Tony Hawk's Trick Tips Video

The Tony Hawk's Trick Tips video is a great video for learning the basics of how to skateboard. Tony Hawk walks the viewer through how to buy a skateboard, the true basics to riding a skateboard, and some of the most popular tricks that new skateboarders want to learn. Tony Hawk presents all of this in a fun and comfortable way, with extra little bits of skateboarding info and knowledge added along the way. Tony Hawk's Trick Tips Volume One is a great video for learning the basics of skateboarding, and is fun to watch.

Skateboarding instructional videos aren't too hard to find, but a lot of them out there are pretty terrible. They don't go into much detail, or they spend more time trying to entertain you than actually teaching you how to skate.

Tony Hawk's Trick Tips Volume 1 manages to be fun and entertaining to watch, but at the same time it does a great job of walking the new skater through everything they need to know to start skateboarding. Throughout the video, Tony Hawk talks comfortably and with a confident ease that makes listening to him easy. Tony Hawk's Trick Tips Volume One is about 39 minutes long. Here's a list of the topics covered in the Tony Hawk Trick Tips video:

• Buying a skateboard
• The basics of skateboarding (stance, pushing, turning...)
• Street tricks (ollie, ollie 180, shove-it, kickflip, heelflip)
• Ramp riding and tricks (pumping, dropping in, rock to fakie)
• Boardslides

In the skateboard buying section, Tony Hawk walks you through the basics of what you need (a board, wheels, trucks...), and he gives the beginner a good idea of what to look for.

In the basics section, Tony Hawk and Chris Martin do a great job of explaining the pure basics of riding a skateboard. They don't touch on a couple of key points however, like stopping, and they only touch lightly on kickturning. However, the instructions are pretty solid and easy to understand.

For Street Tricks, Tony Hawk and Chris Martin work together again. The instructions on how to ollie do a great job, but this trick is really tough to teach. The problem is that so much about the ollie is timing, and combining several actions at once. I liked how Tony Hawk explained that learning to ollie can take a long time, and that even skaters like himself are still learning to ollie better or higher, after years of skateboarding. I would have liked it there was a little more attention paid to transitioning from the stationary ollie to the rolling ollie, but otherwise these instructions were great.

The rest of the street tricks were also very well explained, all with the light hearted Tony Hawk style, and the easy-going attitude that marks these videos. In the Kickflip section, for example, Tony Hawk talked about how even he still has trouble with kickflips. They're tough!

In the ramps section, Tony Hawk and Kris Markovich start off walking the viewer though basic ramp riding skills, like pumping and dropping in. These instructions are great, concise, and easy to understand.

Tony Hawk does teach one ramp trick in this video, the Rock to Fakie. Again, the instructions are smooth and easy to follow. The whole video is very conversational and feels real, and not rehearsed.

The video ends with a segment by Brian Sumner teaching you how to Boardslide. The instructions are good, but this part feels strangely tacked on, like it was thought of later. But still, it's good, and Brian Sumner adds his own advice about not getting mad, upset or discouraged.

Throughout Tony Hawk's Trick Tips Volume 1, there are little pop-ups on the bottom of the screen with extra information. These added a lot to the video - things like, who invented the trick you are learning about (mostly Rodney Mullen), that kickflips were first called "Magic Flips", that Tony Hawk is 6'3", and other stuff. I thought they added a lot to the instructions, without getting in the way or being distracting.

Tony Hawk's Trick Tips Volume One is also seasoned with other little bits of instruction that are even more important - things like encouraging skaters to have fun with what they are doing, and to relax and don't get too frustrated. He tells the viewer to take their time when learning tricks, how to act at the skatepark, and to make sure they wear a helmet and pads even if they aren't comfortable or cool (the weird part here is that Chris Martin doesn't wear a helmet through his sections, but the other pro skaters do).

If you are a parent looking for a skateboarding instructional video for your kid, but you are concerned about the role models he'll have and the angry, rebellious look that skateboarding culture can have some times, Tony Hawk's Trick Tips video is a great choice. It's fun and funny, relate-able, but all with a light hearted ease that's free of anger or angst.

My complaints with the Tony Hawk's Trick Tips video are pretty small. I would have liked to see a little more in the How to Ollie section, simply because the trick is essential to progressing, and it is so tough to do. Perhaps some kind of suggestions for helping skaters who are having a hard time landing it would be good, and he didn't talk about how to fix low ollies at all.

For being a video for brand new skaters, most of them young, not having Chris Martin wear a helmet doesn't sit well with me. It's a small thing, especialy since Tony Hawk wore one the whole time.

Not too many tricks were covered. Only one ramp trick and one grind. But, to be fair, this video is intended for true beginners. There are two more volumes to cover the rest. Still, if you aren't a brand new skater, you might be disappointed.

Tony Hawk's Trick Tips - the Final Word

I was impressed with Tony Hawk's Trick Tips. The above complaints are no where near enough for me to discourage anyone from buying it. The video is comfortable and easy to watch, Tony Hawk is funny and relaxed and still teaches very well, and I think anyone would get something out of it. The video is designed for brand new skaters, and I would mostly recommend it for them. Plus, you'll learn a little about the other aspects of skateboarding, like who invented what, or why things are named the way they are. I highly recommend it.