What I Have Learned ACC 255

1. I learned how to blog
2. I learned how to write a Pillare Article
3.  I learned how become an Amazon Affiliate
4. I Learned how to add Adsense to a Blog
5. I learned how to use Black Board
6. I learned how to write a Market Analysis
7  I learned how to write an executive summary
8. I Learned how to create a brand
9.  I Learned what an entrepreneru is
10.I Learned what a Legacy Systems is

Best Professional Skaters

In my opinion the two best skateboarders in the entire history of skate boarding would include Rodney Mullen and Daewon Song.  Rodeny Mullen is considered the father of modern day skateboarding.  Rodney Mullen invented nearly of the new age tricks including the kick flip.  When Rodney Mullen invented this trick it was originally named the magic flip.  I chose Rodney Mullen as the best professional skater since he has the most unique style out of any skater.  Rodney Mullen is able to impress the skating community through his originality and he does not have to fling himself down a set of stairs.  Rodney Mullen has the most technical tricks out of any of the skaters out today.

Daewon Song like Rodney Mullen is a very technical skater but also very different because of the places he does his technical tricks.  In many videos Daewon Song is doing his tricks across enormous gaps including jumping from roof to roof.  Daewon does a lot of the same types of tricks but is willing to take them across greater obstacles.  Daewon Song is also more versatile than Rodney Mullen since Daewon can skate ramps.  Daewon is an amazing mini ramp skater, with tricks such as the nose blunt double flip back in.  Although Rodney does not skate ramps, his original flat ground tricks makes him a force to be reckoned with.  Rodney Mullen is the only skater which performs the casper slide, while doing a 180 to another Casper slide.  This is why Daewon Song and Rodney Mullen are the best professional skate boarders, in the history of skate boarding.

For The Beginners

I have compiled this list of past blog posts in order to better help you on your journey to becoming a better skater.  The next few links will enable you to have the basic essentials for skateboarding.  These essentials include:
Skate Park Etiquette,
Skater Survival Pack
Where To Purchase Skate Materials

Best Skate Parks In IL

These past articles which I have written are the essentials for when you first start to skate board.  The articles explain how you should act a skate park, materials to bring to the skate park with you, where you should purchase these materials, and the best skate parks in IL where you probably will want to visit.  After mastering the basics, you will want to move onto tricks.  In order to enable you to do these tricks I suggest reading these articles:
How To Board Slide

How To Ollie

How To Kick Flip

After reading these articles and diligently practicing these tricks you should be well on your way to becoming a great skater.  The thing to remember about skate boarding is that it takes a very long time to learn these tricks and maneuvers do not get discouraged if you do not pick these tricks and concepts up right off the bat.  I happen to be one the most uncoordinated individuals ever and I have managed to become a pretty decent skate boarder.  Also injuries in the sport are very common so make sure that you take the necessary precautions in order to save yourself from any unneeded agony.  Also, if you do get hurt take enough time to heal before stepping on the board.  Personally, I just got off a three month injury in regards to my knee.  The worst thing you can possibly do is push yourself to hard coming out of an injury and getting re-injured.

How to Dress When Skating

In short there is no specific way you should have to dress in order to skate board.  The idea that you have to dress a certain way in order to skate is absurd.  You should wear whatever you feel most comfortable in or just feel like skating in.  Thanks to MTV and other programs which show skating makes it seem that you need to dress a certain way in order to become a great skater.  This motion could not be any more revolting and powered by greed.  These clothing companies just want you to believe that by dressing a certain way you will become a great skater, and OH they just happen to make all the clothes which will make you great.  People need to stop and think and realize hard work and dedication to the sport is what makes you great, not what kind of pants you are wearing.  When you actually stop and think about it, the greatest skaters are the ones who do not fit the mold of the modern day skater.  An example of a great skater who exemplifies that you can wear whatever you want and still be the best is Rodney Mullen.  I have seen Rodney Mullen perform some of the most insane intricate tricks ever done while wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt.  The clothing companies that sponsor these skaters just want to make you believe that by wearing the backwards flat brimmed hat, name jean pants, and baggy shirt that somehow you will bestowed magic skate board powers.  The fact of the matter is that unless you put in the time and effort no amount of clothing will make you a great skater or a better person.

