Scratch Skating

Vocab

Phrase	Definition
Frontside	In relation to the skater, the frontside can be referred to the spinning direction of the skater or the obstacle the skater is utilizing. A frontside rotation would be spinning in the direction their chest is facing. If they are using an obstacle, frontside refers to the obstacle facing the front of the skater’s body.
Backside	In relation to the skater, the backside can be referred to the spinning direction of the skater or the obstacle the skater is utilizing. A backside rotation would be spinning in the direction their back is facing. If they are using an obstacle, backside refers to the obstacle facing the back of the skater’s body.
Slide Tricks	Slide tricks are done by landing onto a rail, ledge, or other obstacle with the wooden part of the board and sliding across the object. Slides are done using either the wheelbase (section between the trucks), nose. or tail.
Grind Tricks	Grind tricks are done by landing onto a rail, ledge, or other obstacle on the trucks of the skateboard in a variety of positions.
Steez	Used to describe the style in which the skater performs a trick. "Steez" is a noun referring to the skater doing a trick so well that they were able to add their own characteristic styling when performing the trick. "Steezy" is the adjective variation. A trick can be "steezy" or have "steez".
Mongo	Using your front foot to push the board instead of your back foot. Pushing mongo is thought to be a beginner mistake and is typically looked down upon in the skating community. Skating mongo is also considered to be inefficient since it takes longer to position yourself for a trick after pushing with your front foot. Usually, your front foot would be in position, you would bring your back foot back onto the board after pushing, then pop quickly to perform the trick. Pushing mongo would require you to reposition your front foot as well as your back foot.
Technical Skating	Performing tricks in a close sequence during a combination. Also referred to as "tech skating". An example of tech skating would be performing a shuv it or flip trick into a grind, then flipping or rotating the board when coming out of the grind. "Late" tricks can also be considered technical such as performing a late shuv it after a flip trick. The idea of tech skating is to perform many tricks within close timing proximity of one another.
Freestyle Skating	What some skaters would consider to be the origination of many skateboarding tricks as we know them today. Freestyle tricks are usually done in a stationary position and focus on balance and technique. These tricks are performed on flatground without the use or transition obstacles or ramps. Freestyle skateboards are also unique in size, shape, concave, and accessories. You will find many with added protection (known as skid plates) on the bottom side of the nose and tail, sometimes with added griptape as well to assist in performing freestyle tricks.
Bodied	Falling during an attempt to perform a trick.
Carve	Performing a sharp turn, usually on a bank, similar to how surfers "carve" waves which is where the term was taken from. When carving, it is natural for a skater to be really low on the ground and in some instances, plant their hands to perform carve tricks or turn at a tighter angle.
Street Skating	Performing mainly flatground tricks or using obstacles that can be found throughout community streets. Stairs, handrails, benches, among others are the primary obstacles used, although modern skaters are finding creative ways to perform tricks using a wider array of street landscaping.
Vert Skating	Colloquially known as "vert skating", these skaters perform tricks using larger obstacles such as quarter pipes and halfpipes. These obstacles allow them to attain much higher jumps and dramatically more airtime. This allows them to perform complex tricks where they interact with the board in mid-air using their hands, known as "grab tricks".
Stiffy	When performing certain tricks, a variation of the trick can be called "stiffy" implying the skater’s body was very rigid during the performance. A stiffy trick usually involves grabbing the board while having either one or both legs fully extended which is where the rigid posture is denoted from.
Shifty	When performing certain tricks, a variation of the trick can be called "shifty" when the skater shifts the board’s angle in an unconventional way. This is usually done during grab-type tricks where the skater will change the board’s direction in a way that is unusual to how the trick is typically done. This is similar to a tweaked trick and in some cases the terms are used interchangeably, but the key difference is a shifty trick is tilted to either side whereas a tweaked trick usually has the board as a steeper angle forwards or backwards.
Tweak	When performing certain tricks, a variation of the trick can be called "tweaked" when the skater tilts the board in an unconventional way. This is usually done during grab-type tricks where the skater will shift the board in a direction that is unusual to how the trick is typically done. A tweaked trick usually means that the board was pointed farther up or down than what is usually done.
Grip Thumb	Damage to the thumb caused by many interactions with the skateboard in a short period of time. When holding, picking up, or performing certain tricks, the grip tape on the skateboard can start wearing down the skin on the thumb and potentially cause bleeding.
Diy Park	An unofficial skate park that was created with resources donated and maintained by the community. These skate parks are usually under scrutiny by the county and often times are deconstructed by the city officials.
Focus (a Board)	To "focus a board" means to stomp in the center of it in an attempt to snap it in half, focusing all of your energy in the center when stomping.
N.b.d.	Stands for "Never Been Done" which is based contextually on how it's used. It usually refers to a trick that has never been done on a certain obstacle or in a certain location, but it can also be personal to the skater as a trick they themselves have never done.
Pinch	A pinch describes the way a skateboard locks into a grind trick where the wheel is assisting on keeping the board stable. Typically the wheel will be locked into the pocket of the nose or tail to give more control to the skater as they perfrom a grind trick.
Sketchy	Describes landing onto the board in an unstable way, but still being able to ride away. Although the trick would count, it was not performed in a controlled way and is labeled as a "sketchy" land.
Clean	Describes performing a trick very well or flawlessly.
Bail	To dismount the skateboard in the middle of performing a trick.
Transfer	Performing a trick from one obstacle to another.
Buttery	Can be used to describe a trick being done very well or a very smooth surface on an obstacle, such as a ledge or rail.
Sticky	Used to describe the skateboard gets stuck on during a grind or slide trick.
Boned	Describes the extension of either leg while done a trick, typically grab tricks. Straightening out the front leg will result in a nose bone and straightening out the back leg will result in a tail bone.

