Five tricks to learn in your first month

Every beginner wants the ollie on day one. Ninety percent of them are still trying it badly at week ten. The order below is not the fastest-looking, it's the fastest in practice — each trick teaches you the prerequisites for the next.

01Why the order matters

Skateboarding is, at its core, the skill of redistributing your weight on a moving plank. Every trick is a combination of that weight shift and one specific foot movement. Learn the weight shift first (kickturn, manual, pivot); add foot movements (shuv, ollie) once your balance is stable.

The students who land the ollie in month two are the ones who spent month one on shuvs and manuals. The students who land it in month six are the ones who tried the ollie in week one.

02Week one: the shuv-it

Why first

The shuv-it teaches you to lift your front foot briefly and trust the board to rotate under you. It's the low-risk introduction to "both feet off the board at once". Every future trick relies on this.

How

• Front foot: across the bolts, angled forward.
• Back foot: on the tail, on the toe side.
• Pop the tail down gently and scoop your back foot backward — board rotates 180° under you.
• Lift the front foot just enough to let the board pass; land back on the bolts.

Progression

Stationary first. When that's consistent, roll slowly and try it at walking pace. Week one goal: ten clean shuvs stationary, five rolling.

03Week two: the kickturn

Ride forward at a comfortable speed. Press the tail down slightly with your back foot — just enough to lift the front wheels — and turn your shoulders in the direction you want to go. The board pivots on the back wheels and lands facing a new direction.

This is how you change direction on a skateboard in places too tight to carve. It's also the foundation for dropping in and riding transition.

• Start on flat ground, low speed.
• Kickturn 45° at a time — not 180° immediately.
• Practice both directions; your weak side will stay weak if you neglect it.
• Week two goal: clean 90° kickturns both directions at comfortable rolling speed.

04Week three: the manual

A manual is a rolling wheelie — balancing on the back wheels without the tail touching. It looks simple and it isn't. This is where you learn fine ankle control that underwrites every technical trick you'll ever do.

• Roll at comfortable speed on flat ground.
• Back foot on tail, front foot across the front bolts.
• Lean back just enough to lift the front wheels — but not so far the tail touches.
• Hold for one second. Then three. Then five.
• Week three goal: three-second manual, rolling.

05Week four: the ollie

Now you're ready. The ollie is a shuv-it with a front-foot slide — same back-foot pop, but instead of scooping, you slap the tail and simultaneously slide your front foot forward along the deck to level it in the air.

Stationary first. Spend a whole session just popping and not worrying about height. Get the feet right; the height comes.

• Back foot: tail, centred.
• Front foot: just behind the front bolts, at an angle.
• Pop the tail — slide the front foot forward to the nose — lift both knees — land over the bolts.
• Month one goal: rolling ollie, 2" clearance, off flat ground.

06Bonus: the pivot

A pivot is a kickturn held — you stay balanced on the back wheels at the apex of the turn, then step off the tail and land facing the new direction. Looks casual, teaches precise balance, great for park lines and spot approaches.

Week four bonus: 180° pivot off a curb or small kerb. Builds confidence for everything in month two.