How to Ollie
Posted on March 10th, 2009 by Elaine
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If there’s one trick any serious skateboarder needs to master, it’s the ollie. It’s the fundamental of all skateboard tricks, and you can do it while riding down the street, doing obstacles and tricks, or even while you’re standing in a stationary position. It takes practice, but if you want to do it learn it quick, here’s how to ollie properly.
What You’ll Need:
- Skateboard
- Wrist guards
- Elbowpads
- Kneepads
Procedure:
- Stand on your skateboard. It’s easier to do an ollie if you’re in a familiar setup. Get a good feel of the size of the wheels, tightness of the trucks and the shape of your board. If your trucks feel a bit loose, tighten them, until they feel better.
- Adjust your feet. They must be in a comfortable and appropriate position. The trick is you must be on the balls of your feet, because this allows you to crouch better. There are two advisable ways to reposition your feet: First, you can either shuffle your feet into a better position, although this is slower and less accurate, and will ruin your shoes; second, you can take a small jump, big enough so you will land with your feet correctly positioned. It’s quicker, but trickier.
- Your feet’s position is very important. The balls of the front foot must be somewhere between the bolts, and central to the deck. Those of the back foot must hang off the deck tail ’s edge. If you’re only doing small curb-hopping, just push your foot a bit forward, while huge monster ollies require you to put your foot backwards.
- Crouch down, bending your knees. Begin moving at a good, steady speed, and get ready to jump. Your crouch must be properly balanced. Don’t stick your buttocks outwards too much, and don’t bend your back. You can drop down, but make sure to keep your shoulder and feet level with each other.
- Kick down. Also known as “popping”, this is when you jump off the board, and is the power behind your ollie. Jump forward, so you won’t spin in the air, and a split second after you pop, drag your front foot, up to the board’s nose, creating friction between the nose and your foot. Then, bring the front foot up, using the grip tape and carrying the board with your front shoe.
- Jump, as if you’re getting off the board. At the same time, turn the front foot inwards, then slide it up to the board’s front, so the board will level out.
- Pull your knees up to your chest, but remember that the board can only go as high as your feet, so bring your feet higher up, if you want your ollie to be high.
- Level out. You have to make the board level to the ground, as you’re in mid-air.
- Land on your feet. You must land with your feet as near to their respective trucks as much as possible, and they should be down at the same time. Landing an ollie with both feet in the middle will snap your board. If you land at the tail or the nose, it can break off.
A Few Tips
- If you’re a beginner, perform an ollie on a level and even surface first, before moving on to ramps and obstacles.
- Learn how to do ollies while moving first, before learning the stationary ollie.
- Move your feet around a little. It’s not bad to do your ollie a bit differently than others, as long as you’re safe and comfortable.
- Practice. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.
You don’t have to be an expert skateboarder to do an ollie well. Just follow these steps, and your friends will surely be impressed.
Ask a question
on October 1st, 2009 at 4:46 pm
i read somewhere you should slide your back foot up a bit after you pop so that your weight is distributed equally and you land cleaner should i do this?