Learning to skateboard can be incredibly rewarding, but it’s crucial to start with the fundamentals. Many beginners are tempted to jump straight into ollies and kickflips, however, this approach can hinder your progress. Building a solid foundation with easier tricks will ultimately lead to faster advancement and greater confidence on your board. This guide will walk you through essential beginner skateboard tricks, focusing on techniques that prepare you for more advanced maneuvers, helping you navigate the skatepark and streets with ease.
This guide isn’t about listing every trick imaginable; it’s about focusing on the techniques that will help you progress most effectively. We’ll explore essential skills, easy tricks, and gradually move to intermediate maneuvers. We’ll also touch on transition riding to make your skatepark sessions more varied and enjoyable.
skateboarder performing an ollie over several decks
Master the Foundational Skills First
Before attempting any tricks, it’s essential to become comfortable and familiar with your skateboard. This means mastering the basics of pushing, stopping, and turning. Once you’re confident with these, focus on the following foundational skills:
- Board Flips: Practice flipping your board using your feet. This will improve your board control and confidence.
- Nose and Tail Pick-Ups: Pop the nose or tail of your board and catch it. This is great practice for more advanced tricks like the acid drop.
- Jump and Ride: Run and jump onto your board with both feet, keeping your balance. This skill is essential for gaining speed in tight spots and for the caveman trick.
These fundamental techniques build the essential board control and coordination for progression. Now it’s time to hit the skatepark and develop your transition riding skills. Learning kickturns, pumping, riding fakie, and manuals will significantly enhance your abilities before attempting ollies.
Skill Multiplier: Practice all skills switch to significantly improve your balance and board control!
1. Riding Fakie
Riding fakie, which is riding backward, is extremely beneficial. It’s a first step to riding switch and is fundamental to many tricks that involve riding backwards.
The easiest way to start learning fakie is by approaching a transition like a quarter pipe or mini ramp. You will likely feel awkward at first, but as you get more practice you will feel more comfortable. Remember to keep your knees bent and avoid placing too much weight on your front foot.
Once you’re comfortable riding fakie on a transition, move to flat ground. You’ll be much more prepared to push fakie once you are comfortable with the feeling of riding backward.
Recommended skills to practice alongside fakie:
- Fakie backside kickturn
- Fakie frontside kickturn
- Pumping a mini ramp
- Riding up and down a quarter pipe
2. Manual
The manual, or “manny,” is a crucial skill that will benefit you greatly as you progress. It enhances your balance, makes kickturns easier, and is essential for combining tricks like ollie to manual on a manny pad.
Practice on smooth concrete to minimize wear on your tail. It involves leaning back slightly, applying pressure to your tail, and keeping your balance centered. Your back foot placement is key; don’t place your back foot too far back on the tail initially.
Recommended related skills to practice:
- Combining with funboxes
- Manual while hopping from a curb
- Fakie manual
- Nose manual
3. Kickturns
Learning kickturns gives you a major advantage in skateparks. When combined with riding fakie, kickturns allow you to navigate mini ramps and bowls without having to drop in.
Practice kickturns on flat ground before moving to transitions. Position your feet as if you were going for a manual, and then shift your weight to your back foot. Turn your head and shoulders, and your board will follow. Ensure you center your balance as you turn.
Recommended related tricks/skills to practice:
- Kickturns on an angled object, such as a funbox
- Kickturns on a quarter pipe
- Kickturns in a mini ramp
- Frontside kickturns to be able to turn in all directions
4. Drop In
Dropping in can be intimidating, but it’s a necessary step for riding transitions. The key to a successful drop-in is commitment. You need to lean forward, putting weight on your front foot as you start to drop.
Try grabbing your nose while dropping in to help you place your weight forward. Start on small park obstacles like funboxes, or anything with a slight angle. Wear pads to boost your confidence. If you fall, remember that most people fall the first few times, just get back up and try again.
Another way to learn is by practicing tail stalls. This way, you get used to the feeling of dropping in gradually. While the first drop-in will still be a challenge, this method will make it a little easier.
Recommended related skills to practice:
- Tail stall in a mini ramp
- Powerslides
The Easiest Skateboard Tricks for Beginners
Now that you’ve mastered the basics, you’re ready to advance to the next level. These tricks are designed to gradually build your skills and prepare you for more complex maneuvers.
These tricks will get you closer to mastering ollies and kickflips. Also consider learning the following tricks:
- Hippie Jump
- Rail Stand
- Tic-Tac
Skill Multiplier: Learn all tricks switch.
1. Nosebleed or Nose Stall
A nose stall is done by applying pressure on your nose while leaning backward on a ledge, such as a curb. Start with a low obstacle and work your way up. Push a little to get speed, and then roll up to the curb.
As you roll into the curb, lift your deck slightly by applying a little pressure to your tail, then set your nose on the curb. Lean on your forward foot to stay in position. To roll off, either gently push your nose or just lean back on your tail.
