Mods can delete this if you want. But since I noticed we have no guides on dropping in, I thought I might make one :D Anyways, on with the show.

The Beggining
This is arguably the hardest part of dropping in.
The part where your fear and guts decides whether you go for it, or you take that infamous pop the board into your hand and walk away.
The only thing required to pass this part is to take control of your fear which is preventing you from dropping in.
If it's your first time and you haven't seen anyone smash themselves than your fear shouldn't be that bad. However, most people at this stage have tried dropping in before and consequently owned themselves.
All I can recommend on this stage is just go for and don't think about bailing. Believe me, I spent an hour and a half standing on a quarter trying to get past this part.
To conclude, don't stand there looking at your board for ages. You will physche yourself out and take "the walk of shame".

The Thrill Ride
You have passed the hardest part of dropping in. Congrats. However thanks to your sheer guts and determination, you are now in motion between the top of the coping, and the concrete. On your first go (especially on higher drop ins) you may feel a thrill of enjoyment.
Don't let it fool you though, this part can be fatal...to your confidence and physical wellbeing. This part is all about commitment. If you don't do this, you will do the trick "Manual to Ass". Which is noticably not very pleasant.
When you are dropping in:
Don't Hesitate - This is where people do MtA. You MUST commit.
Weight Distrubition - This makes your drop in successful and clean. When you commit to it, act as if your doing exactly that. Dropping into the ramp or bowl. Your majority weight should be in that area and not on the tail. But then again, don't completely throw yourself at the nose, or you'll end up flying off the front of the board (which isn't as bad but can look funny).
Ooo yeah, I forgot...COMMIT
I keep saying it. I'll say it again. You must commit to all of the above while doing this. Hesitating or saying "Actually I don't want to do this" will get you smashed. Don't be the laughing stock of your friends, just do something that is simple and starts with a C.

The Finish
There isn't much I can say about this. Except that IT'S TOTALLY AWESOME WHEN YOU FIRST DO IT. You've done it all and you've done it cleanly, successfully, and with dignity. Just make sure that you keep balance when you do land it.
When you've dropped in for the first time (most people start on a small quarter), try doing something higher. It's the same process. Believe me it may look bigger and harder. You may be back to Square 1. But it's exactly the same. Get over your fear > COMMIT > Land with style. Try taking small steps at a time. By doing this I went from a quarter to a bowl in one day.
Once you've done all the drop ins at your local, you'll notice the park seems more open towards you. There are more things to do. It's a good feeling.

There you are. You've dropped in. Now stop reading- and do it for real!

Nice guide, I searched and came up with this guide:

http://www.skaterscafe.com/showthread.php?t=14656&highlight=drop+guide

Really, its very horrible and it cant be compared to yours, good job on it :D

Thanks mate. I appreciate that a mod likes it! Ha! Maybe I'm doing something right.

There is always a lot of "how do I drop in" posts that need help, I wish I could sticky it but this is not my forum to moderate. This forum is moderated by le electric chr, arto-geoff, long jetty, and the Super Moderators..I would talk to them about sticky purposes or if it is worth stickying here or in the trick tips forum.

Well done, stickied.

LOL "manual to ass" trick

Thanks for the sticky LEC.

Very Nice Guide..a lot of Detail...That helps

I liked it! I'll try this when I skate my friend's new mini tommorrow :D!

You nailed the main point on the head, you have to commit.

Even if in your head your thinking your going to fall, you have to just say, "I'm doing it." and lean on in. Some times just that determination will get you past steps one and two in a few seconds.

Good write up.

Man i should learn this on my QP nice guide.

Sweet guide...
Good job, I like the "Manual to Ass" trick... lol

nice guide!! this will help a lot of members! +rep

well done,+ rep

cool thanks for this post

awesome guide! i like the manual to ass, its funny. :D

great guide

I dropped in for the first time today and fallowed your guide. I got it the third try and it felt amazing. :)

Thanks bender!

Agreed, great guide. I went back to skating after 19 years, back then was able to drop into vert ramps, no probs.

However when I picked up my new board (after a 19 year break) the first think I did was to drop in on a 8 foot quarter, guess what I slammed bad, twisted ankle in the first 5 minutes of skating after such a long break.

Needless to say it took me another 24hours before I tried again with success. My moto is: 'Respect the transition, but don't fear it'.

