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  • What's up guys, this is Tim with Tactics today  I'm going to teach you how to ollie.  

  • The ollie is a fundamental maneuver and is the gateway  for just about every flip trick in skateboarding.

  • Whether you're just starting to learn or want  to improve your ollies,   

  • this guide will give you a clear understanding of the mechanics and the technique.

  • I'd recommend waiting to try to learn ollies until you're very comfortable with riding your board.

  • Because having that familiarity will help you learn ollies much quicker.

  • With that said, let's talk about the mechanics of the ollie.  

  • Conceptually the ollie is very simple but  mastering the technique can be tricky at first  

  • because it's all about timing and independently  coordinated foot motions.  

  • But once you develop the muscle memory, it'll become automatic.

  • The ollie works by utilizing the rebound of the wood and the traction of the grip tape

  • to bounce and lift the board off the ground.

  • I like to think of our feet as humble guides that keep the board under control and under our feet.

  • If you pop the board up with just one foot it bounces up, but it flings backwards and does a back flip.

  • So the job of the front foot is to stop the board from flinging away, and to guide it upwards and level it out.

  • First let's talk about the foot placement.

  • Throughout the ollie keep your feet perpendicular and your shoulders parallel with the board.

  • Place the ball of your back foot on the tip of the tail and your front foot somewhere in the middle.

  • The placement of your front foot isn't too critical,

  • But you don't want it too close to the nose because you won't have any room to slide up the grip,

  • and you also don't want it too far  back because it's harder to balance.

  • So anywhere in this region should work fine.

  • Also don't hang your front foot too far off either side of the board.

  • I generally like to have the tips on my toes right at the edge of the deck.

  • Now let's talk about the individual foot motions a little more in depth

  • Mastering the timing and coordination of the feet is the biggest hurdle in learning ollies.

  • So I'm going to break down the motions for each foot.

  • The entire maneuver is initiated with the jump, and the pop and slide all occur within the jump.

  • Practice a few jumps where you hoist your feet up to get  the feeling of what kind of jump you'll need to do.

  • The jump is going to determine the height of the  ollie and the higher you can pull up your feet,

  • the higher the potential ollie

  • Keep your weight on the balls of your feet because nobody jumps offflat foot.

  • When people jump they spring up off the  balls of their feet.

  • This will allow you to get a much better jump and pop.

  • When you're bending your knees for the jump don't lean forward too far like you're touching your toes,

  • and you don't need to crouch all the way down because, it's not going to help you get any higher.

  • Just a nice 45 to 90 degree crouch will be fine.

  • The pop is the most important part of the ollie because without the pop the board isn't coming off the ground.

  • The back foot's only job is to pop down the tail and then immediately get out of the way to allow the board to bounce upward.

  • The power for the pop will come from your calf muscles and your ankle.

  • Many beginners try to pop the tail with a flat  foot using their whole leg and knee for the pop,

  • but you won't get a good jump or any kind of power that way.

  • Just practice this motion forlittle bit.

  • The harder you pop the more the board will bounce up and stick to your feet which will give you more control.

  • The pop should be straight down. Don't angle the pop to either side because it'll cause the board to rotate.

  • And we're trying ollies, not shuv-its.

  • The second part of the back foot motion is to lift it up and get it out of the way so the board has room to travel upwards.

  • The front foot's job is to lift and slide upwards towards the nose, and to push the nose forward in order to level out the back end.

  • As you're lifting and sliding, tilt your front ankle slightly inward, so the side of your shoe catches the grip tape.

  • The side of the shoe provides better traction on the grip tape and will make it easier to lift up and control.

  • Part two of the front foot motion is to push forward and level out the board.

  • This is key for actually getting some height in the ollie.

  • If you don't level up the board it ends up staying vertical or "rocket,"  

  • and it's hard to make it over things because the tail is still drooping down.  

  • It might help to think of the action of the front foot as almost a circular motion.

  • It lifts up, pushes forward, then comes back down under you.

  • Putting these three independent motions together with the correct timing requires practicepatience, and focus.

