Skateboard
terms
The short answer
The first skateboard terms to learn describe your stance and direction. Regular means left foot forward and goofy means right foot forward. Fakie is rolling backwards in your normal stance, switch is riding in your opposite stance, and a nollie pops off the nose. Frontside and backside say which way you turn: frontside faces forward first, backside leads with your back. Most trick names combine those words with an ollie, a flip, a shove-it spin or a grind.
Stance and direction
Which foot is forward, which way you roll, and which way you turn.
- Regular
- Riding with your left foot forward and your right foot on the tail. More
- Goofy
- Riding with your right foot forward and your left foot on the tail. It describes your feet, not your hands, so a right-handed skater can be goofy. More
- Fakie
- Rolling backwards in your normal stance. A fakie ollie is a regular ollie popped while rolling backwards. More
- Switch
- Riding in your opposite stance: a regular skater riding goofy, or the other way round. A switch kickflip is a kickflip in that stance. More
- Nollie
- Popping off the nose instead of the tail while rolling forward in your normal stance. More
- Frontside
- On flat ground, turning toward your heel side so you face forward first, as in a frontside 180. On a ramp, turning with your chest facing the ramp. More
- Backside
- On flat ground, turning toward your toe side so your back leads, as in a backside 180. On a ramp, turning with your back to the ramp. More
- Heel side and toe side
- The two long edges of the board: the one under your heels and the one under your toes. Foot setups use them, as in "heel hanging off the heel side". More
- Half cab and full cab
- A fakie ollie where you and the board turn backside together: 180 for a half cab (you roll away forward), 360 for a full cab (you roll away fakie). More
Parts of a trick
The words for each moment of a trick, in order. Skate AI scores setup, pop, flick, catch and landing out of 10 each.
- Setup
- Where your feet are before you pop. Every flip trick starts from a slightly different setup, usually measured from the front bolts. More
- Pop
- Snapping the tail down off the ball of your back foot so the board jumps. On a nollie, the front foot pops the nose. More
- Slide (the front foot)
- In an ollie, dragging the side of your front shoe up toward the nose after the pop to lift and level the board. More
- Flick
- Kicking the board into a flip with your front foot as it slides up: off the heel-side corner of the nose for a kickflip, with your heel off the toe-side corner for a heelflip. More
- Scoop
- Sweeping the tail around with your back foot so the board spins, as in a shove-it or a 360 flip. More
- Catch
- Stopping the flip or spin with your feet once it lines up, before you land. More
- Landing
- Coming down with your feet over the bolts and rolling away. More
Board and spots
The parts of the skateboard and the places you skate that trick names refer to.
- Nose and tail
- The front and back ends of the board. The tail is the one you pop in an ollie; the nose is the one you pop in a nollie.
- Trucks
- The front and back axles that hold the wheels. Grinds are named by which truck is on the ledge. More
- Bolts
- The bolts that hold the trucks on. Foot positions are given from them, as in "front foot just behind the front bolts". More
- Grip
- The top of the board, where your feet go. "Grip-up" means landing the right way up.
- Coping
- The edge at the top of a ramp. You drop in from it, rock on it and stall on it. More
- Transition
- The curved wall of a ramp or quarter pipe. "Mellow" transition is a gentle curve, the easiest to learn on. More
- Ledge and rail
- What you grind and slide on: a ledge is a raised edge, a rail is a metal bar. More
Kinds of tricks
The building blocks most trick names are made from.
- Ollie
- Pop the tail and slide your front foot up so the board jumps with you. More
- Shove-it
- The board spins flat under you without flipping: 180 for a pop shove-it, 360 for a 360 shove-it. Your body doesn't turn. More
- Flip trick
- Any trick where the board flips: a kickflip or heelflip, alone or with a shove-it spin or a body turn added. More
- Varial
- A flip plus a shove-it spin: a varial kickflip is a kickflip and a backside shove-it together, a varial heelflip a heelflip and a frontside shove-it. More
- Tre flip
- A 360 flip: a kickflip with a full 360 backside shove. "Tre" is short for 360. A double tre flip flips twice in the 360. More
- 180 and 360
- You and the board turn together, half a turn or a full turn, frontside or backside. When only the board spins, it's a shove-it. More
- Grind
- Your trucks scrape along a ledge or rail: both trucks in a 50-50, the back truck in a 5-0, the front truck in a nosegrind. More
- Slide
- The board itself slides on the ledge or rail: the middle in a boardslide or lipslide, the nose in a noseslide, the tail in a tailslide. More
- Manual
- Balance and roll on just the back wheels with the nose up. A nose manual balances on the front wheels. More
- Kickturn
- Turning around on a ramp wall by weighting the tail so the front wheels lift: frontside with your chest to the ramp, backside with your back to it. More
- Stall
- Stopping on the coping for a moment before you come back in, as in an axle stall with both trucks on top. More
34 terms above, 64 tricks here
Trick names A to Z
Every trick with a guide on this site, in one line each. Each name links to its guide: where your feet go, steps, common mistakes and a drill.
