Easiest Skateboard Tricks for Beginners
So you’ve decided to learn how to skateboard but where do you start? What are the easiest skateboard tricks for beginners? Well, check out our shortlist of tricks you can start learning right now!
Before Learning Skateboard Tricks
Start with the basics. Learn how to get on and off your skateboard. It sounds silly but you’ll know what we mean when you get out there and start to push the board. Learn how to balance and make sure you perfect your stance. Practice carving (when you lean into turns) and get confident at being on the board at speed. If you learn these few basics skills, it will boost your confidence and really help you when you start to learn those first few tricks.
Ollie
Once you’ve got the basics down, you’re going to want to try all sorts of flips, slides and grinds but there’s one more skill to master, the Ollie. The Ollie is probably the most important trick you’ll learn as most tricks are built off the back of the ollie. So, what’s an Ollie? An ollie is when you hop into the air and the board stays with your feet. To learn to Ollie, get rolling, crouch down, making sure you been those knees, and pop the tail as you slide your front foot up the board as you jump into the air. That’s the Ollie, keep practising and practising, the better you Ollies, the easier all other tricks will be to learn.
180 Ollie
So, you’ve got your Ollies down, time to try a 180 Ollie. This is when you and your board launch into the air and turn 180 degrees before landing. Start with and ollie, but as you ollie, quickly rotate your body with the board and you launch into the air so you are spinning. You’ll land with your body in the opposite direction, which is called switch stance, and from there you can slide your board around or even another 180 Ollie! It’s up to you.
Kick Turns
To kick turn, place your foot on the tail, keeping more weight leaning towards the tail than the nose, while keeping your front foot on the front of the board. As your weight is on your back foot, the nose of the skateboard should rise up off the ground and you can pivot either forward or backwards. Kick turns make carving more efficient, especially at faster speeds speeds and can help you on transitions, ramps and learning other tricks.
The Tic-Tac
The Tic-Tac consists of back-and-forth kick turns that rotate you a few degrees and move you forward with small, side-to-side turns. It’s hard to explain on paper, so give the Tic-Tac a search and check out a video. Tic-Tacs are great for improving your strength and balance on your skateboard, so give them a try as soon as you’re ready.
Manuals
A manual is essentially the same as popping a wheelie on a bike. All you need to do is adjust your weight over the board to allow the front of your board to rise and keep it there by balancing and maintaining speed. They look great and you can incorporate manuals between tricks and into your run.
Boardslides
Once you’ve practised the early tricks, you’re going to want to learn how to boardslide. Find a rail or ledge to practice on, build up your speed and ollie up on to the rail or ledge, making sure the middle of your board is in contact with what you are sliding. Make sure you have the board balanced equally either side, and balance all the way along until you slide off, making sure you turn your body to land straight. You can use wax to help with slides, but make sure you don’t over wax, those rails can be pretty scary when too slippery.
Keep practicing these basics and it won’t be long before you can start learning more complex tricks. Make sure you are wearing protective equipment and a helmet when you start learning to skate and warm up with stretches before each session. Be honest with your abilities and don’t try anything that’s too far above your skill level. Give it time, you’ll get there in the end.
Now, what are you doing still reading this? Get out there and start skateboarding!
