Basic Skateboarding Tricks For Beginners

So, you want to learn how to ride a skateboard? More than that, you definitely want to learn how to do skateboarding tricks, right? That's great. But as they say, you have to learn how to walk before you can run. The same thing's true with skateboarding. Before you learn the more complicated tricks out there, we're going to show you some of the more basic skateboarding tricks for beginners. Ready to learn all about them? Then read on.

The Manual

Beginner Trick Skateboard

The manual is easily the most recognizable skateboard trick there is. You've probably already seen it several times, only that you don't know what it's actually called.

Basic Skateboarding Tricks For Beginners

Let us describe what a manual is. It's a type of skateboard trick wherein you ride the board with the two rear wheels and with the front of the board tilted up. The key component of a good manual is good balance, so it's a good starter trick to learn if you want to be serous about skateboarding. Doing this trick combines learning how to balance yourself on the board while learning a new trick at the same time.

There's another variation of the manual wherein you ride on the two front wheels instead of the rear. It's called the nose manual, which requires more skill, so try to learn the basic one first, before trying this one out.

The Ollie

Another popular and basic skateboarding trick is the Ollie. The credit for the creation of this trick goes to Alan "Ollie" Gelfand, who did this for the first time in 1978. To do an Ollie, you need to kick the tail of your board and have it underneath your feet while you're mid-air. You'll then land on your feet squarely on the board afterwards.

This trick can be, well, tricky (pun intended) because you don't only worry about your balance but also your timing. Prepare to fall flat on your bottom from time to time while learning this, but your regular practice will pay off eventually, so you have nothing to worry about.

Once you have mastered this trick, you can now move on to a slight variation of the Ollie, which is the kickflip.

The Kickflip

This skateboarding trick has a lot of things in common with the Ollie. However, the kickflip has a literal twist added to it. While in mid-air, you need to flip your board to make it spin, then land on the deck squarely when you hit the ground.

Since this is a little more complicated than the Ollie, you should also be prepared to make a few mistakes along the way.

There are lots of other skateboarding tricks that you will learn about as you go along riding your skateboard. However, these three that we talked about here will be enough to keep you busy and challenged for the next few weeks or so. Once you have mastered the manual, Ollie, and the kickflip, you can then start learning the more complex variations of these basic skateboarding tricks. Just remember to keep it safe, though! This way, you can enjoy skateboarding while protecting yourself from injuries.

Basic Skateboarding Tricks For Beginners