Q&A for How to Do Skateboard Tricks

It's probably the ollie, where you just jump the board off of the ground. This is the foundation for a lot of other tricks, so that's a good place to start.

I really wouldn't recommend that. It's much more important that you learn how to balance, push off, and turn. Once you've got those key elements of skating down, you can start thinking about learning tricks.

It could take you a month or it could take you a year. It really depends on how long it takes you to get comfortable on the board.

Baker, Element, Flip, Real, Girl, Birdhouse, Deathwish, DGK, Plan B. Go to any skate shop, and they'll set you up right.

Not at all. You shouldn't be scared to try this trick. As long as you keep your center of gravity over the board, you'll be fine.

Go to a local skateshop. They will recommend the size of board and brands.

You don't really need to master turning necessarily, but turning is such an easy move in skateboarding that it would be unusual if you couldn't turn before doing these tricks.

You can simply put your foot down. Or, if you want to do an awesome trick, stomp hard on the tail and jump. The board will fly into the air and you grab it. You've gotta be fast, though.

You can get these things called "trick trainers" that you put on your wheels. They will stop the wheels from rolling while you get your footwork right and prevent the board from flying out.

First learn how to balance at a complete stop. Then learn how to move and turn without falling. Take it gradually, or you won't be able to learn tricks. Also, falling off while attempting tricks is normal, even for advanced skaters.

Not too much, unless you're doing an ollie.

To get the Ollie down you flick down the board and drag the sole of your foot up the board and even it out.

Yes, of course. Even though they are a bit different, the long board wheels will work just as well as the normal wheels.

It’s probably a good idea to just go back to basics: balancing, cruising, turning, etc. When you are confident with those again, then you can get back to tricks.

You can try, but most single-kick skateboards were meant to be cruisers and not trick boards.

You could learn a "shove it" or an "impossible". A "shove it" isn't too hard to learn.

Yes, you can use this article to do tricks on pennyboards too. They might be more difficult though due to the size difference.

Get your kickflips down, and do them consistently. Get your pop shuv-its down, too. When you go to do a normal kickflip, you are going to scoop your back foot forward so the board spins and flips at the same time. if you do it correctly, you should have done the hardflip.

It a very good skateboard brand. I use it a lot. The boards last me about two months with board and lip slides (which are known to break your board in two).

Go faster and try it on a bigger ramp. Then the smaller ramps won't seem difficult.

They can start from about £25 but I recommend one in the £30-40 range if you're a beginner and want to get serious about it.

The reason that the board flies behind you is that when you go to do a pop shove it you slam your foot down, then you slide your foot inwards or outwards (inwards is the easiest).

Refer to Ollie .

If you are small yourself, then probably, but someone who wears a size 12 shoe simply can't do tricks on a very small board.

Get a lot of air on vert, and start spinning before hitting the coping. Spin fast and rotate more than you think you should. Do this with a Mute or Indy for better control. You should try to get 360s, 540s, and 720s down until you build up the confidence to do a 900. You can only do a 900 rotation on vert, but you can try a poor man's 900 on flat ground. (For a poor man's 900, just do a 360 and keep pivoting until you get to a 900.)

Proper bearings and adequate trucks will always be a direct indicator that your skateboard can handle your tricks. Also a proper, well-made board can handle tricks.

That depends on the stair-set. If they are very flat stairs with minimal steps, you can just ride down it while bending your knees and leaning forward. You can also do this move called "firecrackers," where you lift your front truck and put most of your weight on the tail and balance over the tail. I would recommend trying a firecracker off a curb first though. Just practice committing and lifting your back truck enough to get your entire board off.

Possibly. It's going to be a lot easier doing it on a wooden board with griptape though. Wooden boards have a concave curve, which makes it pop (giving your tricks more air).