Obstacles

Image	Obstacle	Description
	Kicker	A short ramp that a skater uses to attain more airtime at a larger height in order to perform more complex tricks or just to have more hang-time. Kickers have a flat ramp tilted upwards, typically at a low angle.
	Ledge	A ledge is the edge of an elevated flat surface of a rectangular shape. In skateparks ledges can be found with a coping for easier grind and slide tricks. Typically, street skates will use planters, benches, and other structures to perform ledge tricks.
	Hubba	A rectangular block that sits at a downward angle. This is typically used for doing ledge tricks such as grinds or slides.
	X-block	A block shaped obstacle that is usually stacked with other blocks that a skate can jump from for more height and airtime. The "X" represents the number of blocks that are stacked which can be used to have a general sense of the height. There is not specific size requirement for the blocks.
	Hip	The hip refers to the spin created when two banks facing away from eachother are connected. The obstacle is used by performing tricks while jumping over the spine, going up one bank and down the other.
	Hand Rail	A rounded metal bar that is usually placed alongside stairs at a downward slope.
	Flat Bar	A railing that is on level ground with no rises or drops.
	Pole Jam	A short pole-like obstacle that comes out of the ground. These can be used for quick grind and slide tricks while also having a bit of added height when launching off from the pole.
	Kink Rail	A rail that has a leveled portion and bends at a certain point at a downward slope.
	Quarter Pipe	A ramp that has a steep curvature allowing the skater to launch vertically. These ramps come in different sizes, but accomplish the same task. As the name implies, it’s in the shape of one fourth (a quarter) of a pipe if it was divided into four sections.
	Half Pipe	A ramp that has two vertical ends on each side allowing the skater to keep their momentum as they launch off from each side. As the name implies, the shape resembles a pipe that was cut in half.
	Coping	The metal portion at the top of the ramp that is used for slides, grinds, stalls, and other ledge tricks. Coping also exists in pools and bowls, but those are usually made of concret as a part of the obstacle.
	Bank	The flat sloped surface of an obstacle.
	A-frame	A ramp that has a spine in the middle with one part of the ramp sloping upwards and then downwards on the other side of the spine. The profile of the ramp resembles a capital letter "A".
	Pyramid	A ramp sloping upwards with a flat portion at the top followed by a downward slope on the other side. The flat portion is usually a very short length only to separate the up-sloped ramp with the down-sloped.
	Manual Pad	An elevated surface with a flat platform allowing skaters to perform manual-type tricks. Usually used to jump on, perform manual tricks, then jump off while performing a trick. The added height gives the skater time to perform the trick with imperfect foot positioning.
	Gap	The space between obstacles that the skater is using to perform his trick. When the skater launches from one obstacle to another, the space between is called a gap.
	Euro Gap	Can be thought of as a kicker that leads onto a box where a skater launches off the kicker to land on a box that is higher up. There is typically a space between the ramp used to launch and the box where the skater will land. Tricks can be performed going up the ramp and also down the ramp from the higher platform. This obstacle is also referred to as a "step up".
	Mini Ramp	A small version of a half pipe. Primarily used to perform tricks on the coping or tricks that require some airtime.
	Pump Track	A track with waves going throughout it which skaters use to continually gain momentum as they traverse around the track. At the top of the wave, a skater would push down (or pump) on the board to gain speed.

Skate Academy Quad

Skateboarding 101

Stances

Trick Types

Vocab

Obstacles

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