Everyone has seen her videos, whether they saw it on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or elsewhere… Ko Hyojoo is the viral longboard dancing sensation.
Hyojoo elevates something that is frequently seen as criminal by older generations to an art form, and in turn, she discovered who she was through the art of longboard dancing.
She met with the YouTube channel Asian Boss to share a bit about her experience, as well as to share her knowledge on longboard dancing.
Her interviewer was Jasper who, after a warm greeting, cuts straight to the point and inquires as to how she initially became famous.
Hyojoo shared that she was curious as to how she looked when she longboarded, which led her to set up a rig to film herself.
As she continued to film herself, she would upload the footage to social media.
Eventually, she revealed, a foreign media company wrote a story about her longboard dancing and that’s when she really began to get noticed globally.
She believes that was the beginning of her boom in popularity.
When asked about what it was like longboarding for the first time, she replied that she actually picked up the hobby as a way to release stress from work.
In fact, longboarding was a way for her to release all the stress within her.
Jasper asks Hyojoo to explain the difference between longboarding and skateboarding…
…To which she explains skateboards are a bit shorter than longboards and are more commonly seen in skateparks.
She goes on to explain that there are three different styles you can do on the longboard: downhill, freeride, and freestyle.
What she does, longboard dancing falls under freestyle.
When she longboard dances, she pays particular attention to the shape of her body and the way it moves.
With that in mind, she’s conscious of how she moves her arms and legs to make the motions appear more like dancing.
Jasper admits to not being very athletic but says that Hyojoo’s passion for the sport got him excited about it and asked whether she would be interested in teaching him, to which she says yes.
Thanks to Jasper’s tenacity and Hyojoo’s willingness to teach him, we can all learn how to longboard dance from the person who set the standard.
Step 1: When learning how to longboard, you need to know how to find your stance, how to push off, do a foot brake, carve, and then some steps.
Step 2: Find your stance.
People are either regular (right foot lead) or goofy (left foot lead). You can usually tell based on comfort level…
…However, Hyojoo shares that there’s a secret method her friend revealed to her to learn whether you’re truly regular or goofy.
Now that Jasper knows his stance, he can proceed with learning where to put his feet.
Step 3: Push off!
Once you’ve pushed off, remember not to lean backward for the sake of balance.
Step 4: Foot brake to stop.
Learning how to go is great, but learning how to stop is equally (if not more) important. Foot braking is as easy as it sounds… Use your foot to stop yourself.
Step 5: Carving.
Carving is about knowing how to shift your body and using your weight to move the board.
Hyojoo recommends pretending you’re drawing a figure eight with your body to get the motion down.
It takes some practice, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t do it the first time!
A considerate and thoughtful teacher, Hyojoo gives us a visual example of what carving should look like:
Jasper, on the other hand, is all of us:
Moving on, with the basics now covered, Hyojoo teaches Jasper how to “step 180”.
Additionally, she shows him how to do it from a goofy stance as well.
This is Hyojoo’s epic step 180:
And this is Jasper’s:
Hyojoo observes that Jasper tends to fall because he leans back, which he can avoid if he shifts his weight forward just a little bit.
If, like Jasper, you haven’t nailed the steps to longboard dancing right away, don’t feel bad. Hyojoo shared that in the beginning, she practiced until her body couldn’t take it anymore.
She’s even been injured many times while practicing her longboarding! Although, thankfully, none of her injuries were serious.
If you decide to continue practicing what Jasper learned from Hyojoo, we encourage to you invest in protective gear to reduce your risk of injury. Additionally, if and when you fall, be sure to fall safely. If you lose your balance, your best bet is to crouch as low as possible so your fall isn’t as far. Also, try to land on fleshy parts of your body and be sure to relax and roll. Remember, your safety and wellbeing come first!
Watch the whole video, as well as the rest of Hyojoo’s interview with Asian Boss below:
