Epiphanies that helped your skateboarding

[Pbn_jake]

Think I’m realizing I should only ever purchase 1010s

[Jort250]

Today’s realization - I think I always knew this deep down but if you’re struggling with manuals or just flow in general… cleaning your bearings helps a ton

On the backside (fuck frontside) crook talk, I find that whatever angle your front foot is on the board is that angle that you’ll land the crook in. YMMV but I find that the ollie tends to go pretty straight. So with that in mind, if I’m rolling parallel, I like my front foot pointy - if I am rolling with a bit of angle, I have my front foot a bit more angled ~45 degrees

[Switch360flip]

Couldn’t bs bigspin my whole life. I could do this gross over rotated pop shuv pivot thing but I would always step off anyway and it looked disgusting. Then I watched a YouTube video awhile back and the guy said to scoop the board along the ground in the shape of a crescent moon. And now I can do that trick so effortlessly and it feels so good to do. Ive transferred that advice to bs 360s and those also work/look/feel way better now

[spooky electric]

Couldn’t bs bigspin my whole life. I could do this gross over rotated pop shuv pivot thing but I would always step off anyway and it looked disgusting. Then I watched a YouTube video awhile back and the guy said to scoop the board along the ground in the shape of a crescent moon. And now I can do that trick so effortlessly and it feels so good to do. Ive transferred that advice to bs 360s and those also work/look/feel way better now

I broke a big shopfront window slipping out on a bs bigspin about 15 years ago. I'm traumatised by them. Cost me like $600

[Made In China]

I'm trying to learn how to grind slappy crooks longer going both ways. For backside I understand it's weight on the heel and leaning back, right? How does that translate to frontside? That one feels way less intuitive to me

[tzhangdox]

I'm trying to learn how to grind slappy crooks longer going both ways. For backside I understand it's weight on the heel and leaning back, right? How does that translate to frontside? That one feels way less intuitive to me

Backside I honestly think its not the heel but rather the arch of your foot area, thinking purely heel just causes drag or slip out for me. YMMV depending on foot size etc though.

FS is just the opposite, weight on toe, head straight over front foot

[I-am-12]

A huge breakthrough for me was when I figured out that trying to pop as "loud" as possible made me pop better and do stuff properly. Sometimes if I'm trying something, remembering to try to pop loud helps a ton

[mfweeno]

I am kind of a neurotic dude, and skateboarding can exacerbate those tendencies for me. That being said, two things that have helped me recently:

-Letting the session "talk" to me instead of forcing a specific trick or routine. There's something about letting my nervous system feel out the session that makes it easier to commit to tricks and pivot when things aren't working out.

-Journaling after the session. Processing how the session went - what tricks I did, what feelings and thoughts were present, what went well and what could've gone better - has helped me find value in each my sessions and stop putting pressure on having "the perfect sesh".

[GashBandicoot]

I am kind of a neurotic dude, and skateboarding can exacerbate those tendencies for me. That being said, two things that have helped me recently:

-Letting the session "talk" to me instead of forcing a specific trick or routine. There's something about letting my nervous system feel out the session that makes it easier to commit to tricks and pivot when things aren't working out.

-Journaling after the session. Processing how the session went - what tricks I did, what feelings and thoughts were present, what went well and what could've gone better - has helped me find value in each my sessions and stop putting pressure on having "the perfect sesh".

Even keeping a simple shorthand log in a notes app about anything notable or how you felt does the trick. Like to keep track of what session # for the current year or how long a piece of gear has been in the rotation. Kind of funny to scroll through after some months have passed.

[devils acrobat]

A huge breakthrough for me was when I figured out that trying to pop as "loud" as possible made me pop better and do stuff properly. Sometimes if I'm trying something, remembering to try to pop loud helps a ton

Love this one. Rhe older I get the harder it is to pop every trick properly. Will try many loud ones next sessions.

[mfweeno]

Expand Quote

A huge breakthrough for me was when I figured out that trying to pop as "loud" as possible made me pop better and do stuff properly. Sometimes if I'm trying something, remembering to try to pop loud helps a ton

[close]

Love this one. Rhe older I get the harder it is to pop every trick properly. Will try many loud ones next sessions.

This tip helped me a ton today while I was working on a nollie pop shuv off something. My initial tries were pretty flail-y, so I made myself focus on getting a good "smack" off my nose - eventually one flew up to my feet.

[WadeDes]

-Letting the session "talk" to me instead of forcing a specific trick or routine. There's something about letting my nervous system feel out the session that makes it easier to commit to tricks and pivot when things aren't working out.

Have been taking this approach for a while now and I really enjoy skating a lot more. It comes close to a form/practice of stoicism/buddhism/mindfulness, being in the moment, enjoying the small things. When things are not working focus on something else. That philosophy skateboarding crossover shit, love it.