Incorperate "You" Into Your Skating

When I say incorporate "You" into your skating what I am trying to convey is that everyone is an individual and it should show through their skating, this is a huge issue now a days in my opinion.  All of these skate board videos and competitions on television make it seem as if there is only one way to skate board.  The idea that there is only one way to skate has essentially taken allot of the joy from skating for many skaters and has made it almost into a part time job.  Rather than going to the skate park and skating just for the fun of it, I have run into individuals who have called it training.  Personally I find this pretty pathetic and this kind of attitude just ruins the joy that skating can bring.  When skate boarding if you are a goofy kid, display through your skating.  An example of this would be doing tricks such as the lunch break which is pretty much the goofiest trick ever.  Another example would be is that I also break dance so I usually incorporate hand stands and flips into my lines.  I am not saying that you should skate according to your attitude solely, but if you want to incorporate your personality into your skating don't hold back.  I have been to plenty of parks and have seen hundreds of carbon copy skaters who all dress the same, act the same, do the same lines, and skate the park in the exact same way.  Being this way defeats the purpose of skating which is to have fun and is an excellent form of self expression.

The Joy Of Skating Bowls

Personally, I find skating bowls way more enjoyable than skating a normal mini ramp.  I do not like to skate extremely large bowls, but instead a mid size one about six and half feet or so.  A bowl is like a mini ramp except it resembles a pool and can be skated in a number of ways.  Typically a mini ramp can only be skated in one fashion while a bowl can be shred in a number of ways.  The great thing about bowls is that you never have to push if you skate it correctly.   A mini ramp can take away some of your speed while a bowl on the other hand just accelerates you.  A place that has a great bowl which is in Illinois is Krush Skate Park.  This skate park has a decent size bowl and it never needs to be waxed which is a definite plus.  Other parks around Illinois like NorthBrook Skate Park has a huge bowl which is nearly un-skateable.  Personally I find these bowls to be entirely way too large to skate and really take the fun out of coasting in them.  When skating a bowl it is extremely important to push hard into the curves in order to pick up speed.  Another important aspect is to keep your wheels pressed firmly against the walls of the bowl otherwise again you will lose speed.  Another thing to point out is to be mindful of who is skating the bowl around you.  When skating a bowl it is extremely easy to get lost in the moment and skate the bowl entirely way to long.  This is just a reminder when skating bowls to better the experience of all the riders.  Seeing other riders shred the bowl gives other skaters inspiration and allows you to see what others are doing.

What Are Old School Tricks?

There are a number of old school skate boarding tricks.  When people say "old school" what they are talking about is the tricks which were performed before the Ollie and modern day flip tricks exploded onto the scene.  A few old school tricks include boneless, no comply, hand stands, finger flips, and caspers.  The boneless trick in essence is an Ollie without using your feet.  In order to do the boneless you must have both your feet on the board while moving in a forward direction.  While in the forward direction take your back foot off the board while at the same time grabbing the middle of the board with your hand closest to the nose of the board. When taking your foot off the board, do a quick foot plant while lifting the board with your hand.  Quickly do a 180 or a 360 and land back on the board and roll away from the trick in a clean fashion.  Another trick which is old school and sort of like a boneless is the no comply.  A no comply is where you take your back foot off the board in the same manner as  boneless but you pop the board while taking your foot off.  By popping the board you can quickly make it do a 180 without having to touch any part of the board with your hand.  A truly old school skate board trick is the hand.  This trick is also extremely dangerous so be very careful if you dare attempt it.  While rolling bend down and press up into a hand stand while the board continues to move.  When you have completed the hand stand slowly lower your feet back onto the board and ride away into the night!  Lastly the finger flip is essentially the same as a kick of heel flip except you spin the board with your fingers but be warned, this trick will damage your fingers.  These are just a few of the foundation tricks which have now been coined as old school.

