Skateboard ABC
A
A - degree of hardness of the rollers. The larger the number, the harder the role
axis - The trucks allow you to steer your skateboard. You can also grind with them
B
bail - It's a controlled fall when you realize during the trick that the trick won't work
Back side 180 - You do a 180° by turning backwards
base plate - The connecting piece between deck and axle
Board - Also referred to as a deck, is the wooden board on a skateboard
board slide - When you slide with the middle of your board
bolts - Screws holding the deck and trucks together
bushings - Are installed in the axle and enable steering
C
Caballerial - (Short: Cab) Fakie Backside 360° without touching the board
catch - When you "catch" your board with your feet after a trick and land clean
Chip - When pieces of wood chip off of your deck
concave - curvature of your deck
coping Round metal tube at the top edge of a ramp
cruisers - A skateboard with a special shape and wheels. The focus is on comfortable driving and not on tricks
Curb - (or Ledge) is an elongated block with edges that you can grind/slide onto
D
Darkslide - When you slide with your griptape
deck - Also referred to as a board, the wooden board is on the skateboard
dolphin flip - The board flips forward. As soon as the deck tips forward, a half kickflip is performed. This involves pulling the front foot off the nose so the skateboard can rotate vertically between your legs.
E
entry/exit Tricks before/after a grind, slide or manual
f
Fakie - You ride backwards on your board, i.e. the tail points in the direction of travel. Any trick can also be done fakie.
First Skate Shop - Your trusted skate shop
Flat - When you ride without obstacles
flat rail - Rail with no incline for grinding or sliding
flip flips - when skating are basically tricks in which the board rotates around its own axis
Frontside - You do a 180° by turning to the front
Foot Position - How to position your feet on your board
G
Gap - Is a gap that you can jump over with an ollie (or other trick).
Goofy - foot stance in which your right foot is forward and you use your left foot to push
Grind - When you slide your axes over an obstacle
Griptape - Is that (often black) piece of tape glued to your deck. It provides grip and thus more control over your board
H
Halfcab - Fakie Backside 180°
Halfpipe - Is a construction that resembles half a pipe
Handrail - Railings on stairs that can be grinded/slided with the skateboard
Hanger - Connects the wheels to the baseplate
Hardflip - Combination of a kickflip and a frontside pop shove-it
Heelflip - Similar to a kickflip, except you flip the board with your heel
hippie jump When your board rolls under an obstacle and you jump over it
Hospitalflip - You do a half kickflip, then use your front foot to redirect the spin into a shove-it
I
Impossible - "Scrambled eggs with your foot" - Simon
J
K
Kickflip - When you flip your board with your foot (ideally with a ninja kick).
Kingpin - The big screw on the bushings
kinkrail - Rail with kinks
Ball Bearings - Each reel requires two ball bearings. Without these, these wheels cannot roll.
L
Laserflip - You do a frontside 360 shove-it with a heelflip
Late Tricks - A trick performed after another trick
Ledge - Edge where you can slide/grind
Line - A sequence of tricks you do in a row
Lipslide - A lipslide is similar to a boardslide, with the small difference that you don't lift your front but your rear axle over the rail.
Longboard - It is a board where the focus is on riding. Due to the size and the soft wheels you can drive well with it at high speeds
M
Manual - If you only ride on your rear wheels (actually a wheelie on the skateboard)
Merlin Twist - An impossible combined with a 180°
mini ramp - A halfpipe in small
Mongo - When you push with your front foot and your back foot stays on the board
N
Nine Hundred - Is a ramp trick where you do 2 ½ turns (900°) in the air
Nollie - An ollie that involves popping the nose
Nose - The front part of your deck
noseslide - When you slide the nose of your deck over rails and obstacles
nose manual - If you only ride on your front wheels
non-pop trick - When you do a trick without popping, meaning the tail doesn't touch the ground
O
Obstacle - An obstacle can be a curb, rail, ramp, etc
Ollie - When you jump with your skateboard
Ollie North - An ollie while removing your front foot from the deck
Ollie-South - An ollie while removing your back foot from the deck
P
Pool - A (usually) in-ground pool
Pop - Subjective perception of how "easily" the board can lift off the ground
Pop Shove-It - When your board rotates 180° under your feet
power slide - When you reduce your speed by orienting your board across the direction of travel
protectors - Protective equipment to avoid serious injuries
Q
quarter pipe - Half of a halfpipe
R
Rail - Railings on stairs that can be grinded/slided with the skateboard
Regular - Foot position where your left foot is in front and you use your right foot to push
risers pads - Are rubbers between skateboards and trucks, so that the board is higher and wheelbites are avoided, and to absorb shocks
roll - Are the wheels from your skateboard
S
Set-up - Are the individual components of your skateboard
shock pads - Rubber between deck and axle for cushioning and protection of your board
Size - The size of a board is almost always referred to as the width of the deck (specified in inches)
Shove It - When your board rotates 180° backside under your feet
Skatepark - facility which was specially built for skaters with various obstacles for skating
Slide - When you slide your deck over an obstacle
Spine - Two quarterpipes placed backwards together
Spot - Place where there are obstacles that you can skate
Switch - When you change your stance, e.g. from Regular to Goofy
T
Tail - The back part of your deck
tail slide - When you slide the tail of your deck over rails and obstacles
tool - Tool to loosen or tighten all screws and nuts on your board
transit - The rounding of halpipes, pools or mini ramps
trick - When you do something cool with your board
trucks - Is the English term for your trucks, i.e. the part of your board that allows you to steer your skateboard. You can also grind with them
u
V
Varial heel flip - Combination of a pop shove-it and a heel flip
vert - Vertical part of the halfpipe
W
wax - Applied to curbs, rails or the underside of your deck to make grinds and slides slide better. Wax can also be used to prevent wheelbites by applying the wax where wheelbites normally occur
Waist - The middle part of your deck
wall ride - When you ride your skateboard on the wall
Wheelbite - If the rollers touch the board, thereby locking the rollers
X
Y
Z
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