Thanks for the comment Dave. I've seen a few of your posts so far. I like you. Your cool. Stay long.

what about when you go back up the other side of a pipe, and you're not that great at switch riding--how are you sposed to keep from doing the manual to ass? haha, id did that 20 times before figuring out what to do

nice guide

Hey, this is a good guide.

You sure went through a lot of typing for that.. I usually just say "Lean forward a s*itload, and slam that nose down" and peoepl usually get it pretty quick. haha.

intense guide this should really help

i'll try that on my QP but its 5 feet tall so step one will be harder

Really helpful, Thanks.

Lol, MtA has happened so many times to me untill I finally landed it.

thanks, this tip helped my friend alot!

should i find a more smaller ramp or something the one im doing is like 4 metres high.

should i find a more smaller ramp or something the one im doing is like 4 metres high.
Nah man go it. If you can do 4 metre high ramps then you'll have no problem with anything below it. Good confidence builder.

You sure went through a lot of typing for that.. I usually just say "Lean forward a s*itload, and slam that nose down" and peoepl usually get it pretty quick. haha.
Yeah well fair enough. This guide was made to make peeps more assure of themselves. Just a hardcore detailed guide. Nothing wrong with that I assume.

It's been 16 years since I rode, just coming back to it this last weekend.
Rented a board at the Vans skatepark, and started working the transitions again.. Came back nice and quick, and was soon able to drop in on the 4ft, and 6ft ditch ramps with no problem.
Pretty sure I can do the 12' vert ramp as well, but wasn't going to try on that piece of crap rental board they gave me.

From past experience though, I honestly think droppign in on a true vert ramp (one with any amount of true vertical) is actually easier than a ditch style ramp with only the transition albeit quite a bit scarier.
What I've always been told, and hold to be true is that the Vert ramps are easier, just scarier when it comes into dropping in.

nice man a lot of people will use i asume. :)

very nice guide, thank you so much

i've heard lots of guids on how to do this but i dont skate vert, i skate street so i always take the walk of shame

That's a great guide!
Just start with a miniramp. They're not high, so you don't fall to deep and get hurt. Then try a bigger one: e.g. a quarter.
Just train enough and set yourself aims, as you always need to do.

How to Drop In (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYWFcOHvlDg)

I dropped in on a mini the first time I got on a skateboard (which was very recent) and then I came here and found this thread and wow! I was right! In my head while looking down the halfpipe I was thinking, "This is too scary, F this!" But then I just thought, "Lean forward and go with the flow baby, you're not going anywhere just standing here". So I did it and it was SO easy! Its all in the head! After I did it once, second time easier, and now its just a pinch!

Peace

How to drop in: Just do it, pussy.

I'm older (45 yo) and just learned how to drop in a couple of weeks ago. I did the M to A trick so many times I bought some padded shorts. The money would have been better spent on a 1/2 hour session with a psychotherapist . Commit, lean forward and have faith... The weird thing is that I think I would really have to try very hard to M to A again.

i always MTA AFTER the drop in, going up the other ramp. write a guide on switching at the opposite ramp :P
nice guide though

Nice guide :)

I've never actually tried to drop into a quarter or half, but I'll try next time I go to Ramp City (probably next weekend), but I've only been skating 1 week :P

I always went with the idea that I wanted to "stomp on the front truck bolts". If you do that, you'll fully commit going in but won't nose wheelie (so long as you keep your front foot from drifting forward of the front trucks). At its best, your front truck/wheels "pound" the ramp before you even start rolling down the transition.

Most important advice though is not to stand on the coping forever thinking about it. Pump the ramp a bunch, keep that feeling in your feet/legs/head, head up top, and pull the trigger before you have time to lose that feeling.

solid!

Thank you this really helped me!

Yesterday I tried dropping in for the first time at the local pool/bowl. Tried an 8 foot(?) section (smallest) and "hip-planted" every one. After about 10 tries of my back foot slipping off I settled for glaring at the transition with hatred.

The drop in looked a lot smaller when I left, and I know exactly the way I need to throw myself in. Here's hoping for today.

Good stuff.

It could have a part on how to hang the board over the edge and how to place your back foot and eventually slam your front foot on.
Actually, there was no mention of stomping down and thats the most important part.

I like some of the points you made

It sucks bcause I can only roll into a miniramp but I will drop in next time I go!!

Nice !

I'm gonna pwn myself tomorrow dropping in from a quarter pipe XD

amazing guide, gonna try to try it at the skatepark next time.