Skating Around Campus Rant

I have no idea why skate boarding is considered such a horrible ordeal.  I had a bad day at school today and decided ot blow off some steam skate boarding, but what do you know I get a ticket.  I was not grinding, jumping, or anything litterally just coasting around the campus.  Then what do you know, one of normals great officers of the law rights me a ticket and lectures me about how skate boarding is dangerous.  I tried to argue with him and explain that I was just riding around, slowly I might add, when he came and approached me.  For some reason at my school bikes are free to wiz through the quad, topple people over, ride on the road, and have their own parking.  My big question is what is the big difference between a skate board and a bicicle.  Both of these items are for recreation and can be used as a form of transportation.  In the town of Normal however, riding a skate board is practically like walking into a movie theater wearing a vest of TNT.  This town really needs to get its priorities straight when each week I have to read abotu people getting mugged and girls getting harassed on their way home at night.  I would not put it past the town of Normal to try and blame skate boarding for these crimes.  Instead of Normals officers stopping me midday when I am not doing anything wrong, they should be out at night protecting the people of Normal from real crimes.

Staying Hydrated While Skating

It is extremely important to stay hydrated when skate boarding.  I know from experience that allot of these parks have horrible water fountains and that is why I must urge you to bring your own bottle.  Staying hydrated will allow you to perform better as well as remain healthy.  Although this is not stressed very often it is super important that you remain hydrated or you could get heat stroke.  A kid at the skate park that I go to actually had a heat stroke at the park.  The kid was skating in eighty five degree weather while wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a beanie.  I know that this is typically the look of skaters, but seriously why put yourself through that torture.  Typically I skate in shorts and a short sleeve shirt in order to cool off my body as much as possible.  According to extreme nutrition”
Lack of water is the number 1 trigger of daytime fatigue. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day is capable of significantly easing back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
A mere 2% drop in body water is capable triggering fuzzy short-term memory trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page."  Unfortunately, it seems that every skate park I have been to always has skaters that are extremely dehydrated.  In order to prevent these malfunctions due to being dehydrated I would recommend bringing an entire gallon of water to the skate park with you.  Also, eating bananas will revitalize your body with potassium stopping such dehydration pains such as "Charlie Horses."

Protective Gear

Protective gear is essential when skate boarding.  The essential gear to have is a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and a ankle braces.  Personally I typically just wear the helmet, but that is only because I am strapped for cash and currently cannot afford all of these items.  So if you are like me a poor college student at least get the helmet.  A helmet can save you from some extremely nasty falls and potentially save your life.  On the internet you can see thousands of videos of skate boarding injuries, and by far the worst kind to witness are head injuries.  In a majority of these videos the skaters are going extremely fast and their board flies out from underneath them creating a whipping motion and smacking the back of their head against the ground.  The worst video I witnessed was in regards to a guy bleeding from his ears after hitting his head so hard.  This is why I must urge all of you to at the very least buy a helmet.  The other injuries which are most common to skate boarders involve the wrists and the ankles.  When falling, you typically catch yourself before you hit the ground with your hands which puts and extreme amount of pressure onto your wrists.  The wrist guards are able to take a majority of the shock enabling you to not break your wrists.  The last piece of equipment I would like to touch on are the ankle braces.  The most common injury of skaters involves breaking the ankle or a horrible sprain, do yourself a favor and invest in ankle braces.

Skating In the Winter?

Skateboarding in the winter definitely can be done if you know what you are doing.  Skating in the winter is very different than skating with the warmer weather and comes at a price.  During the winter you are much more likely to break decks, ruin trucks, and destroy bearings.  The snow is a huge factor in the determination of your equipment.  First lets talk about how a deck gets destroyed from the winter.  The deck which is made of wood contracts and expands depending on the temperature.  Dramatic temperature changes can cause your deck to literally come apart since the plies of the deck begin to break away from each other.  Another harmful aspect that winter brings and negatively affects the quality of your deck is the moisture.  The moisture due to the winter months causes the skate board to become water logged which makes it much more difficult to do flip tricks and ollies.  The last factor which really destroys decks in the winter is the salt.  Salt from the deicing of sidewalks and streets gets kicked up onto your board while you ride causing it to be eaten by the salt.  The salt causes the board to deter ate and essentially breaking your deck.  Another aspect of the board which is negatively affected by these weather conditions are the bearings.  Bearings are extremely sensative to the moisture and the salt.  The salt and the moisture from the road will cause your bearings to rust over in very little time ruining your skating experience.

