What are you trying to learn right now?

[Xen]

Expand Quote

I've never had them (I have impossibles, I put my focus there back in the day because I couldn't for the life of me figure out tres, even to this day).

[close]

You know how when you scoop an impossible you kind of use the toes on your back foot to dig inside the pocket of the tail and get the wrap (even on really vertical ones, it just happens subtly)? Try doing the same thing but instead of instantly taking your front foot off and bringing your knee up, have its toes retain contact with the griptape side. You'll notice the board will tend to stick to them and from then on it's super easy to get a good flip by just kicking out at the right time (that's actually how one does 360 double flips). Different technique from the classic, popped 360 flip (that I personally prefer) but if you're familiar with impossibles already, maybe that one will be easier for you to stay over. If it still doesn't work then try insisting on the toe pressure action even more or moving said toe closer to the edge of the concave (if not hanging off).

Or if you want to insist with your current technique then the basic principle when it comes to catching the board is that the whole trick should be happening under you, not behind you nor in front of you, which you can adjust by having your upper body more or less straight and also the direction of the scoop. For the popped technique I think about scooping to the side with my big toe but also about hitting that tail to use the rebound and send the trick more vertically if that makes sense. Either way your front toe is essentially the axis of the rotation of the board which is why it's easy to catch those with the front foot, say, on hips where the trick starts working like a modified ollie really. I hope you get them, they're worth it!

Thanks for the tips, silhouette. I'll give them ago and report back!  At this point I will take whichever method happens easiest and go on to refine it from there

[411_bandit]

Fakie shuvs

[Skateandbones]

Truthfully, how to ollie while moving. I took up skating last week. Well, I skated years go but I took it up again.

[rocklobster]

Anyone have tips on improving ollie fundamentals? After doing this for years I still have really horrible ollies that rocket and I can't bone them out. I tell myself I want to work on my ollies during the session, give it a couple of goes before I try working on my flip tricks. Are my fundamentals (squatting too much, foot too far back, back foot placement, shoulder position) screwed?

(2 not-great sessions in a row got me stressing)

[silhouette]

Anyone have tips on improving ollie fundamentals? After doing this for years I still have really horrible ollies that rocket and I can't bone them out. I tell myself I want to work on my ollies during the session, give it a couple of goes before I try working on my flip tricks. Are my fundamentals (squatting too much, foot too far back, back foot placement, shoulder position) screwed?

(2 not-great sessions in a row got me stressing)

I've always sucked at nicely formed ollies - even when I had fresher legs as a kid I could level them out over tall-ish stuff but couldn't ever get the tweaked form a lot of people do (only switch has always worked), and to this day even when I 'bone' them my back foot will often remain flat on the board. Then at some point I learned proper nosebonks and k bonks and it helped me get the timing down better - I swear if you can learn how to trick your brain into thinking you're doing an imaginary nosebonk over and past the obstacle, it sort of results in muscle memory automatically pulling all the right strings to suck that back foot up as you'll want to push down on that front foot and nudge that nose in front of you anyway.

Regardless of the stance, I feel like I pop off the center of the tail with my big toe for an optimal snap and I definitely have my back foot further back if I'm going to try and ollie over something high than if I'm just doing a casual ollie. I'd say somewhere around the center of the board (never past it) so that my weight is balanced and distributed somewhere over the back bolts. Gives you a quicker snap and more surface for the front foot to work with so that you actually have something to push in front of you when you extend your leg. I'd say just watch a lot of Quim, Rupp, Huf and classic street skaters known for good form and technique on ollies and try to emulate that, mentally if anything.

Personal shoulder position is partially open towards where I'm going for regs and partially closed (facing the nose which is at the back) for switch, but still parallel-ish I'd say.

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

Anyone have tips on improving ollie fundamentals? After doing this for years I still have really horrible ollies that rocket and I can't bone them out. I tell myself I want to work on my ollies during the session, give it a couple of goes before I try working on my flip tricks. Are my fundamentals (squatting too much, foot too far back, back foot placement, shoulder position) screwed?

