Easy Skateboard Tricks You Can Learn

I'm not a skateboarder, and I'd be lucky to stay on the board if I could make it roll at all, let alone do any tricks. My son has taught a number of people how to ride a skateboard and do some very impressive skateboard tricks. After just two weeks, a person who didn't even know the names of any of the tricks learned how to do a number of impressive moves.

I recently asked my son how to do many of the popular tricks, and I had my son make a list of instructions. Although I won't be trying any of these tricks anytime soon, these step-by-step instructions explain how to do many popular skateboard tricks. If you'd like to learn several well known skateboard tricks, you'll learn exactly how to do them with the following information.

Before Beginning

In this article, the terms regular and goofy will be mentioned in the instructions. In skateboard lingo, regular means your left foot goes in front, and your right foot goes in back. Goofy is the other way around.

In addition, always wear your safety gear, especially a helmet when learning new tricks. You might think a helmet doesn't look cool, but laying in a hospital bed in a coma certainly isn't cool and could stop you from skateboarding ever again.

Ollie

The very first skateboard trick most skateboarders learn is an ollie. It's a basic jump, but unless you're very lucky you won't be able to do this trick right away. Don't get discouraged. Even the best skateboarders had to learn to do an ollie, and it takes a little practice and a lot of patience.

Ride the skateboard regular with one foot in front, and put your left foot in the middle of the board. Your other foot should be near the back end of the board at the middle of the tail. If your foot is at the very edge, when you land you'll do the splits. This isn't a trick you want to do! While in position, pop the back of the board as hard as you can, and slide your front foot forward. Push down as hard as you can with your front foot. This will levitate the board, and even it out while continuing to roll.

Pop Shove-It

This is a relatively easy trick. Some people learn this trick before they learn to ollie, and my son learned this one first when he was only 8 years old. Even still it take some practice, but you'll have it down pat in no time.

The board is suppose to do a 180 degree spin but your body doesn't. If you're a regular skater (left foot in front), kick your front foot out to the right, and your back foot out to the left. This gives the board 180 degree motion. You have to jump forward a little to follow the board.

360 Shove-It

This trick is a little more challenging, but you can do it will a little practice. Master the 180 shove-it before attempting this skateboard trick, or do a fakie, which is the same trick backwards. Many skateboarders can do a fakie before they can do an actual 360 shove-it.

You have to really spin the board hard and jump forward while doing this skateboard trick. Put your front foot over the front bolts, and pop shove it really fast and hard. It will take a higher jump, even if it's just your body jumping higher to complete the trick.

Kickflip

When you do a kickflip it's like an ollie, but you put your front toes at the very edge of the middle of the board. You flick your foot, and you can either hit the very front, or flip your foot out to the left or right, depending on whether you skate regular or goofy.

Heelflip

You do this trick like a kickflip, but you flip the board with your heel in the other direction. Position your toes off of the skateboard, flip your heel forward, and flip the board to complete the trick.

Varial Kickflip

A varial kickflip is a pop shove-it and a kickflip combined. Begin doing a pop shove-it, and before doing the full pop shove-it, kick the board to flip it. This is a varial kickflip. This one takes some practice, but in a week or two you'll look like a pro that knows a number of impressive skateboard tricks.

360 Flip

This trick is like a varial kick flip, but it's a double varial kick flip, and this one of the skateboard tricks that's a little more challenging. Like all skateboard tricks, it takes some practice. Power in your back foot is necessary to complete this skateboard trick.

This trick is completed in the same way as a varial kickflip. Start by spinning the board, and as it spins about 10 degrees you flick off the nose of the board and scoop your back foot as hard as you can. You have to jump higher than usual and a little bit forward because of the greater rotation.