WoodWard

Camp WoodWard is without a doubt skate boarding Mecca.  WoodWard is a camp dedicated to nothing but skating.  This camp is huge with numerous outdoor parks as well as indoor.  In order to go to this magical place you will need about one thousand dollars.  This camp is located in Pennsylvania and involves you staying for about six days.  Although this is super expensive this facility is extremely nice and definitely worth the money if you have the discretionary income available to you.  This park is extremely cool since there are actual lessons involved at this facility.  According to campwoodward.com "Daily Instruction is not only educational but also fun when done the "Woodward Way."  Upon arrival to camp our skateboard staff will oversee a testing period where you will be placed into instruction groups based on your age and ability level.  Two and a half hours a day will be spent with some of the best Skateboarding Staff from around the country, navigating the vast complex and working on improving your skating."  Having the insight of professional skateboarders will greatly give you an edge over other skaters.  These pros have valuable insight which easily could be applied to your skating improving it drastically.  This camp also offers foam pits, and ramps which are virtually impossible to get hurt on.  The camp also pairs you with skaters around your own age and skill level.  By grouping skaters in this fassion it will allow you to make new friends and skate with people who are progressing at the same rate as yourself.  Again, if you have the spare time and money I would highly recommend going to camp Woodward.

Mostly Skateboarding Blog

While creating my own blog I thought that it would be a good idea to check out what other skate board blogs are talking about.  One blog that seems to be the leader of the pack is http://www.mostlyskateboarding.net/ as well as http://127skate.webs.com/.  This link which I provided will lead you to the other skate blog that this post will be analyzing.  This blog mostly deals with video submissions, which technically is a video log but yet this is still under the umbrella of a blog.  This blog was extremely interesting since all the videos were super cool and very entertaining.  I also liked how extremely simple the blog was.  There are virtually no updates in regards to typed letters but every month there are new videos that fellow skaters submitted.  Personally this a genius plans since this blog is generating traffic and revenue by using other skater’s ideas and videos.  This site was also interesting since there was a section for updates regarding new parks.  This section had photo updates of the construction of new parks.  What I also liked about this blog is that it included a twitter section.  Personally I find twitter to be the largest waste of time and really the most pathetic way of communicating ever, but the owner of this blog is making a small fortune from it.  Overall this a very creative blog in the sense that the owner just chooses videos he likes from the submissions and puts them into his blog.  This in an ingenious idea which allows him to be extremely versatile and offer a plethora of different skate videos each month.

Skating Creatively

A huge aspect in the skating world is in regards to style.  Many skaters would describe style as how you act and how you incorporate this into your skating.  Personally I have an extremely goofy style which involves allot of old school tricks such as boneless's and no complies.  In order to have a fun style you must be able to think outside of the box.  When approaching a skate park you should think of new and inventive ways to skate the terrain rather than just using the park how it was intended.  This exactly type of thinking is what gave birth to street skating.  Street skating involves skaters to find everyday items and turn them into their own personal skate oasis.  At the skate park you should pretend that it is an actual street course and try to use it in a unique way.  This can be done in a number of different ways including doing tricks that are normally not done on a certain obstacle.  An example of this would be to do a 360 boneless up a step up, rather than just kick flipping up it etc.  Another way to use a park differently is to use obstacles in the opposite fashion than what they were intended.  An example of this would be to skate up the stair set (if its small enough), rather than just throwing tricks down the set.  By using the park in a unique fashion it is more likely to get your skating noticed.  No one wants to see the same tricks over and over again, so by utilizing the park in a different way you have the possibility of being recognized for your abilities.  In essence try and look at the park in a way which will allow you to skate it the way you envision in.

