Skateboard Tricks and How to do Them

You may not have, to your credit, a blockbuster movie (aka Lords of Dogtown), chronicling your life as a skateboarder. You may also not be a part of a hip skateboarding group like the Z-boys, but that definitely does not translate into doomsday. If you are thrilled by the thought of skating on wooden piers and ramps, and grinding handrails, then, here are some basic skateboard tricks and how to do them.

Skateboarding - The Sport

Born as sidewalk surfing, sometime in the late 1940's or 50's, skateboarding was supposed to be an alternative to surfing, especially during the time when it was impossible to ride the waves. Skateboarding was initially performed on, believe it or not, wooden boxes with attached roller skate wheels. While there is no one person who can claim to be the inventor of this sport and its gear, the earliest skateboards, in their present day form, were manufactured on the order of a California based surf shop.

A relatively modern extreme sport, skateboarding shows traces of influence of many skateboarders, like Alan Gelfand, Tony Alva, Rodney Mullen, etc. Credited with the invention of many tricks that are synonymous with the sport today, these skateboarders were responsible for the soar in popularity that the sport enjoyed in the 1970's and 80's. With the establishment of skateparks and ramps designed exclusively for skateboarding, the sport underwent dramatic changes. While the earlier tricks were basic two-dimensional maneuvers, the tricks have now become more stylized and complicated.

Skateboarding has now achieved cult status, with almost 18 million skateboarders worldwide, and also a day dedicated to the sport, called Go Skateboarding Day. Celebrated on the 21st of June, the motivation behind the day is to promote the sport.

Skateboarding Tricks - How to do Them

Skateboarding tricks are basically acts that involves either a single or couple of maneuvers, being performed while on a skateboard. The sport derives a lot of its entertainment value from the daredevilry that is exhibited during the performance of these tricks. Most skateboarding contests are judged on criterion such as variety, creativity and the level of difficulty. While not exactly easy to learn, these stunts are also not impossible. In this article, we will try and explain to you the intricacies of some skateboard tricks and how to do them. This is not an expansive or an all-inclusive skateboard tricks list, but it covers some popular maneuvers.

50-50 Grind: A grind is a trick, in which you slide on the edge of a rail or bench, etc., not on your wheels but your trucks. As the name suggests, a 50-50 grind is when, the edge is ground in the middle of the trucks.

• Initially, use a ledge to learn the grind instead of a rail.
• Move a considerable distance away from the ledge that you want to grind on, so that you can push to a considerable speed.
• While rolling towards the ledge, have your feet in the Ollie position (this trick will be explained later in the article).
• As you near the ledge, bend your knees and ollie onto the ledge, with it being the center of your truck. Try to land with your feet in the ollie stance, as this will make it easier to get off the ledge after the grind.
• Balance your weight and try to lean a little forward, if it helps.
• When you reach the edge of the ledge, give the skateboard an little pop and jump off the ledge. Try and land on all wheels.

Boardslide: A boardslide is a relative easy trick, where you skateboard alongside a rail or ledge, ollie onto it, slide on it, and then hop off and skate away.

• It is important that the obstacle you are about to ollie onto is well waxed.
• The backslide should be performed with you approaching the rail with your feet in the ollie stance. Do not approach the obstacle at an angle.
• Ride alongside the obstacle, with it behind your heels.
• Ollie onto the obstacle turning 90 degrees and landing with the obstacle in the center of the skateboard.
• Maintain your balance. Do not lean backwards or frontwards and keep your knees bent.
• When you come to the edge of the obstacle, do a reverse 90 degrees turn, hop-off and land.

Caveman: It is one of the easiest tricks for beginners. If you know how to ride a skateboard, then you will be able to perform a caveman.

• Find a flat area to perform this trick.
• Hold the skateboard in the hand that you are comfortable with.
• The skateboard should be held by the nose, with your fingers along the bottom and your thumb on the grip.
• Now swing the tail end of the skateboard away from you and then as it comes backwards, let it fall once it is parallel to the ground.
• As the board is falling, jump onto it with both feet as close to each other as possible. The proximity of the feet is important to maintain balance.

Manual: The manual is the skateboarding equivalent of a bike-wheelie. The skateboarder balances himself on the back wheels while still rolling. To master this trick, you may need a lot of practice.

• Ensure that your foot placement is such, that the back foot covers most of the tail end of the skateboard, and the front foot is placed right behind the front wheels.
• Gather good speed while rolling on the skateboard.
• Shift the weight of your body to the back foot, while leaning your upper body towards the front foot.
• Balance is key, while performing manuals. So you will need to work on that, but the basic of mastering the trick is to adjust your body weight.

No Comply: If you have ever wanted to know how to do old school skateboard tricks, then here is a step-by-step breakdown of one of those amazing stunts, where the skater flicks the board in to the air using his back knee.

• No Comply is usually done on flat ground.
• Start rolling on the skateboard, with your back foot on the tail and your front foot on the tip of the nose of the board.
• Crouch down while skateboarding and put your weight on the back foot.
• Slip your front foot from the board and place it next to the heel side of the board, on the ground.
• Because of the pressure on the tail end with your front foot off the board, the nose end will pop up. As soon as this happens, jump and hit the nose end of the board with your back knee.
• Once the knee hits the board it will bounce back, and before it hits the ground, place your front foot on the nose end of the board, land and roll away.

Ollie: Ollie is one of the most important skateboard tricks for beginners, as it forms the foundation of most tricks.

• The ollie stance is such that the ball of your back foot should be on the tail of the skateboard, and the front foot should be placed between the front and middle trucks of the skateboard.
• Bend your knees low.
• Slam the tail end onto the ground and as it hits the ground, jump off of your back foot.
• While jumping into the air, your front foot should roll inward in such a way that it guides the skateboard into the air in the direction that you want.
• Jump and pull your knees as high as you can, and when you are at the peak of the jump, flatten out your skateboard, so that both feet are level on the board.
• Land back on the ground with your knees bent, to absorb the shock, and your feet level on the board.

Railstand: Also called Primo, in the railstand, the skateboarder balances himself on the edge of the skateboard.

• Find a flat surface for you to perform this trick. Place one foot over each truck (the area right on top of the bolts).
• Push your toes towards the skateboard and then jump up.
• Push the skateboard onto its side while you jump up.
• Land on the edge of your skateboard, with your feet on the side of the skateboard and on the wheels.

Now that you know some basic skateboard tricks and how to do them, you can modify them to create stylized versions. There are also several video resources available online that will tell you more about skateboard tricks and tips. These skateboard trick tips, will only enhance your already heightened skateboarding skills. So go ahead and roll on! Amaze your friends with some skateboarding tricks that you can perform with panache.