GLOSSARY OF SKATEBOARDING TERMS

Sometimes, the language of skateboarders can be pretty confusing to those who don't skate. Here's a little something to refer to when you would like to understand what your son, nephew, friend, boyfriend, etc. is talking about when he says he landed a nollie heelflip to b/s 5/0. This glossary of skateboarding terms is for all of the parents, friends, girlfriends, and relatives who just don't happen to speak the skateboarding language.

I could use a little help on the terms. If you know of any skateboarding lingo that can be added, please send it to me by email: greg_t_hart@yahoo.com


BACKSIDE

Turns or rotations in the direction your toes point toward, so that your back is facing the outside of the arc. Sometimes abbreviated as "bs" or "b/s"

FRONTSIDE

Turns or rotations in the direction your toes point toward, so that your front is facing toward the outside of the arc. Sometimes abbreviated as "fs" or "f/s"

BOARDSLIDE

A trick where you lift your front truck over the lip, coping, rail, ledge, or whatever it is that you desire, and slide. Sometimes refered to as a "railslide"

FAKIE

Riding backwards. I should note here that when riding fakie, your weight is balanced as in your normal stance.

Nollie

An ollie off of the nose of the board where you pop the nose with your front foot and slide your back foot towards the tail to lift the board

KICKFLIP

Ollie, front foot goes toward the heel side of the board, flicking the board with your toes, board flips, land.

HEELFLIP

Ollie, front foot goes to the toe side of the board, flicking the board with the ball of your foot, board flips, land.

NOLLIE HEELFLIP

Ollie off the nose (Nollie), kick the board with the heel toward the toe side of the board with your back foot.

HARD FLIP

A kickflip the hard way! A f/s varial kickflip.

360 FLIP

A 360 degree b/s varial kickflip.

VARIAL

Rotation of board or body

GOOFY-FOOT

Someone whose normal skate stance is with the right foot forward. [surfers] As opposed to regular-foot.

REGULAR-FOOT

Someone whose normal skate stance is with the left foot forward.

MONGO-FOOT

A style of pushing where the back foot is kept on the board, and the pushing is done with the front foot. Very common with switch-stance skating.

SWITCH-STANCE

Skateboarding in the opposite stance than accustomed to, and passing it off as "normal"

TAIL

The back end of the board, from the back two truck bolts, to the tip of the deck.

Nose

The front end of the board, from the front two truck bolts, to the tip of the deck.

NOSESLIDE

Sliding the underside of the nose on the deck onto a rail, curb, ledge, lip, coping, or whatever you want.

TAILSLIDE

Sliding the underside of the tail on the deck onto a rail, curb, ledge, lip, coping, or whatever it is that you want to slide.

LIPSLIDE

A slide where your tail goes over the desired object. You can do this by either doing a b/s or f/s 180 ollie.

GRIND

Moving along an edge with your trucks, scraping your trucks against the object being grinded as you skate.

NOLLIE KICKFLIP

Ollie off the nose, kick the board with the toes toward the heel side of the board with your back foot.

50-50

Both trucks grinding on an object.

5-0

Only the back truck grinding on an object.

NOSEGRIND

Only the front truck grinding on an object.



Brad C. | Matt S. | Greg H. | Stevie Boy | Home

Check out these cool sites:


RiverFenix