(2 not-great sessions in a row got me stressing)

[close]

I've always sucked at nicely formed ollies - even when I had fresher legs as a kid I could level them out over tall-ish stuff but couldn't ever get the tweaked form a lot of people do (only switch has always worked), and to this day even when I 'bone' them my back foot will often remain flat on the board. Then at some point I learned proper nosebonks and k bonks and it helped me get the timing down better - I swear if you can learn how to trick your brain into thinking you're doing an imaginary nosebonk over and past the obstacle, it sort of results in muscle memory automatically pulling all the right strings to suck that back foot up as you'll want to push down on that front foot and nudge that nose in front of you anyway.

Regardless of the stance, I feel like I pop off the center of the tail with my big toe for an optimal snap and I definitely have my back foot further back if I'm going to try and ollie over something high than if I'm just doing a casual ollie. I'd say somewhere around the center of the board (never past it) so that my weight is balanced and distributed somewhere over the back bolts. Gives you a quicker snap and more surface for the front foot to work with so that you actually have something to push in front of you when you extend your leg. I'd say just watch a lot of Quim, Rupp, Huf and classic street skaters known for good form and technique on ollies and try to emulate that, mentally if anything.

Personal shoulder position is partially open towards where I'm going for regs and partially closed (facing the nose which is at the back) for switch, but still parallel-ish I'd say.

Thanks for the knowledge drop as usual silhouette, I'm going to try and find stuff with enough height and length to ollie over during my lockdown sessions.

Another one I've been struggling (more with) are nollie FS 180s, I can't get the timing to do the hefy but I can do them enough to do shitty nollie boardslides and nollie 50-50s. I always end up 90 degrees and sliding my wheels the rest of the way.

[tzhangdox]

try experimenting with foot positioning (where you pop off of but also far down/up the board your back foot is). Also your weight distribution before and after you pop. I find it helps to kinda have more weight over my front foot before popping the nollie but then have to even out. Hard to explain but just try some different combinations of foot positioning and weight distribution.

If you can do a shitty nollie 5050 then your nollie is probably sufficient. Obviously also make sure you turn your shoulders around properly. Its one of those tricks where usually by the time I bend down I kinda have an idea if I'm gonna do a floaty one or a shite one.

[silhouette]

Thanks for the knowledge drop as usual silhouette, I'm going to try and find stuff with enough height and length to ollie over during my lockdown sessions.

Another one I've been struggling (more with) are nollie FS 180s, I can't get the timing to do the hefy but I can do them enough to do shitty nollie boardslides and nollie 50-50s. I always end up 90 degrees and sliding my wheels the rest of the way.

Yo my pleasure, it's pretty funny that by coincidence you're always trying to learn tricks that also happen to be my favorites (or maybe I just have too many favorite tricks). Frontside nollies are actually another one, I find that those work better if you think of them as a switch ollie going the wrong way with a translation (just like it's better to think of halfcabs as solid, ample ollies just popped fakie into a turn back to regs), most people commit the mistake of thinking of them as pivoting off the nose with pop somewhere somehow and thus don't keep their shoulders in check so they can't really get high ones and are likely to overturn their body in relation to the board.

I think for that trick it's key to have both feet well inside the board if that makes sense, for me at least back foot feels deep inside the concave and the front foot isn't on the tip of the nose but more like in the dead center (as you want to pop downwards for a good nollie and need to give it that nudge forwards to get the front wheels up, and then you turn your hips as you feel the trick leveling out). I feel like the shoulders don't do much on that trick, you're better off just facing the direction you're going to have a head start (whereas on a straight nollie you'd keep them parallel to the board) and then just using your lower body and it should all follow through. The motion itself is pretty simple and then once you get it down you can concentrate on pop.