- 5-0 Level 3 of 5
- Only the back truck grinds, with the nose held up.
- 50-50 Level 2 of 5
- Both trucks grind along the ledge or rail.
- 360 Double Flip Level 5 of 5
- A 360 flip that flips twice while the board spins a full 360. The double tre flip.
- 360 Flip Level 5 of 5
- A kickflip with a full 360 backside shove. The tre flip.
- 360 Shove-It Level 4 of 5
- A pop shove-it taken all the way around, a full 360 with no flip.
- Axle Stall Level 2 of 5
- Stall with both trucks on the coping, board parallel to it.
- Backside 180 Level 3 of 5
- An ollie where you and the board turn 180 toward your toe side, back first.
- Backside Boardslide Level 3 of 5
- The middle of the board slides on the rail, rail behind you.
- Backside Flip Level 4 of 5
- A kickflip with a backside 180: you and the board turn together, back first, while it flips once. You roll away fakie.
- Backside Heelflip Level 4 of 5
- A heelflip with a backside 180: you and the board turn together, back first, while it flips the heelflip way. You roll away fakie.
- Backside Kickturn Level 1 of 5
- Turn on the ramp wall with your back to the ramp.
- Big Spin Level 4 of 5
- A backside 360 shove-it while your body turns a backside 180. The board ends pointing the way it started and you ride away switch.
- Boneless Level 2 of 5
- You grab the board with your back hand, plant your front foot on the ground and jump, pulling the board up under your feet.
- Crooked Grind Level 4 of 5
- A nosegrind with the board angled, tail out.
- Double Heelflip Level 4 of 5
- A heelflip that flips twice before you catch it.
- Double Kickflip Level 4 of 5
- A kickflip that flips twice before you catch it.
- Drop In Level 1 of 5
- Roll into a ramp from the top by tipping the board forward off the coping.
- Fakie Frontside 180 Level 3 of 5
- A fakie ollie where you and the board turn 180 frontside together, your back to where you're going. You roll away forward.
- Fakie Heelflip Level 3 of 5
- A heelflip while rolling backwards in your normal stance.
- Fakie Kickflip Level 3 of 5
- A kickflip while rolling backwards in your normal stance.
- Fakie Ollie Level 2 of 5
- A regular ollie popped while rolling backwards in your normal stance.
- Feeble Grind Level 4 of 5
- The back truck grinds on top while the front truck hangs over the far side.
- Frontside 180 Level 3 of 5
- An ollie where you and the board turn 180 toward your heel side, facing forward first.
- Frontside Boardslide Level 3 of 5
- The middle of the board slides on the rail, rail ending up in front of you.
- Frontside Flip Level 4 of 5
- A kickflip with a frontside 180: you and the board turn together, facing forward first, while it flips once. You roll away fakie.
- Frontside Heelflip Level 4 of 5
- A heelflip with a frontside 180: you and the board turn together, facing forward first, while it flips the heelflip way. You roll away fakie.
- Frontside Kickturn Level 1 of 5
- Turn on the ramp wall with your chest facing the ramp.
- Frontside Pop Shove-It Level 3 of 5
- A shove-it that spins the other way, out in front of you.
- Full Cab Level 5 of 5
- A fakie ollie where you and the board turn a full 360 backside together. You roll away fakie.
- Half Cab Level 3 of 5
- A fakie ollie where you and the board turn 180 backside together, so you can see where you're going. You roll away forward.
- Hardflip Level 5 of 5
- A kickflip and a frontside shove-it together, the board flipping up between your legs.
- Heelflip Level 2 of 5
- An ollie where the front foot flicks the board into a flip the other way.
- Hospital Flip Level 4 of 5
- A half kickflip that your front foot flips back the way it came.
- Impossible Level 5 of 5
- The board wraps end over end around your back foot, nose up and back over the top, and lands grip-up under you.