Recommended related tricks/skills to practice:
- Tail stall
- Rock to fakie
- Nose slide
2. Ollie Pick Up
This trick is a great way to get used to popping your deck. Ride forward and pop your tail slightly, then put both feet on the ground right after the pop.
Start by just letting go of your deck to see how it responds. Then, try grabbing it. You will see that when you pop, your board will come up and it should be fairly easy to pick up.
Recommended related tricks/skills to practice:
- Acid Drop
- Caveman
- Bean Plant
- No Comply
- Boneless
3. Fakie Shovit
The fakie shovit is an easier variation of the shovit and is a great way to get used to the movement of the board. It requires commitment to land successfully.
Start in a fakie stance (riding backward), with your back foot on the tail and front foot near the middle of the board. Scoop the tail with your back foot, causing a 180° spin of the board in front of you. Simultaneously, jump slightly while guiding the spin with your front foot. Once the board completes its rotation, land confidently with both feet.
Recommended related tricks/skills to practice:
- Shovit
- Pop Shovit
- Mike Vallely Shove It
- Fakie bigspin
Intermediate Skateboard Tricks
Now that you’re comfortable with the basic tricks, it’s time to move to the intermediate level. We will cover some flatground and transition tricks, including the ollie.
Skill Multiplier: Learn all tricks frontside and backside when applicable!
1. Ollie
A great way to learn the ollie is to follow these steps:
- Practice Ollie Position: Get familiar with the ollie stance. Practice riding in this position regularly.
- Master Hippie Jumps: Hippie jumps are fundamental to ollies. Practice jumping on your board, particularly while moving.
- Snap and Slide Technique: Practice snapping your ankle down on the tail while lifting the front of the board and sliding your front foot up.
- Stay Relaxed: Tension can hinder your progress, so focus on staying calm and relaxed during practice.
The ollie is the action of jumping with your board stuck to your feet. It is the base for all street skateboarding tricks.
Position your feet with your back foot on the tail and your front foot halfway up, typically just behind the board’s bolts. Bend your knees in preparation. Pop the tail by pressing down sharply, and jump upward while sliding your front foot towards the nose, which levels out the board in mid-air. Aim to land with your feet over the bolts, bending your knees to cushion the impact.
Recommended related tricks/skills to practice:
- FS & BS 180 Ollie
- Pop Shovit
- Mike Vallely Shove It
- Fakie bigspin
- Nollie
2. FS & BS 180 Ollie
Frontside and Backside 180s are the first board rotations you’ll learn. They have a similar motion to the Ollie, except you want to wind up your shoulders and hips to make the board follow you. These help build the coordination needed for more advanced tricks. If you struggle learning them on flat ground, start on a pyramid or kicker.
3. FS 50-50 Grind
With your Ollies down, it’s time to grind ledges and curbs. Start with the Frontside 50-50 grind, where both of your trucks grind on the edge. The secret here is to lock in the wheels on your toe side against the coping.
4. BS Boardslide
The Backside Boardslide involves sliding onto a rail with your deck centered while your body faces the end of the rail. It is generally considered one of the easiest and safest rail tricks. You’ll need a solid ollie and a decent Frontside 180. Stay above your board and bend your knees to avoid slipping out.
5. Kickflip & Heelflip
The Kickflip is performed by flicking the board with your front foot toward the back corner of the nose, causing it to do a 360° rotation on its horizontal axis. The Heelflip is the same trick, but you flick your heel toward the top corner of the nose.
These tricks require time and effort to learn.
Recommended related tricks/skills to practice:
- Varial flips
- Tre-flips
6. Backside Feeble Grind
The Feeble Grind is typically the first grind skaters learn on flat bars. It involves grinding with your back truck locked onto the rail while your front truck hangs out. Stand with your body weight on your back heel.
7. Nose Manual
The Nose Manual is a manual performed using the nose. Position your front foot in the nose’s pocket, and your back foot close to the back bolts. Lean most of your body weight over your front truck while balancing with your hips and keeping your upper body straight.
Recommended related tricks/skills to practice:
- Nosegrinds
- Noseslides
- Krooked Grinds
- Nose Blunts
Transition Tricks
If street skating isn’t your focus and you prefer transition, here’s a list of fun and rewarding tricks:
- Tail stall
- Rock to fakie
- Axle stall
- Fakie rock & roll
- Rock & roll
- 360 rock & roll
- Hang up
- 50-50 grinds
- Nose stall
- Revert
Transition skating is a fun and safer alternative to street skating, especially for older skaters. By learning the basic tricks, you can enjoy riding all day long.
That’s It!
There is much more to learn, but this guide should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Remember that reading and watching videos will not get you muscle memory, however it helps you to think about what each trick requires.
With a few of these tricks under your belt you’ll be well on your way to progress to more advanced skateboarding skills.
Ruben vee
Ruben Vee
I’m an aged skateboarder that still enjoys riding. I started skateboarding 25 years ago, and still love it to this day. I’m also a skateboard gear geek and love sharing my findings.
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