I tried at this little park nearby which has a small 1/4 ramp. When I placed my board on it and placed my backfoot on the board then the board wanted to roll back from the angle. I think vert might be easier but scary. Well anyway I just did the Manaul to A### and I actually fell pretty hard on my right wrist & backside. I have had a fratured wrist for the last week which has stopped me from skating hard and a back pain so I can bend my back properly. Lucky I had a wrist guard on or I'm sure I would have boken it. I still plan to give the drop in another go soon but I'm looking for the right place, not too small & not to high. Once I get the drop in then I can take my skating to ne heights.:tongue:

I did it I dropped in!! Thanks for the guide!!

Rep +1

Good guide! Problem is that at my park, once you've done the quarter pipe ther's nothing else but vert.

i have been skating a year and have yet to drop in. only cuz everytime i go to the park there are lots of people there, and people think i am good cuz i do some flatground stuff.

so i feel like i will lose a lot of respect if i fail at a simple drop in.

i have been skating a year and have yet to drop in. only cuz everytime i go to the park there are lots of people there, and people think i am good cuz i do some flatground stuff.

so i feel like i will lose a lot of respect if i fail at a simple drop in.

Haha, no you won't lose respect.

They should have more respect the fact that your going from something you can do well, to an unknown, less comfortable area...

Haha, "MtA". Nice guide. I'll try a drop-in next time I'm at the local spot instead of just hitting out the roll-in I'm used to. Thanks!

I tried a drop in again, this time on just a small 3 foot wall. first time i nearly made it and at the last minute feel backwards but never got hurt since as it was not that high. Then I tried again and did it, I yelled out a big "yahoo" then dropped in again 7-8 times through my skate session.

My tip is start on small walls and work up to it and fully commit wth no hesitation at all. I plan to get really comfortable at this low height and then move up slowely.

aaah ive been skating for a year and never thought to try a mini ramp...

I tend to try and be an instructor to kids at skate parks. for some reason they always ask me how to do something.

Last night I taught a kid how to drop in.

1. commit like you said
2. Know you might fall the first time, but its worth it.
3. pay attention to that front truck and make sure it hits that ramp* this one helped the kid...thats what he said.
4. then like you said dont lean back and dont lean forward.

he sat there looking for too long, I said that the first thing you dont do. Dont look and just do it. 20-30 mins later he said he got it on his first try. then later said he was doing it again, and busted his @$$ on the coping. =)

Thanks this helped a lot! I dropped in for the first time today.

i learned switch drop ins like last week, dropping in for the first time is probably one of the scariest things you can do on a skateboard, but after you try it once, it's soooo easy

good guide. the one thing i was told when i was learning was to lean the **** foward. but i think this guide is prolly better
Merging doublepost
yeahhh

good guide. the one thing i was told when i was learning was to lean the **** foward. but i think this guide is prolly better
Merging doublepost
yeahhh

you dont lean forward enough when you drop in ive told you that before.

I've been skating on and off for over 5 years and I have never been able to drop in. I haven't tried for about 10 years due to several manual to ass occurences! Might have to try again soon!

gah I had a similar experience to yours, i was standing on the qp for what felt like hours, in the end i obviously didnt drop in and i lost my chance

anyways the tutorial is really good, i'll go try dropping in again soon

Nice guide.

A new question though - How do you roll into a bowl? I see these guys do it all the time and I remember doing them when I was a kid on an old school 10.5 board. I tried this a few weeks ago and man, I was banged to hell (next time I do the shallow end).

I dropped in on a small qp at the park yesterday. I was going to try the miniramp, but it was concrete so it would've hurt if I fell. I'm determined to drop in on a bigger ramp though.

Nice guide.

A new question though - How do you roll into a bowl? I see these guys do it all the time and I remember doing them when I was a kid on an old school 10.5 board. I tried this a few weeks ago and man, I was banged to hell (next time I do the shallow end).

Theres a bowl at an indoor park i go to sometimes. you need a little bit of speed to do this. I like to put pressure on my tail, so your front trucks can go up slightly. That way your board, on the middle part of your deck, won't catch and stick. as soon as your back trucks go over the coping, slam your nose down and pump. Hope that helped. Hard to explain

nice guide

Very nice guide.. very well written..

All my mates were afraid of dropping in but I did it after my second go.. my first go resulted in a MtA :icon_woow

It was when it came to riding Fakie that the fear it hit me.. all you have to do is keep trying and gradually go into it.. thats how i overcame my fear.

Nice guide man. Thanks for posting it.

idid it

drop ins are funnnnnn