Skateboarding tricks and basic moves
After all geared up with the appropriate skateboard and equipment, time to introduce us to some basic skateboarding tricks. If you talk to already experienced skateboarders they could tell you how to do tricks, but if you are new to skateboarding, you will need help with basic tricks like maintaining your control and balance while riding, or tricks like the manual or drop in.
The manual is one of the first basic skateboarding tricks that requires proper balance, being able to control the board. This is a perfect trick to prepare the skater for higher difficulty tricks.
During the manual the skateboard’s front wheels lift up off the ground, while the back wheels are still riding, almost like a “wheelie” on a bicycle. The skater must maintain the balance and prevent the tail of the skateboard to hit the ground. The trick should be started rolling off slowly. Shifting weight on the back foot will apply downward pressure, which will lift the front trucks off the ground. This trick is quite easy to learn, but it is the most important to master so the skater could advance to more difficult tricks. A few tips to maintain the balance: spreading the arms out will help keeping the balance, imagine the tightrope-walkers. Also, if the board is shifting forward, lean back.
After getting more comfortable on the skateboard the next trick what every skateboarder wants to know is the ollie. The ollie is a trick where the rider pops the skateboard in the air, while jumping, with the skateboard still stuck to their feet. The trick is done by snapping the tail of the skateboard down, while the front foot slides up along the skateboard, and the rider jumps. This will take some practice, but once mastered, it opens the door for a lot of other common skateboarding tricks.
The godfather of this trick is Alan “Ollie” Gelfand, who performed the trick the first time in 1977 in pools, and later Rodney Mullen came up with the flatland ollie in 1981 in freestyle skating.
A few tips for perfecting the ollie.
- Not getting enough height with the ollie is simply because the skater doesn’t pick up their feet high enough to create a hang time, thus allowing the board to come off the ground.
- The knees are very important performing this trick because they create the snap that pulls the board off the ground, they also help create height, and they will absorb the shock while landing, making it more comfortable. While performing an ollie, the knees need to be slammed into the chest, which will take a reasonable amount of practice.
- Another tip for acquiring more height is sliding the front foot forward properly. There are two common mistakes: forgetting to slide the foot, or focusing on it so much that it will actually prevent the skateboard from rising. The trick is to relax and focus on getting the feet up high. Everything else is simply practice.
- A good idea is to videotape the practice sessions, and later evaluate the mistakes, and learn from them, also posting the videos on forums could bring some answers from other skateboarders.
The pop shove-it is another skateboarding trick, when the board does a 180 spin in the air. This trick starts with an ollie, then the back foot moves in a backward sweeping motion, the front foot forward just a little bit, after the board does a 180, the skateboarder will catch the board with their feet and finally the trick is completed.
While performing the kick flip, the back foot moves on the tail of the board, and the front foot behind the front truck bolts, just like starting an ollie, except this time the front foot has an angle. While doing the ollie, the front foot moves where the board starts to rise, then it flicks to the side, and after bringing the foot back and the board went all the way around it will be caught with the foot. This is one of the hardest tricks to learn and it is only suggested for expert skateboarders.
Enjoy
This entry was posted on 6. March 2010 at 07:04 and is filed under Skateboard Tricks, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
