How to Blunt Slide

The blunt slide is one of the more difficult rail tricks, although it can also be done on other obstacles it typically is not.  The blunt slide looks very similar to a tail slide; however is very different based on its difficulty level.  A blunt slide involves a skate boarder Ollieing over the rail then using his tail to grind across the rail.  This trick takes a very long time to master, but when you do have it down you will be glad that you took the time to learn in.  In order to do this trick you will have to have a high Ollie, be able to do a 90 degree turn in the air, and be somewhat able to Ollie backwards.  A high Ollie is key to this trick in order to get up and over the rail, as well as giving yourself time to set up for the slide.  To do this trick you will want to approach the rail with it at your back.  This trick like the board slide is easier to balance if you increase your speed.  At this point you should be approaching the rail at a slight angle with plenty of speed.  While approaching the rail you will want to have your feet positioned to pop the Ollie.  After popping the Ollie turn 90 degrees in the air so that your tail smacks and locks onto the rail.  To get out of the grind unlike the others I have discussed you just need to turn out away from the rail.  Blunt slides are extremely easy to get out of which is a good and bad thing.  The ease of getting out of blunt slides is a bad thing since it makes them much harder to grind for longer distances.  As I said earlier, this trick is very hard so don't get frustrated when trying to learn them, have fun and good luck.

How to Tre Flip

The 360 flip more commonly called the tre flip is one of the most complex tricks in skateboarding.  The tre flip consists of a 360 shove it and a kick flip, thus the name 360 flip.  The term tre flip was coined about 15 years ago for this trick for no reason, except that the term tre flip sounds cooler.  In order to do this trick you will want to have mastered kick flips and 360 shove its.  The postion of your back foot is the same as the ollie **( If you have not read the article on Ollies click here).  Your front foot should be angled as if you were going to kick flip except your foot should be placed near the center of your board.  The most common obstacle when learning this trick is the back foot.  Unlike the other tricks which have been discussed in this blog, the back foot for this trick does not pop the board, instead it scoops it.  Your back foot rather than pushing the board down in order to pop it instead, does a quick counter clock wise motion and has the board rotate around the foot itself.  While your backfoot scoops the deck your right foot kicks down and out just like a kickflip.  This trick is considered to be one of the hardest tricks so do not be upset if it takes a very long time to master.  The issue when learning this trick really is the technique of scooping since none of the other tricks require this skillset.  To learn this trick, I cannot emphasize enough the importance to master 360 shove its.   Although not many individuals actually use 360 shove its, it is imparative to learn them before attempting tre flips.  Tre flips are much harder at first to control and can lead to sprained ankes if rushed into.  Good Luck and send me an email if after two weeks you are still having an issue with scooping the board.

Where To Purchase Skate Materials

There are a plethora of options when picking out locations to buy decks, shoes, wheels, bearings, etc but the best place in my opinion would be your local skate shop.  Many locations such as Zoomies in the mall sell skate boarding materials, but the atmosphere is poor at best.  Places like Zoomies have no love for the sport and make no personal connections with the skaters whom shop there.  Places like Jerics have a real community feel which can only be provided by individuals that love skate boarding.  Getting to know your local skate shop also opens doors to potentially getting sponsored.  Large companies such as Zoomies do not have local sponsorships which a local shop normally provides.  A sponsorship is offer presented to individuals who have excellent attitudes and skating abilities.  A good sponsor or sponsors will provide clothing, shoes, and dicks for a reduced price or even for free.  Also the intrinsic benefits of purchasing your skate materials from a company which actually cares about skating will allow you to make many connections along with friends.  Although the skateboarding atmosphere seems that it is comprised of a bunch of thugs, for some reason when it comes to skate shops they are extremely loyal and respectful.  After talking to the Jerics owner he said that "his store only has about 20 dollars worth of merchandise stolen a month."  This sense of community is shared with individuals whom frequent the shop which allows you the opportunity to make number of friends.

