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.