Also from what I've observed, a lot of people will have great frontside nollies or nollie shifties but will suck at backside ones and vice versa, I reckon because the technique to get proper height on them is very different. So for some reason I suspect that you might be more comfortable with nollie backside 180's? (Really random question, I'm just curious)

Finally for your ollies, you don't even need something big to clear as it's all about figuring out the timing of the technique I described and then once you have you can easily apply to most everything (that's reasonable). Pretty sure what helped me was actually trying to nosebonk low-to-average height flatbars and keeping missing the bonk because it taught me to kind of 'wrap' my board around the obstacle as it clears it and then I find it just starts working on taller stuff as well. Jimmy Lannon is another good one to study when it comes to posture on that trick.

[Madam, I'm Adam]

Spent the whole month focusing on back tailslides on curbs. Another trick I learned 15 years ago but haven't resuscitated the muscle memory for.

I haven't even slid one properly yet. I can ollie into them, but 95% of the time I don't get my entire tail on, or too much of my weight is on my heel, so I always stick. I'm trying to lean more toward my toes, take a wider stance, and turn more, but it hasn't worked out so far. 

[DA BIG BODY BENZ]

All the fundamentals in every stance, I have been doing this for awahile and its starting to pay off. Only ones I cant really do is nollie back 180, switch back 180 and nollie bs pop shuv and switch pop shuv. I can do the nollie bs shuv and the switch pop shuv where its popped good and caught but its only once out of maybe every 10 tries. Recently ive been going out and just working on one trick all day and like I said its really starting to pay off. I have solid nollies, fakie ollies and yesterday I was doing pretty solid switch ollies but I got too hot and had to quit after about 45 mins to an hour, but yeah the ones that really illude me are the switch back 180s and nollie back 180s but I'm determined to figure them out

[Weezil]

working on switch slappies, I had them pretty good a year ago but where I'm at now the curbs are steeper so they're awkward as fuck. switch slappy crook is fun when it works.

also want to get frontside flips and 360 flips down. shoulder is healing up so I want to start trying fs flips again. 360 flips is just gonna take a day at the flat ground spot with a bunch of water, been dreading it but I want them consistent.

finally mentally unlocked heelflips to where I think I can do them now, it's weird how with alot of tricks you just kind of unlock it, and it can go away just as easy. impossibles are like that for me, they come and go.

[rocklobster]

try experimenting with foot positioning (where you pop off of but also far down/up the board your back foot is). Also your weight distribution before and after you pop. I find it helps to kinda have more weight over my front foot before popping the nollie but then have to even out. Hard to explain but just try some different combinations of foot positioning and weight distribution.

If you can do a shitty nollie 5050 then your nollie is probably sufficient. Obviously also make sure you turn your shoulders around properly. Its one of those tricks where usually by the time I bend down I kinda have an idea if I'm gonna do a floaty one or a shite one.

Expand Quote

Thanks for the knowledge drop as usual silhouette, I'm going to try and find stuff with enough height and length to ollie over during my lockdown sessions.

Another one I've been struggling (more with) are nollie FS 180s, I can't get the timing to do the hefy but I can do them enough to do shitty nollie boardslides and nollie 50-50s. I always end up 90 degrees and sliding my wheels the rest of the way.

[close]

Yo my pleasure, it's pretty funny that by coincidence you're always trying to learn tricks that also happen to be my favorites (or maybe I just have too many favorite tricks). Frontside nollies are actually another one, I find that those work better if you think of them as a switch ollie going the wrong way with a translation (just like it's better to think of halfcabs as solid, ample ollies just popped fakie into a turn back to regs), most people commit the mistake of thinking of them as pivoting off the nose with pop somewhere somehow and thus don't keep their shoulders in check so they can't really get high ones and are likely to overturn their body in relation to the board.

I think for that trick it's key to have both feet well inside the board if that makes sense, for me at least back foot feels deep inside the concave and the front foot isn't on the tip of the nose but more like in the dead center (as you want to pop downwards for a good nollie and need to give it that nudge forwards to get the front wheels up, and then you turn your hips as you feel the trick leveling out). I feel like the shoulders don't do much on that trick, you're better off just facing the direction you're going to have a head start (whereas on a straight nollie you'd keep them parallel to the board) and then just using your lower body and it should all follow through. The motion itself is pretty simple and then once you get it down you can concentrate on pop.