[Pbn_jake]

Today’s realization - I think I always knew this deep down but if you’re struggling with manuals or just flow in general… cleaning your bearings helps a ton

On the backside (fuck frontside) crook talk, I find that whatever angle your front foot is on the board is that angle that you’ll land the crook in. YMMV but I find that the ollie tends to go pretty straight. So with that in mind, if I’m rolling parallel, I like my front foot pointy - if I am rolling with a bit of angle, I have my front foot a bit more angled ~45 degrees

I’ve learned that despite where I put my feet I always use my fucking toe to guide my nose to the ledge, causing stupid wear on my toe

[SwitchBenihana]

Sounds like you're then opening your shoulders more too. I would definitely drill that down a bit. I don't drag my toe but it was a problem for a really long time and I wouldn't lock in very well. I realized I need to think about keeping my foot perpendicular to the rails and aiming the outside pinky toe knuckle/side of foot. Fixed all my issues slipping out of various grinds.

My latest epiphany is to really exaggerate using the kicks to pull/push ollies and 180s over things mainly in the rear foot.

[The Huffer]

Not really an epiphany but I re-realized (again), smaller wheels can sometimes be faster. I was skating a weird OR coast park yesterday and there is an awkward line to get to the top of biggest wall. I sometimes struggle to hit a grind on it but yesterday it came way easier with 55mm wheels than the last time with 60mm wheels. I put it down to quicker acceleration in a limited space...

Anyway... less can be more.

[pica]

I've said this numerous times in numerous threads; but actually using wax.

When/where I grew up it was like ILLEGAL to use wax, all the older dudes were just like "go faster" and would berate you with great homophobic scorn. I remember a friend buying a toy machine block of wax and the packaging basically said exactly what the older dudes we skated around said - "wax is unnecessary, just go faster"

Whilst I agree that you shouldn't skate slow and use wax, I don't understand what those guys were thinking...

How did they think people were grinding concrete etc? It really made younger me think that some skaters just had sort of magical sliding abilities with regards to all the bluntslides, long tailslides etc... then i realised there was kind of nothing to it. If you have the skill and confidence to get into the trick it's pretty chill.

My older brother (7 years older so different generations of skaters for sure) still trips right out if i wax something.

I'm certainly not a psycho with wax though, i'd much rather stick than slip out, and as i said earlier - skating super slow and using wax is not cool, but yeah, it's a legitimate skateboarding accessory - often a trick would be impossible without it, just use it as you need it.

The toymachine wax said „Wax in no excuse for fear of speed“

[GnarAlarm]

I believe it was a Chico Brenes interview where he said "people always saying nah don't wax it just go faster and I'm like bitch I'm old I ain't going any faster"

[Jort250]

This might not be for everyone but on a recent cold streak with tre flips, I’ve sort of kicked my way out of my funk by starting my board at like ~20 degrees pre-turned to make it rotate all the way easier. Might not be for everyone and you lose style points but I’m not going pro so hey it works for me

[skatebruh]

Biggest thing recently was learning the poo stance idea from surfing. Poo stance makes most things harder.

Several flip tricks are easier in poo stance which can create the illusion that poo stance is a good idea if you skate a lot of flatground. If you take poo stance to transition, ledges, or rails, you run into problems.

[I-am-12]

Biggest thing recently was learning the poo stance idea from surfing. Poo stance makes most things harder.

Several flip tricks are easier in poo stance which can create the illusion that poo stance is a good idea if you skate a lot of flatground. If you take poo stance to transition, ledges, or rails, you run into problems.

Does this just mean just being square with your shoulders? Lined up with your board?

[The Huffer]

Wide stance.

Hewitt uses it with great efficiency and grace but not many others do. I remember shortening my stance helped smooth things out a bit.

[rocklobster]

My goal this year has been to dial in my ollie. I've been doing them rocket for over 20 years and while it's gotten me a decent bag of tricks (look at the ledge stuff, ignore the flatground) the lack of a controlled ollie I can manipulate underfoot is limiting my ability to learn new stuff and be consistent with my already shrinking bag.

Recently it's been lifting my front knee to get my ollie higher, instead of using only my front foot dragging upwards of the griptape. Consciously thinking about lifting my back foot up off the ground to level out the ollie.

And most recently recognizing the deck need to shift back slight while popping (thanks SkateIQ), so the body has to accommodate for that while trying to maintain the forward momentum.

IDK man skateboarding is tough when you break it down like that, explains why this thread is still active despite the our long individual tenures riding a skateboard.

[GardenSkater77]

Wide stance.

Hewitt uses it with great efficiency and grace but not many others do. I remember shortening my stance helped smooth things out a bit.

I have been skating only transition on a 33.25” deck with 15.20” wheelbase (old Krooked eyes shape) and I am totally changing my stance. I lean more forward and keep my legs more spread. It makes me realize that I have been leaning too far back all these years to really enjoy transition. Better late than never I guess.