Best Music To Skate To

The best music to skate board to in my opinion is definitely rock and roll.  Others prefer to skate to rap music and hip hop, but personally I find rock to really get you pumped up to land your tricks.  Music has a huge influence on how you skate and personally I cannot skate without music.  The music that you're listening to allows you to get around the fear and anxiety which come when performing a difficult trick.  Music enables you to calm down and approach the obstacle with a mind at ease.  Personally I love to skate board to Dragonforce, a heavy metal band with extremely fast guitar.  The faster the song is the faster I seem to skate.  Another great band to skate to is The Killers, this band is extremely mellow and enables a slow smooth ride depending on the song that you are listening to.  When choosing music it is really important to chose a song which fits your current mood.  If you are currently feeling extremely lethargic you probably should not be playing something like Dragonforce.  Instead however, you should be listening to something that supplements your mood such as Modest Mouse.  Another great band that I love to skate to, however they are not rock is Crystal Castles.  Crystal Castles has extremely catch beats and also is a pretty fast band so it makes it a blast to skate to.  Personally, my top three favorite bands to skate to are Dragonforce, Lucky Boys Confusion, and David Bowie.  These bands are not necessarily best associated with skating; these are just my personal favorite bands to listen to when skating.

Skate Boarders VS Inline Skaters

For some reason or another skate boarders never seem to get along with inline skaters. Both of these groups have some negative stigmas associated with them.  To start if off inline skaters are known for being jerks.  The stigma associated with inline skaters is that they are preppy stuck up kids who are spoiled.  I am not saying that this is true, just that this is the stigma associated to them.  Skate Boarders on the other hand typically are looked at as either druggies, or gangsters.  The stigma that the skate boarder is dependent on what style of skate boarding that skater does. Since there is this negative view for each group there is often conflict at the skate parks.  The animosity of the two groups causes them to call each other names and take other skaters turns at the skate park. 

This conflict does not stem from anything of importance and simply is childish and moronic.  These two types of skating should not try and combat each other but instead should help each other obtain their goals.  Both of these groups would like to have more skate parks and better skate materials, buy instead they argue amongst themselves.  By working together these two sports could have better places to practice and perfect their skating.  Personally I find the void of these two groups completely trivial.  In order to stop this feud, I urge all skaters reading this blog to try and break down the barrier between the two groups.  Little things like not taking other skaters turns could easily help improve the situation.

Best Skateboarding Video Game

Easily the best skate boarding video game is Tony Hawk for Nintendo 64.  This was the first of the Tony Hawk line of video games.  Although this game only had about twelve levels and was relatively short this game was a ton of fun.  The game differs from the new Tony Hawk games since this version did not have any manuals.  In my opinion however, manuals ruined the other versions of the Tony Hawk games.  The manuals made it so you could score nearly one million point tricks; the first game was just simple and enjoyable.  The N64 game only allowed for simple tricks along with simple combinations.  This made the game easier for new comers since the points never reached that high of a level.  Another aspect I really enjoyed about the game was the size of each one of the levels.  The levels were large enough to enjoy but small enough to be able to remember where all the obstacles were.  The two player mode was also a blast to play since there were a number of ways to play it.  One of the modes was simply whoever could score the most points in a certain time limit.  Another mode involved using graffiti to color the ramps where you had higher scores.  This particular mode was a ton of fun since you had to land combo tricks on different aspects of the entire course.  The last mode was pretty fun as well which was horse.  In horse each player had to land the trick the other previously did on the same ramp.  The new game took away allot of these fun aspects and made it less enjoyable to play.

What Rail to Buy? ** along with info on how to promote your park!**

Before discussing which rail is the best purchase, I would like you guys to check out Just Skateboarding and their thread regarding Skateparks.  By going to this link you can post on their blog and promote your local skate park in order to raise awareness.  Now let’s talk about which rail is the best buy.  In my opinion the best rail hands down is the element six foot flat bar.  All the other rails I have ever purchased before this rail have broke.  The six foot element rail is one solid piece so you never have to worry about snagging the metal where most other rails break apart.  The rail has three different height settings and is challenging for even the most experienced skaters.  The base of the rail has rubber pads so it does not move when using it.  Most of the other rails I have used in the past do not have anything like this so the rail slid every which way.  The only real downfall to this rail in my opinion is storage.  Most rails have a feature which allows you to break it down into two pieces which enables easy storage and transportation.  I live on the third floor of an apartment complex and dragging my element rail out is definitely a hassle.  In my opinion though go with a solid one piece rail otherwise I can guarantee you that the rail will break eventually.  Having your own rail is great since it saves you a trip to the park and enables you to skate whenever you desire.  Also another benefit of owning a rail is the confidence boost you will see in your skating.  Having a rail enables you to look at rails you have not skated before and say "I have done this on my rail at home" which somehow is very comforting.  If any of you have found a rail which you feel is better than the element rail, I would love to hear about it so leave a comment with its name and a link.

