Ollie is the most basic and fundamental trick in both longboarding and snowboarding in which the surfer jumps without the help of any ramp. Boarders perform this trick by jumping off the back foot such that the tail of the board bounces off the ground and uses the front foot to balance the board. let’s introduce the term ‘Ollie’ to those who haven’t heard about it before!
Ollie is an important trick for the beginner which is required to learn dancing tricks. Here we discuss the techniques of how to Ollie on a longboard step by step which will make your practice easier.
Should You Take Any Preparation for Ollie?
Want to remind you that longboarding is a game with falls and injuries! You may fall several times while practicing the tricks. So, you have to be mentally prepared for this take some precautions such that the injury is less, such as wearing safety gears like a helmet, hand gloves, kneepad etc. You can practice on a soft surface like grass or carpet; it won’t hurt you much even if you fall!
The deck size of the deck and wheel of the longboard should be adjusted to your height, weight and shoe size. Moreover, at a basic level, a flat-cave deck will be more suitable for you than concave decks since they will be easier to handle within the air.
If you are the very beginner, then you should first learn the balanced and controlled movement of the longboard. Make sure that you are comfortable on the longboard and the board doesn’t wobble too much.
Some Important Tips To Learn Longboard Ollie
Foot position
For trying Ollie, the first thing you need to do is to place your feet on the proper position on the deck. Place your front foot near the center of the deck and hang off the back foot at the tail of the deck. The height of your Ollie will be decided by the positioning (distance from the center) of your front foot. It's better if you keep the front foot close to the center as you will easily have a small jump.
Putting the front foot further forward will result in higher jumps which is more difficult to pull off by beginners. Try with different positions of the foot to practice jumping at a different height to see what works the best for you.
Motion of the upper body
After positioning your feet in the proper way, you have to bend your knees and crouch your body down. You should neither bend too much nor overdo the crouching. Your shoulder will be at the level of your feet and you have to stay on the balls of the feet, not on your toes. Keep your upper body and hands loose and relaxed.
Jumping into the air
You can’t jump with your both legs. While jump with the front foot first followed by the back foot. Your front feet, while in the air brushes against the front kick off the deck and back foot will press the rear kick towards the ground causing the front kick to bounce up. Jump up with both legs (one leg after another) such that you feel your weight lifting off of the longboard.
The deck of the longboard bounces up hitting the ground and makes a sound which is well-known as ‘pop’. It’s important that you make a good and strong pop to perform a successful ollie on the longboard. You don’t need to be an excellent player to perform a good pop, just practice the pop as much as you can.
While jumping up, as you feel that your weight is lessening, make the pop. The board should not be dragged along the ground before you do the pop and go into the air. If you hit the ground roughly with the tail of the longboard, the tail cannot be lifted up.
Sliding front foot
Slide your front foot inward so that your board lifts up. At the highest point of your jump, the longboard will hit your foot. You have to slide your foot at the same time as your jumping. The height of your Ollie will be very short if you slide your foot too early. If you are too late at sliding, the longboard will not get leveled out at its height point.
Bend your knees towards your chest
You have to pull your knees towards your chest to let the board go up. The longboard can lift up to the height of your feet. So, bend your knees as much as you need the height of your Ollie.
Level out the board
While the board is at the highest point of Ollie, you have to push down the top of the board with your leg. Pushing the board top will cause it to lower down and the back edge of the board will lift up. Slide your feet such that both edges of the board are leveled i.e. the board is parallel to the ground.
If you over-push the top or don’t push far enough, the board will not be straightened, and you won’t have a flat landing. It may take several tries to get a hang of how much you need to push the top of the board for a flat landing.
Make your legs straight before landing
After leveling the board parallel to the ground, start to straighten up your legs while falling down on the ground. Landing with your knees bent may not be comfortable and you may get some shock.
If you put too much weight on either end, the nose or the tail may snap and you may fall down. Slide your feet on the wheels or trucks to have better balance and the best landing.
Final Notes
An Ollie is not an easy trick for beginners. You have to practice more and more to have a successful Ollie on the longboard. You Can check out these 15 best skarboarding Tricks