Skateboarding Guide

written by

H3LLS!D3

180 casper hop

• Start by rolling fakie (backwards). Your front foot will be on the edge of the board, so that you can tip the board over. The back foot is almost perpendicular to the board, back on the tail.
  Push down on the edge of the board, while jumping a little bit to keep you from just squashing the board to the ground. As you to this, as you see in frame 2, the front foot will not only push down, but start to scoop under the board. The rear foot is moving so that it will land on the underside of the tail, right behind the truck.
  
  
  The trick is starting to come together. You can see the rear foot is positioned to land on the underside of the tail, and the front foot is scooping, ready to hold that end of the board up.
  I'm in the Casper position nice and solid. The front foot keeps the board off the ground (without touching the ground), and the rear foot is on the bottom of the tail, also without touching the ground.
  
  Balancing in this position is fairly difficult. That's why this is a nice casper trick to start with. You don't have to stall very long. You can keep your momentum.
  
  
  OK, after hitting the Casper, it's time to get out before I lose may balance. I start to lift the nose straight up, and start jumping too.
  The board is flipping over and I'm in the air.
  
  
  The board is moving toward a landing position. My front foot is still above the board, positioned across the board to keep it from flipping like a kickflip.
  Frame 8 shows more of the same. I'm starting to get my other foot back over the board.
  
  
  I move the other foot back and land nice and solid, ready for more. 

540 gazelle

• Start by rolling forward with your front foot pointed forward near the front of your board and your back foot hanging slightly off the inside rail of your board by the tail.
  
  
  With your board rolling forward, begin to wind up for the trick twisting your torso to the left and then begin to unwind as you do the shove it part of the trick. For the shove it, you'll want to throw the board behind you using your back foot.
  
  
  The board should rotate 540 degrees and you'll spin all the way around following the board.
  
  
  While we're watching Terry's board rotate under him, I'll break in and tell you to please notice that Terry's body is centered over the board the whole time. As always, that's important.
  
  
  As you get about three-quarters of the way around, try to catch the board in the air with your feet and finish the turn.
  
  
  Roll away heading forward with a smile on your face knowing you just pulled a fun trick. 

butterflip

• Get into HS rail, and move your feet into the 'Cooper position' (both feet at one end of the board). If you usually flip the board with your front foot (like me) you're going to have to do this switch.
  
  With both your feet at the end, get your balance centered over the wheel, hold out your right hand (left if your regular), and flip the board heelflip direction with your back foot. You should be kicking diagonally away from you.
  
  When you see the board has flipped 3/4, catch the nose with your hand and land with your back foot on the bottom truck.
  
  Now you're ready to flip out like you would from a 50/50 fingerflip.
  If you're having trouble with this trick, practice just catching the board in your hand (landing with feet on floor) and then practice landing with your foot on the truck, then put them together and you've got yourself a butterflip! 

heel-side rail stand

• Start this move stationary. Put one foot along the one edge of the board. Move the other foot so that it is hanging off the side of the board, above the truck.
  
  Jump up slightly, while pressing down on the edge of the board. This will cause the board to start tipping over on it's side.
  
  
  Keep your body centered over the board. In these two frames, you'll see that the foot that was hanging over the edge is positioned so that it will be on top of the wheel when the board makes it on to the rail. The other foot, after tipping the board, is stepping toward the other truck.
  
  
  As the board comes to rest on it's rail (that's what the edge is called in freestyle), I put my other foot down on top of the other wheel. Since I have my board set up to be very stable in this position, the whole thing feels very solid.  

kickflip-underflip

• I'm setting up for the trick. My weight is on my back foot, and my front foot at about the middle of the board, with just the toes on the board. I jump up. As I jump, my front foot pushes down on the edge of the board, causing it to flip over. When it gets about halfway over (actually a little before the wheels are pointed straight up) that front foot will kick it back in the other direction.
  
  My front foot has just popped the board back in the opposite direction, changing the direction of the flip. I am starting to raise the front foot.
  
  The board is flipping as it would in a kickflip. I'm still in the air, and my front foot is still coming up. I'm hovering there as the board is upside down.
  