Also from what I've observed, a lot of people will have great frontside nollies or nollie shifties but will suck at backside ones and vice versa, I reckon because the technique to get proper height on them is very different. So for some reason I suspect that you might be more comfortable with nollie backside 180's? (Really random question, I'm just curious)

Finally for your ollies, you don't even need something big to clear as it's all about figuring out the timing of the technique I described and then once you have you can easily apply to most everything (that's reasonable). Pretty sure what helped me was actually trying to nosebonk low-to-average height flatbars and keeping missing the bonk because it taught me to kind of 'wrap' my board around the obstacle as it clears it and then I find it just starts working on taller stuff as well. Jimmy Lannon is another good one to study when it comes to posture on that trick.

Thanks guys, I definitely find Nollie BS 180s easier, I can do them consistently but they are low and are nowhere close to being pretty; but the rotation feels much more natural than Nollie FS 180. There is an abandoned parking structure near my block of flat with some random trash around, I'll set that up as an ollie practice course. All this time indoor isn't helping my gear madness.

Spent the whole month focusing on back tailslides on curbs. Another trick I learned 15 years ago but haven't resuscitated the muscle memory for.

I haven't even slid one properly yet. I can ollie into them, but 95% of the time I don't get my entire tail on, or too much of my weight is on my heel, so I always stick. I'm trying to lean more toward my toes, take a wider stance, and turn more, but it hasn't worked out so far. 

If you're getting the lock into the curb you're around 60% there, more speed, wax (especially the side of the ledge) and confidence would help. Not exceptionally good at them but I spend a lot of time analyzing and working on this trick when I'm at the park. Ollie-ing into a ledge stationary versus sliding are different.

Whenever I would stick it was because I was popping too high into them and trying to stomp my tail onto the ledge which would result in:
1) Sticking on the ledge
2) Having the board slip out under me

I try to think of it like you are popping your tail just high enough, picking your back foot enough to slot your tail onto the side of the ledge. So if you're riding parallel to the ledge, you and your board are just continuing the forward motion but using your tail as an anchor to the ledge.

With tailslides you have to be much more deliberate with where you place your tail, with noseslides you can just smash your nose in there and hang on for dear life.

https://youtu.be/YD9PL9hWPzM?t=125

This video really helped me out even though he doesn't go into specifics about the trick and spends most of the time doing 1/2 cab noseslides. Not trying to stomp the tail onto the ledge, just guiding it into position and riding on top of the ledge.

Last thing I'll add is don't forget how your hips factor into controlling the rotation of the board. I suck at doing BS Tailslides to regular but can do them to fakie, mostly because over-rotate my shoulder during the turn so that momentum continues throughout the slides and pushes me out to fakie. On the 1 week I could come out regular I really focus on pivoting from my hips; so my head is still pointing forward, my shoulders are parallel to the ledge and the board rotation is controlled by my hips entirely.



https://sidewalkmag.com/longform/advanced-bs-tailslide
The explanatory notes are generic but frame 6 is what I'm talking about with regards to the hips. That allows you to keep your shoulders parallel and control the exit to regular or fakie.

Small controlled motions give the best control on tricks.

Edit: went down a Jon Allie rabbit hole and found this perfect BS Tailislide he does in New Blood; rotation is all in the hips. Feels weird paying that much attention to a dude's hips.
https://youtu.be/9dibBsXQBas?t=88

(Not an expert but having a forum to share my thoughts helps me crystallize my thoughts and process of a trick)

[Frank and Fred]

Just re-learend half cab flips. Don't think I've done one in over 15 years. Feels good at 45 to know some things are still possible.

[Madam, I'm Adam]

Expand Quote

Spent the whole month focusing on back tailslides on curbs. Another trick I learned 15 years ago but haven't resuscitated the muscle memory for.