[AnimalChinaski79]

My goal this year has been to dial in my ollie. I've been doing them rocket for over 20 years and while it's gotten me a decent bag of tricks (look at the ledge stuff, ignore the flatground) the lack of a controlled ollie I can manipulate underfoot is limiting my ability to learn new stuff and be consistent with my already shrinking bag.

Recently it's been lifting my front knee to get my ollie higher, instead of using only my front foot dragging upwards of the griptape. Consciously thinking about lifting my back foot up off the ground to level out the ollie.

And most recently recognizing the deck need to shift back slight while popping (thanks SkateIQ), so the body has to accommodate for that while trying to maintain the forward momentum.

IDK man skateboarding is tough when you break it down like that, explains why this thread is still active despite the our long individual tenures riding a skateboard.

I could apply everything you've said to my own ollies.  They get the job done but to have that super tight snappy boned out ollie is always the dream.

[SwitchBenihana]

Think of your rear foot moving like this: ) and at the top of stop moving your knee up and instead pull your inner ankle up like a pigeon pose almost: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60341cd7b342697d27dea4d2/09ece6a5-648e-4cea-83c6-e60c11c552c8/paschimo.jpg

If you do this while pushing forward with your front foot it will poke real nice.

Another tip that helped me really control my Ollie years ago was to do a ton of taller manuals or do them up onto something and quickly have to do something off of the object. This helps you get used to really pulling the tail up with the front foot and making sure the back foot lifts and clears but also doing it fast enough so your feet get back into position.

[GnarAlarm]

I feel like "Bend your knees more" should be on every page of this thread, just as a reminder, if nobody else at least for me. I've gotten much better about it, but occasionally I still catch myself barely squatting for tricks.

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

Expand Quote

Wide stance.

Hewitt uses it with great efficiency and grace but not many others do. I remember shortening my stance helped smooth things out a bit.

[close]

I have been skating only transition on a 33.25” deck with 15.20” wheelbase (old Krooked eyes shape) and I am totally changing my stance. I lean more forward and keep my legs more spread. It makes me realize that I have been leaning too far back all these years to really enjoy transition. Better late than never I guess.

I'm always thinking forward and UP when it comes to transitions taller than like 3'/1m. Once you get the feel of not dive bombing or looping out, you're on the right track

[rocklobster]

Think of your rear foot moving like this: ) and at the top of stop moving your knee up and instead pull your inner ankle up like a pigeon pose almost: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60341cd7b342697d27dea4d2/09ece6a5-648e-4cea-83c6-e60c11c552c8/paschimo.jpg

If you do this while pushing forward with your front foot it will poke real nice.

Another tip that helped me really control my Ollie years ago was to do a ton of taller manuals or do them up onto something and quickly have to do something off of the object. This helps you get used to really pulling the tail up with the front foot and making sure the back foot lifts and clears but also doing it fast enough so your feet get back into position.

Going to need a better explanation on the back foot, but the yoga position reminds me I should be doing that to stretch out my glutes and hip flexors.

I'll need to work my ollie manuals on taller obstacles too, my back truck has nearly caught on stuff I should be clearing easily.

[GardenSkater77]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Wide stance.

Hewitt uses it with great efficiency and grace but not many others do. I remember shortening my stance helped smooth things out a bit.

[close]

I have been skating only transition on a 33.25” deck with 15.20” wheelbase (old Krooked eyes shape) and I am totally changing my stance. I lean more forward and keep my legs more spread. It makes me realize that I have been leaning too far back all these years to really enjoy transition. Better late than never I guess.

[close]

I'm always thinking forward and UP when it comes to transitions taller than like 3'/1m. Once you get the feel of not dive bombing or looping out, you're on the right track

I’m not catching air or anything but it’s just fun to do arching carves on a ramp where before I would just pivot and turn. Because I physically can’t Ollie anymore I am happy that I have a new technique to focus on. My whole skate life I was cocked back ready to snap my tail. Now, I don’t have to think about tricks and it really freed me up to the slow progression of just flowing and maintaining speed.

[AnimalChinaski79]

Think of your rear foot moving like this: ) and at the top of stop moving your knee up and instead pull your inner ankle up like a pigeon pose almost: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60341cd7b342697d27dea4d2/09ece6a5-648e-4cea-83c6-e60c11c552c8/paschimo.jpg

If you do this while pushing forward with your front foot it will poke real nice.

Another tip that helped me really control my Ollie years ago was to do a ton of taller manuals or do them up onto something and quickly have to do something off of the object. This helps you get used to really pulling the tail up with the front foot and making sure the back foot lifts and clears but also doing it fast enough so your feet get back into position.

I've narrowed down my biggest problem, and it's being hunched over instead of squatting straight down before I pop.  I don't think i did this as a kid but I do it now and it limits the power you can put down, and just feels sluggish  I need to fix this.  Trying to build up my core muscles more would probably help.