How To Shove It

Another trick which every good skater needs in his or her arsenal of tricks is the shove it.  The shove it and pop shove it are actually two different tricks, not a huge difference but in skateboarding their really never is.  A shove it is when your skateboard does a 180 degree turn and a pop shove it is when you pop the board up into the air and it does a 180 degree turn.  In order to visualize this trick picture kicking your board 180 degrees, so when done successfully your tail of your board will then be the nose.  Doing this trick is fairly simple and we will go over both variations.  Like the other tricks I explain in my blog this trick is part of your skating foundation.  The shove it is used in such tricks as big spins, tre flips, and varial flips.  This trick should be learned after the Ollie and before the kick flip.  Now that we have an idea of what this trick is and what it will do for you skating lets discuss how to do them.  To do this trick you will have to be on the balls of your feet, have your back foot on the top of the tail, and your back foot just slightly behind the front bolts. In order to do the shove it you will have to kick your back foot behind you while taking your front foot and kicking out away from you.  Doing this correctly will spin the board 180 degrees on the ground.  When doing this trick typically the board will shoot forward in front of you about the width of your deck so while doing the shove it motions jump forward in order to land on the deck.  A pop shove it is done the same way except you pop the back foot as if you were doing and Ollie.  The motions of the pop shove it would be popping the deck and kicking your feet the same way as the shove it.  This trick like any other requires patients and practice, but if practiced diligently can be learned in about a week.

Which Deck To Buy??

A deck in skateboarding is the wooden part of the skate board which you ride upon.  Now that this bit information is out of the way, which deck should you buy?  Skateboard decks range in price, size, concavity, and type.  The attributes most important to picking out a skate board deck is the size and the concavity.  The size of the deck is normally based upon personal preference and the size of the skater.  Most individuals with a shoe size of a 10 to 12 ride a deck which is an 8 (width of the deck).  Individuals with shoe sizes smaller than this range often get decks in the 7 to 7&1/2 range.  After realizing which size deck best suites you the next step is finding one with the right amount of concavity.  The more concavity the easier it will be to perform flip tricks.  Deciding how much concavity best supplements your skate boarding really depends on the individual, this can be achieved through a trial and error process.  A deck that I would highly recommend based on quality and price would be a mini logo blank deck.  This deck has a decent amount of concavity, sells for around thirty dollars, and is seven ply making it a very solid deck.  The main difference in my opinion between a mini logo and a pro deck is the artwork on the bottom.  Pro models will often have designs on the bottom while mini logos on the other hand will consist of a solid color. 

How To Front Board Slide

Front board slides are very similar to board slides except, front board slides are much scarier.  For the front board slide you will be sliding the grind towards your back.  In order to do this grind successfully you will need to follow a few basic guide lines.  The first thing you will want to do is have board slides mastered, if you don't this trick will be nearly impossible.  For the front board slide you will have to be approaching the rail with it directly in front of you, as opposed to the back board which required you to have your back to the rail.  For this trick you will need to be in the Ollie position and to be ready for your front foot to be on the bolts when sliding along the rail.  Approach the rail in your Ollie position with a very slight angle about eight inches away from the rail.  Pop the Ollie and get the board to land with the middle of it on the rail.  When doing this trick, make sure you turn your body so that you can look to see where you are going.  A very common mistake for this trick is that skaters try and attempt it without turning their body so that they are grinding blind.  While grinding blind there is a huge chance of missing the end of the rail and taking a very heavy fall.  By looking back you will be able to spot your landing as well as be less likely to slip out of the grind and fall back on your head.  For this trick I would recommend wearing a helmet just to be safe.  Another tip on learning this trick is to practice it on a flat bar rail.  A flat bar rail is much easier to practice this trick on than a circle rail since flat bar rails are much easier to grind.

How to Board Slide Grind

The first grind that you will want to add to your arsenal of tricks is the board slide.  The board slide is the most basic grind and also the easiest to learn.  The board slide involves a skater hoping onto a rail and traveling across it by traveling along the middle of the board.  In order to accomplish this trick you will need to have learned how to Ollie and preferable 180 Ollies.  This trick is best to be learned on a small rail, do not try and learn this trick on anything higher than a foot.  Most people when first learning this trick slip out on the rail, so it is best to practice this trick with a helmet.  To do this trick you will have to have your feet in the Ollie position.  In the Ollie position ride parallel with the rail about 10 inches away from the rail.  To get on the rail you will have to pop an Ollie and do a 90 degree turn in the air.  While turning in the air you will want to focus on having the middle of your board hit the rail.  As a reminder, the faster you attempt this trick the easier it will be to balance however; this also means if you fall it will hurt much more.  After the middle of your deck is on the rail you will want to lean forward in order not to slip out backwards.  While traveling down the rail keep in mind when the rail ends, so you are able to prepare for the dismount.  Now that you have reached the end of the rail you will have to straighten the board out in order to roll away from this trick.  In order to straighten the board you will have to begin turning out from the rail just a few inches away from the end.  This trick takes allot of practice, but is an extremely important trick to learn.  Learning board slides will open the gates to learn such tricks as front boards and rock to fakies in a quarter pipe.

