I have been skating now for 16 years and I have to say I am surprised at little the sport has changed. The names, the spots, and the stand tricks may have change a bit but the essence of skateboarding has not. Skateboarding art in motion. The art can be expressed in any number of ways and other than pushing mongo there is no wrong way to express ones self through skateboarding.

I have witnessed some insane stunts over the years but I have to tell you the most impressive thing that sticks with me is someones style. A simple trick done extremely well with a stylish twist is more moving than watching someone drop a huge gap or set of stairs.

I think people misinterpret style with skill. Yes, skillful riders often have a good style but style is something different than skill. With in a few minutes of watching someone ride you can tell if they have style or not. They may not even do a crazy or technical trick but you can tell they feel good on their board and can rip.

For those of you out there that think you have to learn every trick in the book, don’t waist your time. Learn a select few tricks, and learn how to do them well. In achieving excellence with a few tricks you will find you will be able to widen your range of tricks more naturally. In my early years I thought you had to learn every trick every way to be good. I failed to realize a sloppy hard trick is not as beautiful as a clean easy trick.

A good style implies good control. Good control means you are closer to everything you can’t already do. By that I mean the more comfortable you are on your board the easier it will be to learn new tricks. As you progress you will find that you will land tricks you have never tried before first try because you have become so comfortable on your board.

Anyhow we would love to hear from you guys so drop a comment or send an email.
TJ

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making a skate

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For those of you out there who have not been into skateboarding that long or who are looking to get something for someone else listen up and I will tell you how to get them a good set up.

We will start with the deck. Boards range in size by width, length, wheel base, nose length and tail length. The main metric however is the width of the board. The most common widths you will find are 7.5” 7.75” and 8.0”. If you are to think of it like small medium and large you would be spot on. Smaller riders tend to go with smaller boards and larger riders tend to go with larger boards.

For a kid that is just starting out a smaller board would be the way to go. The wider the board the harder it is to flip it. So, start there for the little ones and let them grow into wider decks.

As for trucks, the only concern is to match the width of the deck. You can’t really go wrong with the brand as it is personal preference and a new rider will probably learn to like what ever they start with regardless of what they are. If in doubt go with Ventures.

On to wheels. Wheels are defined by their diameter and hardness. A good middle of the road diameter is 52-54 mm. For the hardness go with 98 to 101 durometer rating, if you don’t know the durometer rating don’t worry. Unless the wheels look like jelly you are ok. Oh, and do not buy dual durometer wheels! The salesman may try to sell you some cool new “technology” but do go for it.

That’s the skinny of it, if you have any questions let me know.

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1.    Pushing
While it may not seem like much of a trick, pushing is a vital skill required to become a great skateboarder. The first thing to do is to NOT push mongo. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it means you should be pushing with your back foot, NOT your front foot. The reason for this is people that push mongo (with their front foot) have a much longer set up time before a trick. If you are just starting to ride do yourself a favor and learn to push with your back foot.
2.    Tick Tack
Another seemingly not so important skill that is vital. Being able to tick tack familiarizes an individual with his/her board. It allows you to get the feel of everything while at the same time not jeopardizing your safety. This is also a great way to become more comfortable skating switch. When I first started skating switch I used to tick tack all the time just to build the muscle memory,

3.    Ollie
Often times this is viewed as the first trick one should learn but if you aren’t comfortable on your board first you are creating a steep learning curve for yourself. Once you are comfortable on your board the first thing you need to master is the ollie. This fundamental trick is the cornerstone to virtually all other maneuvers. Once you have a good ollie the world of skateboarding will open up for you.

4.    Shuvit
There are two main movements in skateboarding that dictate the way a board will move the first is the lifting action of the font foot that you will learn when you are learning to ollie, the second is the scooping action of the back foot when you are learning to do pop shuvits. A pop shuvit can be fully completed without the help of the front foot. From this trick 360 flips, varial flips, and who knows what else will be possable

5.    180 (One-eighty)
The fist few tricks on this list deal mainly with only the board, the last one incorporates the body. 180s are a great trick for big drops or just switching directions. Start learning them in either direction, either front side or back side which ever is more comfortable. Remember you body follows your head so if you are having trouble spinning make sure you are leading with your head.

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I have been skateboarding for 5 years but I can’t seem to get better. Can some1 plz help?

Rent tony hawks trick tips dvds for some ideas, you can also go to your local skatepark and take lessons! I keep telling my boys taht you gotta keep practicing! Good luck! : )

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