  • Similar to a pianist where each hand is playing independently and simultaneously.

  • Also when you're first learning ollies it  helps to keep your eyes on the skateboard  

  • so you can check to see where your feet are  and what they're doing.  

  • Okay, let's recap the sequence of motions and put them all together.

  • With your feet in place, weight on the balls of your feet and evenly distributed between each foot

  • Initiate the ollie with an upwards jump.

  • Just before your feet leave the deck, that's  when the back foot does the popping motion.

  • And at the same time the front foot starts the upward slideLifting and guiding the board.

  • Immediately after you've popped the tail with your ankle,

  • suck your back foot up and get it out of the way

  • As your back foot is moving up,

  • your front foot is starting to push the nose forward in order to level out the back end.  

  • The forward push should be around the peak of your jump.

  • At the point where the board is leveled out the only thing left is to commit to the landing.

  • Both feet should come down at the same time.

  • And try to land over the hardware bolts, just to startgetting in the habit of doing that.

  • You don't have to stomp it down, just come down naturally as you would with a jump without the board.

  • During the ollie your center of gravity will need to shift to the middle of the board so you can land balanced.

  • All of this takes place within half a second.

  • And I know it seems likelot to do all at once, but as you start to piece it together it'll feel like one fluid motion.

  • Here's a couple of pointers to help you learn it faster.

  • you could practice doing the motions for each foot  individually,  

  • or you can practice the whole motion by jumping on the ground and really focusing on the form.

  • Take off from your popping foot and concentrate on pulling it upwards towards your chest as soon as you leave the ground.

  • With your sliding foot, concentrate  on the circular leveling out motion.

  • Exaggerate that front foot leveling out.

  • If it feels like you're doing a ninja kick in midair, then you're doing it right.

  • Look at the motion side by side.

  • Even if we take away the board, the motion looks exactly the same.

  • So even though you might feel a little silly jumping like this, it will help train your muscle memory for the ollie.

  • If you're scared to try an ollie on concrete, you can start by practicing on some carpet or some dry grass so you don't slip out.

  • The pop won't be  as solid as concrete, but at least you can start  building up your confidence and get a little more comfortable trying the motion.

  • Another thing you can try is holding on to something

  • Find a bike rack or a short fence and hold yourself up when  trying the ollie.

  • It'll give you a little extra air time so you can start piecing together the different movements without the risk of falling.

  • In general when you're trying tricks, you need to visualize yourself successfully doing it from your own point of view.

  • Visualization is when you mentally rehearse the outcome that you want to unfold,

  • and it can give you the confidence you need to do the trick.

  • It can also help if you record your attempts to study the footage to see what you're doing wrong.  

  • Start practicing ollies while moving as soon as you're comfortable.

  • Start rolling super slow and get used to landing and continuing rolling

  • When they start to feel consistent, try ollieing over something like a crack in the sidewalk, a stick, a 2x4, or even another skateboard.

  • After lots of practice your ollies will get higher and will feel automatic.

  • You won't have to think about the individual motions because the muscle memory takes over,

  • and you'll only have to concentrate on the thing you're ollieing over.

  • As you start gaining more control over the board try adding a little style by poking out your front foot to bone the ollie.

  • or try some variations like shifties or ollie norths.

  • After you've learned the ollie, other tricks like kickflips and heelflips will come much faster

  • because you've already done most of the hard work of training your legs

  • to jump, pop, crouch, and land with the proper timing.

  • So it's important to have a consistent ollie if  you want to continue to progress your skating.

  • One last thing is to not get discouraged.

  • Nobody said that skateboarding was easy.

  • The learning curve is very steep and it won't come in a day.

  • But with determination you will improve and achieve your goals.

  • And that feeling of accomplishment is what makes all of the hard work worth it.

  • If you got any comments or questions just  leave them in the box down below,

  • and have fun learning ollies. Peace!

  • I don't frickin' know!

What's up guys, this is Tim with Tactics today  I'm going to teach you how to ollie.  

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