Places To Avoid While Skating

There are a plethora of places you should avoid when skating in order to not get tickets, not get hurt, and to keep your equipment at its optimal levels.  The first thing we will talk about are places not to skate in order to avoid tickets.  Tickets and citations received by skaters can range anywhere from 75 dollars to 225 dollars.  These tickets can range anywhere from trespassing to destruction of public property depending on the mood of the officer.  I realize that the skating community enjoys finding street spots which includes stair sets, rails, and gaps but the tickets for skating these obstacles can really set you back financially.  In reality it would be better just to stay away from these public obstacles all together, but in reality this will not happen so you will want to find sets and gaps that are not well known, odds are if you know about a skate spot in a certain area that the cops know about it as well.  Another place to avoid when skating, are areas with poorly maintained roads which have large cracks or loose gravel.  Skating areas with large cracks makes you prone to getting a wheel caught and taking a nasty spill, as well as catching a loose rock and slipping out.  The elements also have a huge impact on when to skate board or when you should just call it quits.  Skate boarding in the rain or right after it rains is HORRIBLE for your skate board.  When you skate in the rain you kick up water onto you board which causes it to become water logged and extremely heavy.  When a board is water logged it makes the adhesive weak that holds the plies together and dramatically cuts down the life of your board.  Another issue which arises from skating when it’s wet is that the rain will rust out your bearings causing them to break entirely or be unable to spin.  In summary, you should only skate if you know the area is safe and that weather conditions are permitting.

How to Heel Flip

The heel flip is supposedly much easier than the kick flip; however I did not find this to be true.  The difference between a heel flip and the kick flip is the rotation of the board.  For a heel flip the board spins out and away from you as opposed to a kick flip which kicks down and towards you.  For the heel flip you will want to have your back foot on the tip of the tail.  The placement of your front foot differs from skater to skater however; I like to put my front foot just to the left of the bolts.  Having your front foot just to the left of the bolts you will want to let your toes of your front foot just hang over the board.  The next few steps is to actually pop and flip the trick which is primarily controlled by your front foot.  Your back foot will pop the board in a Ollie motion just like it has done with so many other tricks, while your front foot kicks the board up and out.  To do this you will want to kick on a 45 degree angle across the top of the board while going up towards the nose.  Doing this flicking motion will allow you to flick the board for the flip, while at the same time leveling the board out in order to ride away cleanly.  Learning heel flips will enable you to learn such tricks as double heals, varial heals, and the laser flip.  A laser flip is like a tre flip except instead of a kick flip with a 360 degree shove it, you would perform a heel flip with a 360 degree shove it.  I found this trick to be harder to learn than kick flips so do not get frustrated if learning this trick seems to be taking much longer than when you learned kick flips.

How to 50 50 grind

After learning how to board slide and Ollie the next grind that you will want to learn is the 50 50 grind.  The 50 50 grind is when you grind across the top of a rail on your trucks.  This means that your wheels will be on both sides of the rail while you slide along the metal truck which attaches them to the board.  In order to do this trick you will need to learn how to pop your Ollies forward.  The easiest way to learn how to do this is to try and pop Ollies from the street onto your curb.  To pop an Ollie forward is the same motion as a normal Ollie but, you have to jump in front of you.  The easiest way to do this is to visualize yourself jumping forward and to keep your eyes on the location where you would like to land.  After mastering the ability of Ollieing forward, next is to take it to a ledge.  The 50 50 grind can be used on rails or on such things as hubbas, benches, and ledges.  The 50 50 grind should be learned on one of these mediums first before attempting a rail.  To 50 50 grind a ledge is much less dangerous and much easier than performing this trick on a rail.  When doing this trick on a ledge you can fall forward or off the ledge without getting hurt, slipping off a rail is a different story.  To land a 50 50 grind on a ledge all you need to do is to Ollie forward and come at the obstacle at a slight angle, unlike board slides going faster will not really affect your balance either way.  After locking into the obstacle and grinding it, the next step is to get off the obstacle and ride away clean.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to just grind the entire obstacle and come off at the end, although you will see more experienced skater popping out of the 50 50 grind whenever they desire.

