3 Basic Skateboard Tricks: Kick Turn, Tic-Tac & Ollie

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Bob Gnarly / Learn the basics / Keep rolling

3 basic tricks.
A whole lot of possibilities.

Kick turn. Tic-tac. Ollie. Three moves that teach you to steer, find a rhythm and get your board off the ground. Start small, enjoy the little wins and let the rest come.

First, get comfy on four wheels

Control before airtime.

Be able to push, roll, carve and foot-brake before chasing these. Pick dry, smooth, level ground with room to step off, away from traffic and other skaters’ lines. Wear a properly fitted skate helmet and pads. Flat-soled skate shoes help you feel the deck.

Not there yet? Spend a session on pushing, turning and stopping. That counts as skating. You’re not behind.

Read your board.

Nose = the front. Tail = the back. Bolts = the mounting screws above your trucks.

Regular means left foot forward; goofy means right foot forward. Both are normal. The foot maps show regular: goofy riders mirror them. When we say front and back foot, use your own stance.

The drawings are movement guides, not exact measurements. Foot positions can shift a little with your deck and what feels balanced.

01 / Board control

The kick turn.

Lift the front wheels, pivot on the back wheels, put it down somewhere new. A small move that gives you a proper say in where your board goes.

Pen-and-ink kick turn: front foot by the front bolts, back foot on the tail, front wheels lifted slightly and rear wheels acting as the pivot.
Front foot across the front bolts; back foot on the tail. Lift the nose only enough to free the front wheels, then pivot on the rear wheels. Tap the drawing to open it full size.

Feet first. Then the turn.

  1. Set your stance. Front foot across the front bolts, back foot on the tail, knees soft. Keep your chest over the board rather than hanging off the back.
  2. Free the nose. Ease pressure off your front foot and put a little through your back foot. Lift the front wheels just clear. This is a tiny balance shift, not a tail stomp.
  3. Look and lead. Look towards your exit and gently turn your shoulders that way. Let your hips and board follow. Begin with a little change of direction, not a full 180.
  4. Set it down. Re-centre your weight so all four wheels meet the ground. Pause, reset and try the other direction.

Start from still on flat ground. Once both directions feel controlled, add a very slow roll. Save ramps and bigger turns for later.

Why it works

The rear wheels become a pivot. Unweighting the front wheels frees the nose to swing, while a small turn through your upper body helps the board rotate underneath you. You’re steering around that rear contact point.

Next: link those turns into tic-tacs →

02 / Rhythm and flow

The tic-tac.

Small kick turns, linked left and right. Get the timing going and you can make forward progress without taking a foot off the board. Proper car-park-session material.

Pen-and-ink tic-tac: regular-stance foot map and a bottom-to-top path showing alternating small left and right kick turns.
Use the kick-turn stance. Read the path from bottom to top: small alternating nose movements, rear wheels staying on the ground. Tap the drawing to open it full size.

Find the rhythm.

  1. Keep the same feet. Front foot around the front bolts, back foot on the tail. Bend your knees enough to stay loose.
  2. Make one small turn. Lighten the front wheels and swing the nose a little to one side. Put the front wheels back down.
  3. Come back the other way. Repeat to the opposite side. Let your shoulders and hips help the board, rather than flailing your arms.
  4. Link it up. Keep alternating with a steady lift–turn–set-down rhythm. Let the board travel along your clear practice space. Start small; speed is something you build into later.

A walking-pace roll can help once you’re comfortable. Keep practising both directions: most of us have a favourite side, but the other one deserves some love too.

Why it works

A tic-tac is linked kick turns. The side-to-side steering and your timed body movement put energy into the board while the wheels roll. You’re doing the work; simply wagging the nose without transferring weight won’t magically create speed.

Next: learn the pop, jump and level of an ollie →

03 / Your first pop

The ollie.

You and the board leave the ground together, with no hand grabbing it. It’s a foundation for loads of street skating, but calling it “basic” doesn’t mean it’s easy. This one takes time.

Pen-and-ink ollie: foot placement behind the front bolts and on the tail, followed by pop, airborne level board and a bent-knee landing.
Front foot just behind the front bolts; ball of the back foot on the tail. Jump, snap the tail, guide the nose and lift your back foot so the board can level. The height drawn is only an example. Tap the drawing to open it full size.

Jump with it.

  1. Set up. Put your front foot across the deck just behind the front bolts. Centre the ball of your back foot on the tail. Keep shoulders roughly parallel with the board.
  2. Load and rise. Bend your knees, then jump upwards. As your body rises and the front foot gets light, snap the tail down with your back ankle. Don’t stay crouched and expect the board to lift you.
  3. Guide the nose. As the nose rises, bring your front knee up and let the outside edge of your front shoe travel up the grip towards the nose. It’s a guiding motion, not a sideways kickflip flick.
  4. Give the tail room. Lift your back foot and knee too. Guide the front foot forward as the board comes up, helping it level beneath you. A back foot left low blocks the tail.
  5. Meet the ground. Aim to land with feet around the bolts, knees bent, board underneath you. Start with tiny hops on clear flat ground. Add a slow roll when the movement feels controlled; obstacles can wait.

The “how does it stick?” bit

Your jump makes room. Snapping the tail starts the board rotating; its contact with the ground helps send it upwards. Your front foot guides that rotation and helps level it, while the back foot gets out of the way. The deck isn’t glued to your shoes. Timing keeps you travelling together.

Know your roots / Give the credit

We’re all rolling
on someone else’s ideas.

Skating grows when someone tries something weird, someone else spots a possibility, and the next crew takes it somewhere new. These three names help explain the board under your feet and the tricks above it.

Larry Stevenson

The Makaha founder helped move board design forward. The Skateboarding Hall of Fame credits him with introducing the kicktail in 1969, with the patent following in 1971. That upturned tail became a huge part of how skaters control and pop a board.

That’s design history, not proof that he invented the kick turn or tic-tac. Different kinds of innovation deserve their own credit.

Larry’s story at the Skateboarding Hall of Fame ↗

Alan “Ollie” Gelfand

The Hall of Fame dates Gelfand’s breakthrough to Florida in 1977. His no-hands air on transition showed that a board could follow the rider without a grab. His nickname became the name of the trick.

That original ramp move wasn’t simply today’s flat-ground tail pop done higher up a wall. It opened a door for the next interpretation.

Gelfand’s story at the Skateboarding Hall of Fame ↗

Rodney Mullen

Mullen adapted the ollie to flatground in 1982. Suddenly you didn’t need a ramp to get your board airborne. His freestyle experimentation also helped shape the flip-trick language street skaters kept building on.

There’s a lesson in that: a bit of imagination on an ordinary patch of flat ground can change what everyone thinks is possible.

Mullen’s story at the Skateboarding Hall of Fame ↗

The legacy is yours to look after.

Learn the names. Watch old parts as well as new ones. Give a mate a tip when they ask, cheer the first tiny ollie and leave the spot better than you found it. Skating’s a sport, but it’s also a way of looking at a kerb, finding your crew and making something your own.

You don’t have to copy anyone’s whole style. Take what they opened up and go skate it your way.

Keep digging

Good places to learn more.

The drawings were made for this guide. For moving demonstrations, coaching basics and the history behind the names, these are useful starting points.

Bob Gnarly’s take

A small win is still a win.

Some sessions click. Some don’t. Finish with something you enjoy, come back fresh and keep rolling. Need help with your board? Hit the “Ask anything” chat and tell us what you’re working on.

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