Have you ever found yourself watching a skilled skateboarder and wondered about the secrets behind those impressive tricks? Skateboarding is not just a sport; it’s an art form that combines balance, agility, and creativity. Whether you’re a beginner just stepping onto your first board or looking to brush up on your skills, there’s always room for improvement. Let’s dig a little deeper into the essential tricks every skateboarder should have in their repertoire.
Understanding the Basics: Why Master Basic Tricks?
Before you jump into the more advanced maneuvers, foundational tricks are your stepping stones. They’re crucial for building confidence, mastering control, and ensuring safety. Starting with basic tricks helps you develop key skills like balance and foot placement.
The Importance of Foot Placement
Foot placement is often overlooked, but it’s the bedrock of good skateboarding skills. The correct positioning of your feet ensures that you balance properly and execute each trick precisely. Whether it’s a simple ollie or a more complex 360 flip, having your feet in the right place can make all the difference.
Learning to Balance
Balance is fundamental in skateboarding. While it might sound like a simple concept, maintaining your balance as you move is a skill that requires practice. You’ll need a strong stance, typically with knees slightly bent and eyes forward, to stay steady on the board.
The Ollie: The Gateway Trick
The ollie is considered one of the most important tricks in skateboarding. It’s a basic trick that forms the foundation for many other moves. The ollie allows you to leap with your board without grabbing it with your hands, opening up a world of tricks that require getting airborne.
How to Perform an Ollie
Start with your back foot on the tail of the skateboard and your front foot somewhere in the middle. Press down swiftly on the tail while sliding your front foot forward. As your board lifts, tuck in your knees to help raise the board in the air. Timing and coordination are critical here!
Kickflip: Taking It Up a Notch
Once you’ve mastered the ollie, the kickflip is a logical next step. This involves flipping your board one full turn mid-air before landing back on it.
Steps to Perform a Kickflip
Position your front foot slightly off to the side, near the middle of the board. As you perform an ollie, flick your front foot off the side of the skateboard’s edge to start the flip. Maintain your focus on the spinning board to catch it with your feet as it completes its rotation.
180s and 360s: Adding Some Spin
Adding spins to your tricks gives them flair and shows off your control over the board. Start with 180s, then progressively work up to 360s.
Mastering the 180
Initiate a 180 by leaning your head and shoulders in the direction you want to spin. Pop an ollie while twisting your hips, allowing your board and body to rotate simultaneously. Practice this motion both frontside (facing the direction of the spin) and backside (facing away).
The Varial Flip: A Combination Move
The varial flip is a captivating combination of a kickflip and a shove-it. This trick will challenge your multitasking abilities as it blends two movements in one graceful motion.
Executing the Varial Flip
Much like performing a kickflip, start with your front foot near the middle, slightly off to the side. When you pop the board, sweep it around with your back foot for the shove-it motion while simultaneously flicking your front foot for the kickflip. This coordination delivers a complex yet satisfying result when performed right.
The Pop Shove-It: Simple Yet Stylish
The pop shove-it separates the board from your feet mid-air, spinning it 180 degrees beneath you. Though it sounds difficult, it’s relatively straightforward once you get the hang of it.
Steps to a Pop Shove-It
Place your back foot on the tail and your front foot near the center. Using just your back foot, push down and scoop inward. As the board spins, hover over it to land with finesse.
Manual: The Art of Balance
Performing the manual is akin to a wheelie on a bike. You ride on only two wheels either on the nose (nose manual) or the tail (tail manual), adding a touch of style to flatland tricks.
Learning to Manual
To begin, shift your weight onto the back foot, slightly lifting the front wheels. Balance by engaging your core muscles and adjusting your weight distribution as needed. Start slowly to find your center of gravity before escalating into longer manuals.
Grinding: A Staple in Street Skateboarding
Grinding is an iconic aspect of street skateboarding. It involves riding the board on its trucks along a rail, edge, or platform, and brings excitement and danger to your trick library.
Basics of Grinding
Approach the rail at a comfortable speed. As you’re about to reach it, pop an ollie and aim to land the trucks onto the rail. Balancing here is critical and requires practice to master without tipping over.
Advanced Techniques: When You’re Ready to Level Up
As you become more comfortable with the foundational tricks, it’s time to flex those skills with more challenging maneuvers. Here’s where tricks like the heelflip, hardflip, and laser flip come into play.
The Heelflip
Reverse of a kickflip, the heelflip relies on rolling your front foot’s heel outward to flip the board. Precision is essential to catching the board post-flip.
The Hardflip
Combining an inward heelflip with a frontside pop shove-it, the hardflip demands skill and control. It’s touted as one of the more difficult tricks, but mastering it is immensely rewarding.
The Laser Flip
A laser flip enhances the pop shove-it by flipping it 360 degrees while executing a heelflip. Large amounts of control and dedication are required, but landing it is a true achievement.
Practicing Safely: Protecting Yourself on the Board
Your safety should always be a priority while learning new skills. Protective gear like helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads can prevent injuries.
Safe Practice Techniques
Begin on a smooth, flat surface to reduce the risk of falling. Take it slow, and don’t rush into learning multiple tricks at once. Each new trick adds complexity, so patience and gradual progression are your allies.
Building Confidence: Overcoming Fear
Conquer your fears by recognizing that falls are part of the learning curve. Focus on practicing one trick at a time, and celebrate small successes to boost morale.
Mental Preparation
Visualization techniques can aid in building confidence. Picture yourself successfully executing the trick before trying it, channeling positivity into your practice sessions.
Community and Resources: Learning from Others
Joining a skateboarding community can offer camaraderie, inspiration, and the opportunity to learn from experienced boarders. Online forums, tutorials, and local skate parks are excellent places to engage with others.
Sharing Tips and Encouragement
Engage demotivate members of the skateboarding community by sharing your experiences, failures, and achievements. Whether in person or online, offering and receiving encouragement is invaluable.
Consistency and Practice: The Keys to Mastery
Consistency is fundamental when learning skateboard tricks. Regular practice solidifies your skills, turning challenges into accomplishments.
Establishing a Routine
Set regular practice times each week to aid in building muscle memory. Consistency allows each movement to become second nature, helping you to execute tricks effortlessly over time.
In conclusion, learning skateboarding tricks isn’t an overnight affair. It’s a journey of consistent practice, incremental progression, and a touch of creativity. By mastering these essential tricks, you’ll not only enhance your skills but also deepen your understanding of the skateboarding world. So, why not grab your board and start practicing today?