Best Illinois Skateparks (that I have been to)

These are a list of my 3 favorite skate parks in IL which I have been to over the years. This list is just my top 3 favorite parks in the Aurora area with a small description of each park.

1. Bowlingbrook Skate Plaza

The Bowlingbrook Skate Plaza is an extremely well made park made entirely out of concrete. There are numerous hubbas of various sizes along with a number of different stair cases, the stairs range anywhere from a two stair to an eight. There are also a number of different rails at the park including a rainbow rail. Another great feature of the park is its flow and how easy it is to put lines together when filming.

2. Northbrook Skate park
Northbrook Skate Park is also an all concrete skate park which is very large. Some of the most notable features of this park are the bowl, 25 foot hubbub, and its 15 foot vert wall. This park just outside of Chicago also incorporates six rails and the ability to carve around the entire skate park.  This park although a lot of fun is not for beginners, which is something I cannot stress enough.  All of the obstacles at this park are very large and the park is very fast passed.  If you are new to skateboarding this park will seem overwhelming and individuals at this park typically get mad if you get in their way. 

3. Frontier Skate park
This Park has recently been renovated with over 100,000 dollars worth of ramps which have been added onto the previous park. Frontier Skate park has a 6x12 miniramp, bazooka rail, 3 picnic tables, a mani pad, a small pyramid, 4 handrails, a stair set, 5 hubbas, and is free.  Another selling point of this park is the skating atmosphere.  The individuals at this park are typically very helpful and encouraging if you are new to the sport.  All of the obstacles at this park are extremely will placed and are just the perfect size. This park is my favorite park in the Aurora area.

How to Drop Into A Quarter Pipe

The easiest way to get speed at a skate park is to drop into a ramp.  A "drop in" is when you go to top of a curved ramp such as a quarter pipe or a half pipe.  The difference between a quarter pipes and full pipes is strictly the size.  Most likely you will not have access to a half pipe since finding a public one is extremely rare, so we will just discuss drop ins on a quarter pipe.  The first step to dropping into a quarter pipe is finding one that you feel comfortable dropping into.  Preferably you will want to try to drop into a three foot pipe rather than going straight to a six foot pipe.  After finding a quarter pipe which you feel somewhat comfortable with the next step is to place your tail on top of the coping.  The coping is the metal pipe which runs along the top of the ramp.  After placing your tail on top of the coping the next step is to put your front foot on the front bolts.  In this position you should still be leaning back into the ramp so you don't fall forward.  Most likely in this position you will begin to feel some anxiety so it is best just to go for it right off the bat.  In order to accomplish this technique you will want to lean as far forward into the ramp as possible.  Along with leaning into the ramp you will want to really push down onto the ramp with your front foot.  The most common mistake associated with this trick is the unwillingness to lean forward.  Typically people first attempting this trick lean way to far back and somewhat manual down the ramp or fall completely.  The best bit of advice you can take from this article is to forward, press down hard, and simply just go for it.

How to Kick Flip

The kick flip is one of the most basic but essential tricks.  This trick is one of the most basic, but also the most important.  The kick flip was created by Rodney Mullen which originally called it the magic flip.  The kick flip consists of the Ollie along with a flip of the board thus the name "kick flip".  The most important aspect to accomplish this trick is foot placement.  The back foot should be be placed upon the tail towards the top.  When placing your foot in this position it should be at a slight 45 degree angle and you should be on the ball of your foot.  By staying on the ball of your foot you will be able to get a better "pop" aka more height on your kick flip.  Your front foot when attempting the kick flip should also be at a slight angle right below the first sets of bolts.  In order to get the board to flip the pop and the flick must be timed perfectly.  When popping the board at the same time you will have to kick your foot at a 45 degree angle down and out towards the nose of the board.  If this is done correctly the board will flip.  Although this is one of the simplest tricks it is essential to master in order to learn double flips, treflips, halfcab flips, and variel flips.  Stay positive and motivated and you will be able to master this trick. Another key reminder is to jump extremely high when flipping this trick.  The higher you jump, the more time you will have to try and catch the board.  A common misstake is when skaters get scared to jump up with the board and do not give it enough time for a full rotation.