I haven't even slid one properly yet. I can ollie into them, but 95% of the time I don't get my entire tail on, or too much of my weight is on my heel, so I always stick. I'm trying to lean more toward my toes, take a wider stance, and turn more, but it hasn't worked out so far. 

[close]

If you're getting the lock into the curb you're around 60% there, more speed, wax (especially the side of the ledge) and confidence would help. Not exceptionally good at them but I spend a lot of time analyzing and working on this trick when I'm at the park. Ollie-ing into a ledge stationary versus sliding are different.

Whenever I would stick it was because I was popping too high into them and trying to stomp my tail onto the ledge which would result in:
1) Sticking on the ledge
2) Having the board slip out under me

I try to think of it like you are popping your tail just high enough, picking your back foot enough to slot your tail onto the side of the ledge. So if you're riding parallel to the ledge, you and your board are just continuing the forward motion but using your tail as an anchor to the ledge.

With tailslides you have to be much more deliberate with where you place your tail, with noseslides you can just smash your nose in there and hang on for dear life.

https://youtu.be/YD9PL9hWPzM?t=125

This video really helped me out even though he doesn't go into specifics about the trick and spends most of the time doing 1/2 cab noseslides. Not trying to stomp the tail onto the ledge, just guiding it into position and riding on top of the ledge.

Last thing I'll add is don't forget how your hips factor into controlling the rotation of the board. I suck at doing BS Tailslides to regular but can do them to fakie, mostly because over-rotate my shoulder during the turn so that momentum continues throughout the slides and pushes me out to fakie. On the 1 week I could come out regular I really focus on pivoting from my hips; so my head is still pointing forward, my shoulders are parallel to the ledge and the board rotation is controlled by my hips entirely.



https://sidewalkmag.com/longform/advanced-bs-tailslide
The explanatory notes are generic but frame 6 is what I'm talking about with regards to the hips. That allows you to keep your shoulders parallel and control the exit to regular or fakie.

Small controlled motions give the best control on tricks.

Edit: went down a Jon Allie rabbit hole and found this perfect BS Tailislide he does in New Blood; rotation is all in the hips. Feels weird paying that much attention to a dude's hips.
https://youtu.be/9dibBsXQBas?t=88

(Not an expert but having a forum to share my thoughts helps me crystallize my thoughts and process of a trick)

Awesome, thank you. I'm going to remember your tips and try them the next time the park isn't sweltering and crowded with scooters. Which may be never, but hopefully not.

[CorneliusCardew]

Trying to learn nollie heel 180 front side. I can do halfcab heel and nollie heel and nollie 180 but I am reluctant to commit

[Peepeeboy69]

Not really a trick or anything but My last two boards I've noticed I'm popping severely toeside, like razortail is centered beyond the toe side bolts toe side.

I recorded myself doing some ollies and shit consciously thinking to pop straight down and I'm almost front shuving it. I don't think its the shoulders because the shoulders don't look like they move much and the nose stays straight, just the back floats up like a front shuv.

At first it didn't bother me that much but these days its driving me fucking crazy. I definitely didn't used to have this problem, like looking at old boards and shit. But something so damn simple I can't even do when focusing on it 100% got me going home early so I don't yell and shit in public like a person even though I usually very rarely get mad, especially at skating.

[ZachV]

I learned how to roll in today, I’m just hoping I can retain it and learn how to do it on stuff bigger then 4 feet. I’m the biggest pussy on transition 

[Paperclip20]

Not really a trick or anything but My last two boards I've noticed I'm popping severely toeside, like razortail is centered beyond the toe side bolts toe side.

I recorded myself doing some ollies and shit consciously thinking to pop straight down and I'm almost front shuving it. I don't think its the shoulders because the shoulders don't look like they move much and the nose stays straight, just the back floats up like a front shuv.

At first it didn't bother me that much but these days its driving me fucking crazy. I definitely didn't used to have this problem, like looking at old boards and shit. But something so damn simple I can't even do when focusing on it 100% got me going home early so I don't yell and shit in public like a person even though I usually very rarely get mad, especially at skating.

