you are riding on may require a specific stance from another board.

A. Longboard

Like on a skateboard, to determine your stance on a longboard, you must first identify your dominant foot.

Generally, your natural stance cuts across all board sports, but for longboarding, we look at additional factors such as the angle of your shoulders and hips, the bending in your knees, and the lean of your torso.

How To Determine Your Stance (Goofy Or Regular) On Other Boards?

To determine your dominant foot, use tips such as having a friend push you and noticing which leg you use to keep balance or climbing a flight of stairs to see which foot instinctively goes forward first.

When you are certain of your dominant foot, test it on your longboard to see if it is comfortable. If it is, that is your longboard stance, which can be goofy or regular.

B. Snowboard

Snowboarding is also another type of board sport. So you need to identify your dominant foot through tactics such as sliding on a wooden floor or climbing upstairs.

Once you identify your dominant foot, it is easy to experiment with which stance best suits you and stick to it.

FAQs Regarding Skate Goofy Vs. Regular


Q. What Are You? Goofy Or Regular?

Answer: You are goofy if you ride with your right foot in front while your left foot controls your board’s stability. A regular skater is the opposite; they control the board with their right foot while their left foot is in front.

I suggest you weigh the difference between a regular vs goofy skateboard and decide what works for you. It is also possible to be equally good at both.

Q. Is It Better To Skate Goofy Or Regular?

Answer: No stance is better than the other. It depends on the skater’s comfortability and stability when doing either stance.

Q. Why Are So Many Skaters Goofy?

Answer: Many goofy skaters are mostly left-handed people who have dominant left feet. However, this isn’t always the case. Some right-handed people prefer skating goofy rather than regular. People gravitate to the stance that feels most comfortable.

Q. Is Tony Hawk Goofy-Footed?

Answer: Yes, the popular skateboarder Tony Hawk is goofy-footed. He skates with his left leg at the back of the skateboard.

Q. Is goofy stance rare?

Answer: Yes. Goofy stance has been rare for a long time. Goofy was considered unconventional and was only thought to be done by left-handed people. However, in the millennial age, people have embraced goofy stances even if they are right-handed. So the misconception about handedness affecting your stance is proven untrue.

Q. How Common Is A Goofy Stance?

Answer: The Goofy stance is used by 28% of the skater population, so it is not very common. The regular stance is more popular and the most standard one.

Q. Can You Skate Goofy And Surf Regularly?

Answer: It is possible to skate goofy and surf using a regular stance, as long as you are conversant with both stances. As I said earlier, your stance depends on your comfort when standing on the board.

Some riders may feel comfortable and stable when they skate goofy, but when it comes to surfing, they might prefer surfing regularly.

Wrapping Up


As we have seen, there are several ways of determining whether you are a skate goofy or a regular skateboarder. Simply find a stance that is natural and comfortable for you.

Remember to wear protective gear when applying tactics such as sliding or being pushed by a friend and trying out your newly found stance. No stance is better than the other.

They are both equally efficient. It is just a matter of preference. I hope this article was helpful and all the best when trying your stance.

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