Ready to take your skateboarding to the next level? If you’ve already mastered the basics like kickflips and shuvits, it’s time to dive into some intermediate tricks. This guide will walk you through ten essential tricks for both street/flatground and mini ramp skating, helping you expand your skills and impress your fellow skaters.
Intermediate Street Skateboarding Tricks
So you’ve got the foundational tricks down, like 180s, pop shuvits, kickflips, and heelflips. What’s next? It’s time to combine those building blocks and learn some more challenging maneuvers. Many intermediate skateboard tricks build upon simpler ones, opening up a world of possibilities. Let’s explore some must-know intermediate street and flat ground tricks.
Skateboarder performing an intermediate trick
1. Varial Flip
The Varial Flip combines a kickflip with a backside pop shuvit. If you’re comfortable with both of those tricks, this is a great trick to learn. Although some skaters might call it “ugly”, mastering the varial flip adds a unique element to your repertoire. Focus on keeping the board beneath you during the trick, and it can become a stylish addition to your skating.
2. Varial Heelflip
The varial heelflip is the opposite of the varial flip, combining a heelflip with a frontside pop shuvit. While opinions on the style might be mixed, a well-executed varial heelflip is undeniably impressive. Similar to the varial flip, foot placement is key, allowing the board to do most of the work. Try to avoid flicking too hard or scooping too much. The goal is to keep the board centered under your body for a clean landing.
3. Hardflip
The hardflip combines a frontside shuvit with a kickflip, resulting in a visually striking maneuver. These tricks are known for their unique spinning motion. It’s a challenging trick, as skaters perform them in different ways, some flat, others more vertical, and some with a side catch. The key is to get enough air to catch it properly before landing.
4. Inward Heelflip
A popular trick, especially among skaters from the early 2000s, the inward heelflip combines a backside pop shuvit with a heelflip. This results in a vertical spin and flip that comes up between your legs. Whether you catch it with your front foot or perfectly between your legs, the inward heelflip is a visually impressive and technically rewarding trick to master.
5. Adding a Spin
Once you have the basic flip tricks and shuvits down, try adding a 180-degree spin. A frontside or backside kickflip or heelflip with a 180 spin can be a thing of beauty. Big spins, which are essentially a 360 shuvit combined with a 180 body varial in the same direction, add a stylish flair to your skating. These might seem intimidating, but with the right approach, they’re attainable and fun to learn, especially when you use momentum to help your board spin.
Intermediate Mini Ramp Tricks
Now, let’s transition from flat ground to the mini ramp. If you’re comfortable with tricks like rock fakies, rock and rolls, axle stalls, and fakie tail stalls, it’s time to step up your mini ramp game. These next-level tricks will have you getting air above the coping with confidence.
6. Disaster
Don’t let the name scare you. The disaster is a stylish trick that involves getting your wheels over the coping and landing back on the ramp. This trick can be done frontside or backside, so it’s best to learn the direction you are most comfortable with. Start with a pivot on your front wheels into the disaster, and then gradually work up to faster, more fluid movements.
7. Nosestall
The nosestall can be considered either an intermediate or an easy trick, depending on your comfort level on mini ramps. If you’re already familiar with riding fakie and doing fakie rocks, a nosestall isn’t far off. Start low and slow, tapping your nose on the transition to get a feel for lifting your back wheels. Once you’re comfortable, you can progress to hitting the coping and lifting your back wheels before rolling back fakie.
8. Feeble Stall
A natural progression from the axle stall, the feeble stall involves letting your front truck go over the coping and resting on the deck while your back truck is pinched on the coping. The challenge is swinging your front wheels over the coping to avoid hanging up. It requires either a bit more lift or a faster swing. Experiment to see what works best for you and get used to the feel.
9. Smith Stall
The smith stall is similar to the feeble stall, but you let your back truck dip down below the coping instead of pinching it on top. It is all about putting your weight on the back foot when you lock in. Rolling back in can be a bit tricky, but if you turn square to the ramp and shift your weight to your front foot, you should be fine.
10. Ollie
Ollieing on a mini ramp is different from ollieing on flat ground. Your board will be much more vertical when you pop, and it’s crucial to match the pitch of the ramp when you come back down to avoid slipping out. Start with low ollies to get the mechanics down before gradually progressing higher up the transition. Soon, you’ll be flying over the coping and popping into disasters like a pro.
Skateboarder performing a trick on a mini ramp
With these ten intermediate skateboard tricks under your belt, you’ll be well on your way to enhancing your skills. Whether you prefer street skating or mini ramps, mastering these tricks will make your skateboarding sessions more enjoyable and help you stand out. Get out there, practice consistently, and keep pushing your limits.