  My legs are extending down to make a nice solid landing. The board completes approximately 1 1/2 flips. I land the trick in about the same place I started.

no-handed 50/50 to 50/50 fingerflip

• I start in a Tail Stop position.
  I put my front foot under the board, preparing to scoop it into the move.
  
  
  Now -- here is where things get weird.
  I jump a little, and use my front foot to flip the board over. Look at the front foot. I'm already pointing it for the landing spot, right on top of the truck.
  
  My foot is already on the truck. The board is still tipping over, but I'm using the other foot under the board to stop the motion by catching the board.
  
  
  My foot is already on the truck. The board is still tipping over, but I'm using the other foot under the board to stop the motion by catching the board. Now the hard part -- balancing.
  I've settled into the No-Handed 50/50. A couple of tips...
  
  I find it easier to hold the 50/50 if I keep the nose pretty high. If you let the nose dip down, it requires more effort to keep the thing going.
  Once you get into this position, don't panic. Try to hold it for a few seconds.
  I begin to reach down to grab the nose.
  
  
  I've grabbed the nose and removed my foot, successfully transitioning into a 50/50 Finger Flip position.
  Now it is time to come down. I hop up a bit, and use my hand to flip the board back over.
  
  
  Finally, I just flip down, landing back in a Tail Stop position. You can also flip down to a normal, all-wheels-down position.
  There are lots of possible variations. Try a 1 1/2 Finger Flip out. Or maybe a full Finger Flip to Casper...

ollie fingerflip

• Set up with your feet more towards the tail facing the nose. You'll want your lead hand out in front.
  
  As you pop the tail jump up but keep your lead hand ready to catch the board. Try not to lean over the nose too much as the board has a tendency to attack you.
  Grab the board and tuck those legs up. You want to be flipping the board as soon as you grab it and remember to keep the legs up.
  
  
  As the board comes around grip side just dump your feet back on and you'll hopefully land. 

sidewinder

• The first part of this trick is just getting into a regular 50-50 stand, so make sure you can do that. You can get into it many ways, but I just do it from a nose stop this time.
  
  Now things get fun. A sidewinder is a transfer trick, and it involves a shift in weight. So its very important to stay center over the board throughout the transfer, or everything will mess up. Your going to bring your free front foot up and stick it above the truck on the nose. While this happening, the nose is going to be dipping down. Stay with it!
  Next, while getting the foot on the nose, your backhand will be reaching down and grabbing the the toe side wheel on the back truck.
  
  
  Now time to transfer. With a little hop, your front foot will push down, smacking the nose on the ground as you backhand lifts up on the back truck/wheel. Hold on! Now you end up in a switch hand casper position.
  
  The transfer is the hardest part. At first you'll kind of fall into it and then pick up the backend. But after some practice, the nice clean transfer will come.
  
  From this point, use your imagination to get out, or continue. Some variations including going into a nose casper, throwing it into rail, jumping up into a pogo...skies the limit. This clip is a little old, so I just threw the board over to a regular stance.
  
  Once you master this version of the sidewinder, go on to 50-50 sidewinders, where you transfer into a switch 50-50 instead of a casper. 50-50 sidewinders are very impressive trick. 

tail handflip to tail stop

• I stop in a Tail Stop position.
  I move my front foot to the tail, so I'm standing on my front foot only. Though it is hard to tell in the picture, my heel is not on the ground. All my weight is on the ball of my foot, on the tail. At the same time, I reach down and grab the nose with my front hand, thumb on top.
  
  
  I jump and flip the board. I like to use my free foot to land. So I take off from one foot and land on the other. I find it easier to do this way, since I can really concentrate on using the free foot to trap the board during landing.
  
  Just show more of the mid-air part of the move. At this point, I'm really watching my landing foot and the tail. You need good timing and good aim to land on the tail without putting your foot on the ground.
  
  The board has completed it's flip and I've smacked the tail with my landing foot, which stops the flipping motion.
  And finally, in frame 8, I've landed the move nice and clean -- no contact with the ground by the landing foot.