Skateboard Tricks Tutorial

Skateboarding is an enjoyable activity--but it takes determination and practice. No matter how long you’ve been skating, there is always another trick or variation to master just over the horizon. While the list of skateboarding tricks is nearly endless, there are two basic tricks that all skateboarders must learn: the ollie and the kickflip. Once you've learned these, you'll find that most advanced skateboarding tricks are variations on one of these skills.

Things You'll Need

  • Skateboard
  • Large, flat area to practice
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Instructions

  1. Learning to Ollie

    • 1

      Stand on your skateboard with your front foot just behind the bolts of your front wheels and your back foot on the tail of the board. You should be standing almost on tiptoe with all pressure focused in the balls of your feet.

    • 2

      Bend your knees, roll forward slowly and slap the tail of your skateboard into the ground with your rear foot. You should hear a nice, crisp “Smack!”

    • 3

      Jump off of your back foot and drag the side of your front foot up the deck. As you fly into the air, your front foot will drag the board with you and will force it to level out.

    • 4

      Land with both feet over the bolts of your skateboard and bend your knees to help absorb the force of your landing. Be sure to keep your weight forward--falling backwards is a common mistake of new skateboarders attempting to ollie.

    Learning to Kickflip

    • 5

      Stand on your skateboard with your back foot over the tail of the board (similar to an ollie), but instead of placing your front foot squarely behind the front bolts, angle your foot slightly towards the heel side of the deck. For instance, if you ride with your left foot forward, you’ll turn your left foot slightly to your left.

    • 6

      Bend your knees and pop the tail of your board into the ground.

    • 7

      Drag your front foot up the deck as you would during an ollie, only instead kick it off the corner of the board where the flat part of the deck begins to curve. This kick creates the spinning motion that will flip the board over underneath you.

    • 8

      Put your feet over the deck after the board has completed its rotation and land with them square over the bolts. This may take several tries, so don’t give up!