Skate Park Ettiquit

Believe it or not there is an underlying Skate Park Etiquette at every park you will ever go to.  This etiquette differs from park to park but overall the unspoken rules are the same.  One of these rules that skate park etiquette tries to enforce is the idea of turns.  Skate parks are often extremely crowded with limited room which everyone is trying to enjoy so taking turns is a huge deal.  Typically lines form for rails, but lines cannot be formed on such things as tops of mini ramps or quarter pipes.  On mini ramps or quarter pipes it is important to view everyone around you and have an idea if you got to the top of the ramp before or after them.  Depending on when you got to the top of the ramp determines when you will drop in next.  People who cut in formed lines or the unformed lines at the top of ramps are referred to as a snake.  Having the reputation of a snake is possibly the worst reputation you can have at your local park.  Typically skaters who are snakes often get snaked themselves, made fun of, or simply unofficially kicked out of the park.  This is the reason why taking turns at parks is so essential to having a good time.  Another important rule of thumb at skate parks is to not hang out on ramps.  Everyone at the park is trying to enjoy these ramps, so by hanging out on them you just get in the way of fellow skaters.  The easiest thing to do is hang out on the benches that are provided at most public skate parks in order to keep a good reputation and to avoid getting hit by a fellow skater.

How to Krooked Grind

The krooked grind is one of the higher level grinds.  This grind looks allot like a nose grind, however this grind is completely different.  Unlike the nose grind which runs the nose straight across the top of the rail, the krooked grind is done at an extreme this angle.  The angle is the reason why the krooked grind got its name since the board looks crooked since the board travels on its nose at a 45 degree angle.  In order to do this trick you will want to know how to do back nose grinds and back fifty fifty grinds.  To do this trick you will want to have your feet in the Ollie position approaching the rail at a slight angle, with the rail at your back.  The next step of this grind is to pop your Ollie and lock your nose and trucks onto the rail.  This is much easier said than done because of balance issues in regards to where you place your weight.  You have to get your balance just right because if you lean to far forward you will catch the rail with the nose of your deck and will fly forward.  On the other side of the spectrum if you lean back to far your board may shoot out, you will find yourself in a wullie (which is another trick entirely), or the back of your board will fall so far below the rail that you will hit the ground.  Finding the perfect balance for this trick is imperative to get it to slide correctly as well as getting off the rail.  After getting the trick to slide across the rail the next step is to get off the rail, which will require you to nollie.  The ability to nollie will make getting out of this trick much easier since you will be able to pop off the rail when you see fit rather than having to slide the entire rail.  If you cannot nollie focus on leaning back at the end of the rail and kicking your feet forward so the back of your board does not catch the rail while getting off.

Skater Survival Pack

Every good skater has a number of essential items that he or she takes with them when traveling to parks.  These items are often kept in their vehicle, a backpack dedicated to these items, a shoebox, etc.  The items which you will want to put in your very own survival pack are a skate uni tool, extra bearings, extra wheels, water, and if possible a spare deck.  These items are essential for road trips such as going to an indoor skate park during the winter far from your house.  The worst feeling in the world is getting to the skate park of your dreams, paying 15 dollars to get in, and then popping a bearing after doing a couple of tricks.  The skate tool is an essential item since trucks that do not fit your skating style i.e. to loose, or to tight can make skating not enjoyable.  The extra wheels should be in the pack just in case anything happens to one of your wheels; the uni tool can be used to switch out wheels.  A bottle of water is another requirement of the pack since you cannot always be sure that the place you are skating has water available.  Some skate parks like the one in Bowlingbrook has a public water fountain however, it tastes like garbage so you are often better off bringing your own.  In my opinion the most important item to include in your pack is a spare deck if you have one.  Public parks do not have skate shops in order to replace your deck and indoor parks will charge you a small fortune since they know that you’re in a pickle.  Having a spare deck even if it is horrible will allow you to continue skating on your trip rather than having to wait their patiently until your friends are done.

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.

