Skateboarding trick
A skateboarding trick, or simply a trick, is a maneuver performed by manipulating a skateboard, usually with one's feet, in a specific way to achieve the desired outcome – the trick.
![](../I/Skateboard_facility_at_Guantanamo.jpg.webp)
History
Though skateboards emerged in the 1900s, skateboarding tricks like the ones done today did not appear until decades later. In the 1970s and earlier, the most common tricks were "2D" freestyle types such as manuals and pivots. Only later in the 1980s and early 1990s were common modern-day tricks like the ollie and heel-flip invented by Alan Gelfand and Rodney Mullen, setting the stage for other aerial tricks. The invention of these tricks changed the skateboarding lifestyle for many years to come.[1]
Types
Ollie
![](../I/Skateboarding_at_Mexico_City_-_Ollie_-_005.JPG.webp)
An ollie is a jump where the front wheels leave the ground first.[2] This motion is attained with a snap of the tail (from the back foot) and sliding one's front foot forward to reach any altitude. A lot of technical tricks transpire from this element (e.g. the kickflip, heelflip, 360-flip). A nollie is when the back wheels leave the ground first by snapping the nose of the board, with the back foot sliding towards the tail. There is also a switch ollie, which is simply an ollie in switch stance position. The switch stance position is the opposite position of how the rider would normally ride.
Grabs
A grab involves floating in the air, while using either hand to hold the board against the feet or keeping constant and careful pressure on the board with the feet to keep it from floating away. The Indy grab usually combines rotation with different grabs. This class of tricks was first popularized when Tony Hawk became famous for his frontside airs in empty swimming pools in the late 1970s and has expanded to include the bulk of skateboarding tricks to this day, including the ollie and all of its variations.[3] The 900 and 1080[4] fall under the class of aerials, though these are commonly confused with aerial grabs.
Flip tricks
![](../I/Skateboarding_at_Mexico_City_-_Flip_-_001.JPG.webp)
Flip tricks are a subset of aerials which are all based on the ollie. An example is the kickflip, the most widely known and performed flip trick. The board can be spun around many different axes as part of a flip trick, thus combining several rotations into one trick. These tricks are undoubtedly most popular among street skateboarding purists, although skaters with other styles perform them as well. The famous placing of the board on the feet and then jumping was created in 1987 by Nathan Lipor. Combining spins and flips is extremely popular in today's culture. A common trick in skateboarding lines is a 360 flip, or tre flip. A 360 flip is the combination of a skateboard spinning 360 degrees and a kickflip. There are also double kickflips and triple kickflips, which are very difficult.
Freestyle
Freestyle skateboarding tricks are tricks specifically associated with freestyle skateboarding. They are part of the building blocks and some of the most important reference points for tricks which have evolved to form street skateboarding.
Slides and grinds
![](../I/Skateboarding_at_Mexico_City_-_Grind_-_011.JPG.webp)
Slides and grinds involve getting the board up on some type of ledge, rail, or coping and sliding or grinding along the board or trucks, respectively. When it is primarily the board which is contacting the edge, it is called a slide; when it is the truck, it is a grind. Grinding and sliding skateboards started with sliding the board on parking blocks and curbs, then extended to using the coping on swimming pools, then stairway handrails, and has now been expanded to include almost every possible type of edge. Grinds and slides on street environments were brought to mainstream skateboarding by professional skateboarders Natas Kaupas and Mark Gonzales.
Smith Grind
The Smith Grind is a skateboard trick that envolves riding a skateboard on a rail, ledge or coping while simultaneously grinding the rear truck and dragging the inside rail of the skateboard deck. The Smith Grind was invented by Pat Ngoho in the late 70's and made popular by Mike Smith.[5] It is considered to most as an advanced trick popular in both street and bowl skating.
References
- Florez, Alex. "History of Skateboarding Tricks". Shreddit. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- "Ollie - Definition". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- Skateboarder magazine, July 1978.
- "12 year old lands the first ever 1080 on a skateboard". Skateboarding.com.au. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- "this-box-is-my-life". Concrete-Wave-magazine. No. Vol.4–no.2. Fall 2005. p. 78.
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