What is Pushing Mongo? Is Mongo Pushing a Wrong Way of Skateboarding?

What's wrong with skating Mongo?
Mongo Push VS Regular

Mongo Push – A Wrong Technique?

Most of the beginner skateboarders start pushing mongo without actually knowing that it is wrong, and the irony is that most of them do not feel wrong at all until someone points it out to them.

As a beginner skateboarder – it is wise to learn about it early on – before your foot sets in.

Once set – it becomes quite difficult to change your technique especially if you have advanced on to learning skateboarding tricks.

Rectifying Pushing Mongo is almost like starting skateboarding new again – which is absolutely killer for the action sport.

So what exactly is this mongo pushing skating stance fuss all about?

What is Pushing Mongo?

What is Pushing Mongo?

Pushing mongo, Mongo Pushing or Skateboard Mongo – (all same terms) is considered as a wrong way of skateboarding, where you use your front foot instead of your back foot to push your way forward while riding the skateboard. And your back foot stays on somewhere in the middle of the board.

So obviously you might ask then “what is the correct way of pushing?”

The universally accepted way of pushing is with the back foot while the front foot rests near the front trucks. 

When you use your right foot as your front foot then it is called as a regular stance and when you use your left foot as the front foot then it is known as a goofy.

The word mongo has its roots in the slang of Spanish and Portuguese where mongo is used to describe a retarded person. 

Some say that it is derived from the Mongols as the pushing in mongo stance resembles a Mongolian riding a horse and hence the term “mongo skate”.

Skaters Hate Push Mongo

Why do Skaters Hate Mongo Pushers?

Although there is no written rule book about skateboarding, there are some things that are universally adhered to by the skateboarding community and Mongo pushing is one of those unwritten laws that are highly ridiculed upon.

Skateboarding is a creative sport, all about style and constant innovation with young skateboarders around the globe trying to achieve the next impossible. And pushing mongo definitely strips you of that style.

It has lately been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism with several pro skaters completely ridiculing riding mongo.

What’s Wrong with Skating Mongo?

Why is Mongo Pushing not good? And why so much of criticism?

Many people start pushing mongo when they begin skateboarding without knowing about it as it comes naturally to them. 

Even some of the famous pro-skateboarders started out riding mongo and later changed their stance into a normal one, because it is difficult to become a pro-skateboarder with this skating stance..

Mongo pushing can be bad for many reasons. Below we have listed six of them –

  1. First of all it looks weird when someone pushes mongo.
  2. It takes longer to position your-self properly, compared to a proper stance because the feet movement increases. Your back foot is on the on the centre of the deck and then use your front foot to push and then to position yourself on the board you have to place your front foot in the middle and move your back foot near the tail of the board. This results in increased foot movements as well as instability.
  3.  You will constantly be in need of your back foot being on the tail for performing tricks like Ollie and kick-turn but while pushing mongo your back foot will be positioned somewhere in between the middle and the tail of the skateboard. This makes it more unstable for you to maneuver the board as the back foot is stationary in this position. In a normal stance your front foot would be near the bolts of the front trucks making it easier for you to move.
  4. Cruising over cracks becomes a little awkward as you need your foot on the middle of the board to be able to lift your nose slightly up to go over the crack; this becomes difficult while pushing mongo as your foot is back.
  5. Pushing mongo also doesn’t generate much speed.
  6. The technique is bad for technical flip-tricks too.

When is Pushing Mongo Okay?

For something being deemed so incorrect it surely has quite a bit of importance in skateboarding.

The stance of mongo if not bad is definitely used in certain tricks.

  • It is used in dropping in and is not considered incorrect at that time.
  • Madonna air is basically a mongo push- grab in the air.
  • Mongo push can be converted into a good Boneless one by adding a pre grab.
  • One of the hardest tricks, the No-Comply is also probably nothing but a mongo push. It is also one of the highly applauded tricks.
  • Riding fakie also becomes a lot easier when you are pushing mongo. After you have enough speed you just have to place your front foot near the front trucks and your back foot on the tail.
  • Riding switch also becomes easy to perform as you just have to place your back foot more towards the front of the board. And then slowly you have to place your front foot on your tail.
  • Some say that pushing mongo makes turning pretty easy.
Sharing an image from electric-skateboard.builders. They have simplified all kinds of stances, in one beautiful infograph.

Pushing Mongo and other Skateboarding Stances
Pushing Mongo and other Skateboarding Stances
Rectifying the Style

What to do if you Mongo Push?

What would you do if you suddenly came to know that something you are doing since a very long time was actually wrong?

Would you feel embarrassed about it because you never felt it being wrong in the first place?

There is no need to worry as it is never late to learn the widely accepted way of pushing.

All you need is practicing the normal stance on a smooth surface until your body gets comfortable with it and forgets mongo foot.

It is really up to you in the end, if you feel really comfortable riding mongo and don’t care about what anyone says, there is no need to change unless you are really into the sport for making a name for yourself. 

Then you might have to think about what will get you there. And Mongo Pushing surely isn’t going to do that.

Letting go the infamous Mongo Push Professionals Mongo Pushing

Do any Pro Skaters Push Mongo?

Many Pro Skaters Push Mongo – without considering what the viewers believe.

The advanced tricks they perform – comes from the convenience and proper positioning of their bodies on the board. And if mongo pushing allows them that – they use it.

Some pro claim that the technique allows them a stronger push.

Below are some of the famous pro skaters who started their career using this technique and changed many years later – and some who still continue pushing.

Jason Dill started his early skateboarding style with pushing mongo.

Bill Danforth was so much into pushing mongo – that he became known as “Pushing Dan” and “Mongo Pusher”.

Eric Koston was famous for pushing switch and was parallelly known to have a mongo foot .

Other famous pro skateboarders known for mongo push are- 

  • Gino Ianucci,
  • Tom Penny,
  • Andrew Reynolds (Sometimes)
Pushing Mongo on Longboards

Is Pushing Mongo Bad on a Longboard?

Pushing mongo on longboards can do more harm than on skateboards.

The irony to this – is mostly longboarders involved in this technique.

Longboards are long – and hence to stimulate them needs more of your body and control on the deck.

With right foot above and left foot pushing – there are chances you will collapse if you are not able to center yourself.

If you fall off from a skateboard – mostly you will not fall on the deck – however if you fall off from a longboard you fall on the longboard.

And this can cause some damage.

If you are a longboarder – then it is highly advisable to switch to not mongo push style.

If you cant change then better change your skateboarding abode.

Skate on empty streets and pathways or best go to a skatepark.

Busy streets will be more harmful anyway – but with pushing mongo as your technique it will be icing on the top.

Better Skate Safe than to harm yourself.

Happy Safe Skating!

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