Beginner Trick Guide - 5 Essential Tricks Explained
Tailwhip - The most common of tricks is the classic Tail-whip on a scooter. This is when the deck of the scooter is flicked by the feet for a full 360 degree rotation. The first step is to be confident with jumping up and down and landing on both wheels simultaneously. This is key to landing a tailwhip. Once the rider is confident jumping and landing on flat ground the next step would be to flick the deck in the natural feeling direction, this is usually Backside or BS in skate terms.
Barspin - The most common bar maneuver is the barspin, the first step is to be confident with jumping up and down and landing on both wheels simultaneously. Barspins can go both rotations but learning your natural way first is key to success. Once the rider has left the ground and is in the air, simply feeding the handle bar with your dominant hand into your opposite hand in one fluent motion.
360 Spin - The 360 is a key trick that is the foundation for many other variations of tricks. The key to any spin is in the hips and the body motion. Jumping whilst turning to the favoured side then holding the rotation past the 180 degree mark and then spotting the landing, all the while your head and shoulders are assisting with the full twist motion.
Tuck No-hander - This has been a trick made famous by many old school BMX riders throughout the 70’s and is a very stylish trick for the library. The best way to approach this trick is to break it down into 3 parts, jump whilst pulling the bar closer to your crouch and locking both legs in at the thigh, letting go of the handle bars simultaneously and then catching the bar on the grips before making contact with the ground or ramp.
T-Boggan - This is a trick that again was taken from the BMX world but instead of turning the bars 90 degrees and grabbing the bike seat, you would grab the rear of the deck. Once the rider has left the ground, the next step is to turn the bars 90 degrees with your dominant hand and with the other hand grabbing the rear of your deck. For extra style points, Tweaking the grab by pulling the deck up further and extending the arm that is holding onto the bar.