Could be your foot position? My boards used to do this but now when I ollie I make sure my toes are fully on the board and even slightly in from the edge.

[mynameisnotjeff]

Been skating like I was a teen again and I now finally started getting flip tricks. I get kickflips every other to 3rd try. Trying heelflips but, I don't feel like they flip fast enough.

[MorningSesh]

I've been trying it of and on for years but I want to commit to learning tre flips. It's exhausting as hell but looking somewhat forward to the battle.

[ZachV]

Any backside air tips?, I’m not much of a vert rider but im already pretty comfortable riding in big bowls.

I’m staying out of town and there’s this park that has a bowl with like maybe 2 feet of vert in the deep end and was thinking of putting a helmet on a giving it a shot.

From how I understand it, I have to bonk my back wheels, grab my board, and rotate my body 180 degrees (if only it was that simple  )

I’m planning on grabbing melon if I get the balls to try it, but if any Pals have some tips I would appreciate it.

[givecigstosurfgroms]

Bigger spin on flat.  I think thats what it is.   You do a 360 and the board does a 540(?)

[Hyliannightmare]

Frontside carve on the mini

[Sluggloaph]

Switch carves/ power slides and switch heels. Can't do em Reggie but jus want a switch flip jawn

[KushBush]

Bs 180 fakie manny. I can be 180 on the pad and land on my back wheels but when I hold the fakie manny it seems like a fluke (I never fully feel comfortable). Are there any tips on holding them? Like where I should look or something?

[tzhangdox]

Bs 180 fakie manny. I can be 180 on the pad and land on my back wheels but when I hold the fakie manny it seems like a fluke (I never fully feel comfortable). Are there any tips on holding them? Like where I should look or something?

cant do this trick but all my friends who can say that you're meant to only ollie 90 degrees and skrrt your way into the fakie manual

[KushBush]

Expand Quote

Bs 180 fakie manny. I can be 180 on the pad and land on my back wheels but when I hold the fakie manny it seems like a fluke (I never fully feel comfortable). Are there any tips on holding them? Like where I should look or something?

[close]

cant do this trick but all my friends who can say that you're meant to only ollie 90 degrees and skrrt your way into the fakie manual

Okay thanks man! That would make sense because I’d usually focus on doing a full 180 and landing in fakie manny but, the ones I have gotten close too landing had that “skrrt”. I just never put the two together.

[Sila]

I've developed a bad habit of tensing my toes and pointing them down on flip tricks after flicking and as I land. Makes the possibility of an ankle roll much higher. Trying to get out of it. Last session I didn't even bother flipping my board. Anyone else developed this habit?

[Uncle Flea]

A few months ago they repaved my neighborhood and it’s a super smooth ride now. I’ve just been trying to cruise around switch and get a good switch push going. If I get my front foot position just right then I can fly around, but if it’s off a tiny bit then it’s a total disaster. Doing a revert and getting a strong switch push in right after is an amazing feeling. I can do some tail scraps, hopefully a strong ollie by the end of summer.

What about you?

Gnared keep it up. You got this. Up hills is the ticket helps you keep your balance big time.

I am about to go practice my turn around trick for my birthday lines.

 I hope to get switch front pop back 80s looking proper without a fish between the curbs we got.
We was planning on Boston ledges but it's not going to happen.

So I figured to fill the void with tricks into hamburger hill. Going down that switch is gnarly and they're beginning to pave around that area.

My main Manny pad spot is getting new pavement.

One more thing. I've found that painting left handed has greatly increased my switch abilities. Try it it out might help you too.

[Paperclip20]

I've developed a bad habit of tensing my toes and pointing them down on flip tricks after flicking and as I land. Makes the possibility of an ankle roll much higher. Trying to get out of it. Last session I didn't even bother flipping my board. Anyone else developed this habit?

I didn't realize I started doing this until I just read your reply now. I haven't rolled my ankle but have had some pain because of it. Maybe just reminding yourself to stay loose after your flick/pop would help