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Overview: Ollies

The flat ground ollie is the most important trick in skateboarding. It's foundational for at least 75% of all street tricks, and adds freshness even to transition sessions.

The ollie is also the trick that drives most people away from skateboarding. It is tremendously frustrating at first, and requires hours and hours of practice.

Why is the ollie so hard?

Timing. You have to time it all just right, between the tail smack, the leap, the slide, and the landing.
Weird positioning. Your shoulders, legs, and feet have to be in just the right position.
New muscles. You're probably going to use muscles you're not used to using, so expect to get tired.
Balance. Especially when moving, you're jumping up away from your board, making your board follow you, and trying to land on the bolts without falling. 'Nuff said.

But you're going to learn to ollie this week. You may not perfect it, but you're going to get the basics down, and eventually master it! Nothing feels as good as being confident that you can ollie at full speed, on-demand, and even in response to objects around you.

Instruction

There are many good instructional videos on how to ollie. Everybody's body is different, and so one video may nail it while another doesn't help.

As with any trick, here's a good way to learn:

Watch several instructional videos
Visualize yourself doing the trick
Go skate, trying the trick until you've exhausted mind and body
Repeat

Basic Steps

How-To Videos

Disclaimer: These videos are each the intellectual property of the respective owner, and are used here under Fair Use, Creative Commons licensing, or special arrangement with the owner.

skateyasha ollies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moXDd6pnmlo

Get Better By Reviewing

Whether you're struggling to land the trick, or just want to get bigger, better, or smoother, here are some tips to improve:

Ask friends to compare you to the video and take feedback
Record and watch yourself trying the trick

As always, post your videos, struggles, and successes to the Ollie Discussion.