- Inward Heelflip Level 5 of 5
- A heelflip and a backside shove-it together.
- Kickflip Level 2 of 5
- An ollie where the front foot flicks the board into a full flip.
- Laser Flip Level 5 of 5
- A heelflip with a full frontside 360 shove-it under you, your body staying square.
- Lipslide Level 4 of 5
- Like a boardslide, but the back truck goes over the rail first.
- Manual Level 1 of 5
- Balance and roll on just the back wheels with the nose up.
- No Comply Level 2 of 5
- Your front foot steps off the heel side and taps the ground while the back foot pops the board up to your leg, then you hop back on.
- No Comply 180 Level 3 of 5
- A no comply where the back foot scoops the board round frontside 180 while your front foot is on the ground. You roll away fakie.
- Nollie Level 2 of 5
- An ollie popped off the nose while rolling in your normal stance.
- Nollie 360 Flip Level 5 of 5
- A 360 flip popped off the nose while rolling forward. The front foot pops and scoops the nose around while the back foot flicks the flip.
- Nollie Backside 180 Level 3 of 5
- A nollie where you and the board turn 180 backside together, back first. You roll away fakie.
- Nollie Frontside 180 Level 3 of 5
- A nollie where you and the board turn 180 frontside together, facing forward first. You roll away fakie.
- Nollie Heelflip Level 4 of 5
- A heelflip popped off the nose while rolling forward. The back foot kicks the board into a flip the other way from a nollie kickflip.
- Nollie Kickflip Level 4 of 5
- A kickflip popped off the nose. The back foot does the flick.
- Nollie Shove-It Level 3 of 5
- A pop shove-it popped off the nose while rolling forward. The board spins 180 flat under you and doesn't flip.
- Nose Manual Level 2 of 5
- Balance and roll on just the front wheels with the tail up.
- Nosegrind Level 3 of 5
- Only the front truck grinds, with the tail held up.
- Noseslide Level 3 of 5
- The nose slides on the ledge with the tail up.
- Ollie Level 1 of 5
- Pop the tail and slide your front foot up so the board jumps with you.
- Ollie on the Spot Level 1 of 5
- An ollie standing still. The tail snaps, all four wheels leave the ground, and you land on the board less than a board length from where you started.
- Ollie Over Something Level 2 of 5
- A rolling ollie over a shoe, a stick or a line on the ground. The whole board clears it and you land on all four wheels still rolling.
- Pop Shove-It Level 2 of 5
- The board spins 180 flat under you without flipping.
- Rock and Roll Level 3 of 5
- Rock the middle of the board on the coping, then kickturn back in forward.
- Rock to Fakie Level 2 of 5
- Ride up, rock the middle of the board on the coping, and roll back down fakie.
- Smith Grind Level 4 of 5
- The back truck grinds on top while the nose dips down beside the ledge. See smith grind vs feeble grind.
- Switch Heelflip Level 4 of 5
- A heelflip in your opposite stance.
- Switch Kickflip Level 4 of 5
- A kickflip in your opposite stance.
- Switch Ollie Level 3 of 5
- An ollie in your opposite stance.
- Tailslide Level 3 of 5
- The tail slides on the ledge with the nose up.
- Varial Heelflip Level 3 of 5
- A heelflip and a frontside shove-it together.
- Varial Kickflip Level 3 of 5
- A kickflip and a backside shove-it together.
FAQ
Terms
FAQ
What does fakie mean in skateboarding?
Rolling backwards in your normal stance, without changing your feet. A fakie ollie is a normal ollie popped while rolling backwards.
What is the difference between fakie and switch?
Fakie keeps your normal stance and rolls backwards. Switch is your opposite stance rolling forward, so a regular skater riding switch rides goofy. See fakie vs switch vs nollie.
What do frontside and backside mean?
Which way you turn. Frontside turns toward your heel side, so you face forward first; backside turns toward your toe side, so your back leads. On a ramp, frontside is chest to the ramp, backside is back to the ramp.
What does goofy mean in skateboarding?
Riding with your right foot forward. Regular is the left foot forward. Neither is better; take the goofy or regular test to find yours.
What is a tre flip?
Another name for a 360 flip: a kickflip with a full 360 backside shove. "Tre" is short for 360.
What is the difference between a shove-it and a 180?
In a shove-it only the board spins and your body stays facing the same way. In a 180 you and the board turn together.
