No matter how many times I watch skateboarding I don’t understand how the board gets launched in the air and/or flips in the air by a person’s feet.
In: 6
First, tricks rely on getting the board off the ground. We call this an ollie.
You start with your back foot on the tail of the board and you jump whilst lifting your front foot. Since your weight is now mainly on your back foot (because of the skateboard’s raised tail), it causes a force imbalance which tips the board, with the wheel acting as a fulcrum.
You can further push on your back leg to slam the tail against the ground, causing the board to pop up in the air from the reactive force. You then use your front foot to slide across the surface of the board, causing it to become level in the air. Congratulations, you just managed to jump and make your board jump with you.
Tricks are simply doing that + some additional fancy footwork to make the board flip instead of simply getting level again. Kickflips are done by doing an ollie with the front foot to the side of the board. As you jump, you use the tipping of the board to “kick” the board away which makes it spin alongside its long axis. Heelflips are the same, exept you use your heel instead on the opposite side of the board.
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