How do I Land Tricks? The Skateboard Won't Spin, Or Flies Out, Or...

Question: How do I Land Tricks? The Skateboard Won't Spin, Or Flies Out, Or...

Skateboarding tricks can be frustrating to learn. You can read the Learn How to Do Tricks Articles, and that's enough for a lot of skaters, but I still get a lot of e-mails like this:

"I still cant seem to land a kickflip... It's weird. When ever i seem to get a good flip, i cant land it. It stays under me but doesn't get the rotation or something happens." (Thanks Mitch)

So, what should you do?

Answer: If you are in the same boat as Mitch, it can be frustrating. I know. I've been in that same place with other tricks, where I try them and try them, and just can't seem to land 'em. It's frustrating, and might make you want to break your board. Or at least yell a lot.

So, what should you do? Here's the secret - keep trying. That's it? Yep. Tricks can take a long time to learn. If your problem seems to move around, like Mitch's, then likely you need to just keep at it.

I know this isn't the advice most of you are looking for. It would be great if I had a super secret tip I could tell you, but the truth is much easier, and much harder. Just keep working at it.

Now, while doing that, there are some things you can do! You can move your flick point around a bit, and see if that makes a difference. You can keep practicing your ollies, to get them higher, so that you'll have more time to complete the flip. You can take a break and try another trick, like a Pop Shuvit, and then come back to the Kickflip later. You can take a day or two off skating, and do something completely different - a lot of pros do this, and it works. It gives your mind and body time to let things sink in, and rest.

A lot of times our frustrations come from seeing a buddy who picks up a trick really fast. We've been trying to learn to kickflip for a couple of weeks, and this other guy says, "Hey, I want to try that!" and learns it in a day. You have two options when that happens. First, you can accuse him of being a witch, and burn him. But, might I suggest instead that you try option number two - keep practicing. Remember that everyone learns tricks at their own pace - there's no "par" for learning skate tricks. It took me a YEAR to learn to Ollie. Seriously. How lame did that feel!? But, I learned other tricks pretty quick. It's all relative. Just take your time, and learn at your own pace. And always have fun with it. If it stops being fun for you, then you might want to back up and re-discover why you started skating. Don't burn yourself out.

And, you can always ask that jerk buddy of yours for advice. He might have some. Or, he might not. But that's what friends do!