Stance Variations and What They Mean

In skating there are a number of different stances which affect not only the name of the trick being performed but the difficulty of that trick.  The two fundamental stances of skate boarding include whether or not you ride regular or goofy.  These different preferences in stance do not have any effect on the difficulty of tricks but it does classify you as a goofy stance rider or regular.   The goofy stance simply means that naturally you are more comfortable skating with your back foot as your left foot, while regular stance skaters find it more comfortable to have their back foot as their right foot.  For the rest of this article I will be explaining the different stances which affect the difficulty and names of tricks form the goofy stance perspective.  I personally ride goofy so it will be easier for me to explain the differences.  The stance variations which do have an effect on the tricks include switch, fakie, and nollie, first we will discuss the switch stance.  Skating switch simply means that as a goofy skater I am performing tricks and or riding with my back foot as my right foot.  A regular skater would be skating switch if he or she was riding in the goofy stance.  Switch tricks are much harder than normal tricks, it can be compared to writing an essay with your non dominate hand.  Fakie tricks are essentially tricks that are done riding backwards.   An example of this would be a fakie Ollie.  A fakie Ollie from the perspective of a goofy skater would mean that his left foot would be on the nose of the board when he pops the Ollie.  The last position which is typically considered the hardest stance is the nollie position.  A nollie would be doing a fakie switch Ollie.   This is hard to envision so just picture riding the board how you normally would ride but popping ticks with your front foot.  These are the stances of skateboarding which affect the difficulty and technicality of tricks.

How to Ollie

The Ollie is the primary foundation of skateboarding.  The Ollie is the gateway to all of skating tricks, except for a select few including things such as power slides and no complies.  You should begin to learn the Ollie as soon as you are comfortable riding the skateboard.  A common mistake that most skaters make is trying to rush this process.  Rushing the process in order to try and catch up to your friend’s ability levels will inevitably lead to injury.  My advice is to first get coasting and simple riding down then move onto this tutorial.  If you are comfortable riding your board let me say congratulations and good luck while trying to learn this trick.  This trick is very difficult to master at first but as soon as you have it, it will be yours for life.  Like other skateboarding tricks the keys to success include your foot placement and timing.  Your back foot should be placed upon the top of the tail, while staying on the ball of your foot.  Your front foot will want to be just past the middle of the board, almost three quarters.  Like the back foot you will want to be on the ball of your foot in order to get the most successful "pop".  The term "pop" in skateboarding refers to the height of the jump and the noise your skateboard will make when done successfully.  Now that your feet are in the right position you will want to kick your back down firmly on the tail which will give your board its pop.  Right after popping the tail your front foot is going to want to slide up the middle of the board towards the nose of your skateboard.  This process if done correctly will put your board at a 45 degree angle, which we will correct in just a moment.  While in the air at this 45 degree angle you will need to level the board out by bringing your front foot down towards the ground.  If done correctly your board will level out and your feet will be above each set of bolts on the skateboard.  The key to this trick really though is trial and error.  Everyone does this trick slightly different just based on their own personal preference, so keep at it and good luck.

About Me

My name is Dan and I have been skateboarding for about six years.  I have a passion for the sport and would like to provide information on the sport and answer any questions which are in my realm of expertise.  I currently live in IL and know allot about the states skate spots and parks.  If anyone needs help regarding tricks or which parks are worth visiting I would be more than happy to respond.  I can be reached at whoisdanadams@yahoo.com.  Through skateboarding I have made many friends and have had many great experiences which I would like to share with whoever is willing.  I have created this blog to share my love of this sport and to hopefully get some individuals interested in trying to skateboard.  In this blog I want to stress how anyone can learn to skateboard and that size, gender, ethnicity, has no standing in regards to skateboarding.  Out of my friends I am the one who is known to be extremely clumsy and uncoordinated, this has not stopped me from learning how to skate and actually becoming pretty good.  This blog will consist of basic skating knowledge, trick tips, where to purchase materials, how to get started skating, and the joys it has brought me and can bring you.  My email which I linked to above is available to anyone reading my blog who has questions, needs clarification on anything I write about, if you just want to say hi, or if you have an idea of another topic.  I just want to stress that I am here for the sport and for its community and will try to get back to any emails which I receive.