Article by Cliff Coleman from my Toes Over page in 1999

One of the first 'guest articles' for Souled Out and Toes Over was a column by Cliff Coleman ... 


Stopping at speed :
There are two ways of stopping at speed. One is to fall off or hit something.... the preferred way is to slide. A Coleman slide is the best way to stop and below is a description of how to do one from Cliff Coleman himself. If you want to use the description be aware it is his copy right and I have permission !
Best learnt in a controled environment and with harder wheels than the 78a I always say are the way to go.
SLIDING
Everyone young, old, male or female who intends to ride a skateboard on the public roadways should learn how to slide their skateboard. Then use this technique to safely slow your speed or stop completely if necessary.
WHY.... SAFETY !
Have you ever been chased by a dog while skating or had a car suddenly pull from a driveway right in front of your line of descent? Maybe you just took off on a speed run and your trucks start to wobble before you've reached the level or uphill run-off. If you've encountered any of these or many other frightening situations because you happen to be going too fast to run it out, then learn to slide and eliminate or reduce the severity of these problems permanently.
HOW TO :
Assume a sidestance position. Feet should be about shoulder width apart and pointed to about one o'clock and eleven o'clock. Now crouch all the way down and put your knees together. I call this position a surf-tuck. This is a very stable position. With your body centered above your legs there is equal weight directed towards both the front and rear trucks. To ride in the surf-tuck you will have to balance slightly on the inside of both of your feet. This is the position to assume for stability whether going forwards or riding fakie. Simply do this before and after your slide to eliminate wobbles. You will master this rapidly. Now you are set to slide. Assume the surf-tuck. You have an uphill hand and a downhill hand. Drop your back knee towards your front foot. Place your downhill hand on the ground, right next to your body. For this you must wear cliffslider gloves with plastic sliding surfaces or the equivalent! Now that you have dropped your back knee forward it should rest almost on top of your front shoe, pointing downhill. As your knee drops, your uphill hand should swing forward, reaching out in the direction of the slide. As you start this maneuver, you will lean your weight to the inside of your board and start a right or left turn depending upon whether your regular or goofy-foot. The board will begin to slide. Keep your downhill hand on the ground beginning close to your side and then drifting out to a place of balance as you slide. Your uphill hand should continue reaching in the direction of the slide. After sliding 180 degrees, you will be riding backwards, actually sidestance in a surf-tuck. This position will have you riding opposite of your normal or goofy-foot stance. To deal with this properly, maintain a crouching surf-tuck with your knees together, once again centering your weight equally between front and rear trucks, giving stability.
Whether you begin your slide regular-foot or goofy-foot, remember, keep your downhill glove on the ground, your uphill glove in the air, in the direction of the slide and stay compressed.
To close, I'd like to point out that there are many variations to be learned. However, these two basic slides can allow the skater to descend any hill and in the skater's own lane.
Good Luck,
Cliff Coleman
Copyright, Cliff Coleman, 1999