The ollie is a fundamental maneuver and is the gateway  for just about every flip trick in skateboarding.

Whether you're just starting to learn or want  to improve your ollies,   

this guide will give you a clear understanding of the mechanics and the technique.

I'd recommend waiting to try to learn ollies until you're very comfortable with riding your board.

Because having that familiarity will help you learn ollies much quicker.

With that said, let's talk about the mechanics of the ollie.  

Conceptually the ollie is very simple but  mastering the technique can be tricky at first  

because it's all about timing and independently  coordinated foot motions.  

But once you develop the muscle memory, it'll become automatic.

The ollie works by utilizing the rebound of the wood and the traction of the grip tape

to bounce and lift the board off the ground.

I like to think of our feet as humble guides that keep the board under control and under our feet.

If you pop the board up with just one foot it bounces up, but it flings backwards and does a back flip.

So the job of the front foot is to stop the board from flinging away, and to guide it upwards and level it out.

First let's talk about the foot placement.

Throughout the ollie keep your feet perpendicular and your shoulders parallel with the board.

Place the ball of your back foot on the tip of the tail and your front foot somewhere in the middle.

The placement of your front foot isn't too critical,

But you don't want it too close to the nose because you won't have any room to slide up the grip,

and you also don't want it too far  back because it's harder to balance.

So anywhere in this region should work fine.

Also don't hang your front foot too far off either side of the board.

I generally like to have the tips on my toes right at the edge of the deck.

Now let's talk about the individual foot motions a little more in depth. 

Mastering the timing and coordination of the feet is the biggest hurdle in learning ollies.

So I'm going to break down the motions for each foot.

The entire maneuver is initiated with the jump, and the pop and slide all occur within the jump.

Practice a few jumps where you hoist your feet up to get  the feeling of what kind of jump you'll need to do.

The jump is going to determine the height of the  ollie and the higher you can pull up your feet,

the higher the potential ollie

Keep your weight on the balls of your feet because nobody jumps off a flat foot.

When people jump they spring up off the  balls of their feet.

This will allow you to get a much better jump and pop.

When you're bending your knees for the jump don't lean forward too far like you're touching your toes,

and you don't need to crouch all the way down because, it's not going to help you get any higher.

Just a nice 45 to 90 degree crouch will be fine.

The pop is the most important part of the ollie because without the pop the board isn't coming off the ground.

The back foot's only job is to pop down the tail and then immediately get out of the way to allow the board to bounce upward.

The power for the pop will come from your calf muscles and your ankle.

Many beginners try to pop the tail with a flat  foot using their whole leg and knee for the pop,

but you won't get a good jump or any kind of power that way.

Just practice this motion for a little bit.

The harder you pop the more the board will bounce up and stick to your feet which will give you more control.

The pop should be straight down. Don't angle the pop to either side because it'll cause the board to rotate.

And we're trying ollies, not shuv-its.

The second part of the back foot motion is to lift it up and get it out of the way so the board has room to travel upwards.

The front foot's job is to lift and slide upwards towards the nose, and to push the nose forward in order to level out the back end.

As you're lifting and sliding, tilt your front ankle slightly inward, so the side of your shoe catches the grip tape.

The side of the shoe provides better traction on the grip tape and will make it easier to lift up and control.

Part two of the front foot motion is to push forward and level out the board.

This is key for actually getting some height in the ollie.

If you don't level up the board it ends up staying vertical or "rocket,"  

and it's hard to make it over things because the tail is still drooping down.  

It might help to think of the action of the front foot as almost a circular motion.

It lifts up, pushes forward, then comes back down under you.

Putting these three independent motions together with the correct timing requires practice, patience, and focus.

Similar to a pianist where each hand is playing independently and simultaneously.

Also when you're first learning ollies it  helps to keep your eyes on the skateboard  

so you can check to see where your feet are  and what they're doing.  

Okay, let's recap the sequence of motions and put them all together.

With your feet in place, weight on the balls of your feet and evenly distributed between each foot

Initiate the ollie with an upwards jump.

Just before your feet leave the deck, that's  when the back foot does the popping motion.

And at the same time the front foot starts the upward slide. Lifting and guiding the board.

Immediately after you've popped the tail with your ankle,

suck your back foot up and get it out of the way. 

As your back foot is moving up,

your front foot is starting to push the nose forward in order to level out the back end.  

The forward push should be around the peak of your jump.

At the point where the board is leveled out the only thing left is to commit to the landing.

Both feet should come down at the same time.

And try to land over the hardware bolts, just to startgetting in the habit of doing that.

You don't have to stomp it down, just come down naturally as you would with a jump without the board.

During the ollie your center of gravity will need to shift to the middle of the board so you can land balanced.

All of this takes place within half a second.

And I know it seems like a lot to do all at once, but as you start to piece it together it'll feel like one fluid motion.

Here's a couple of pointers to help you learn it faster.

you could practice doing the motions for each foot  individually,  

or you can practice the whole motion by jumping on the ground and really focusing on the form.

Take off from your popping foot and concentrate on pulling it upwards towards your chest as soon as you leave the ground.

With your sliding foot, concentrate  on the circular leveling out motion.

Exaggerate that front foot leveling out.

If it feels like you're doing a ninja kick in midair, then you're doing it right.

Look at the motion side by side.

Even if we take away the board, the motion looks exactly the same.

So even though you might feel a little silly jumping like this, it will help train your muscle memory for the ollie.

If you're scared to try an ollie on concrete, you can start by practicing on some carpet or some dry grass so you don't slip out.

The pop won't be  as solid as concrete, but at least you can start  building up your confidence and get a little more comfortable trying the motion.

Another thing you can try is holding on to something. 

Find a bike rack or a short fence and hold yourself up when  trying the ollie.

It'll give you a little extra air time so you can start piecing together the different movements without the risk of falling.

In general when you're trying tricks, you need to visualize yourself successfully doing it from your own point of view.

Visualization is when you mentally rehearse the outcome that you want to unfold,

and it can give you the confidence you need to do the trick.

It can also help if you record your attempts to study the footage to see what you're doing wrong.  

Start practicing ollies while moving as soon as you're comfortable.

Start rolling super slow and get used to landing and continuing rolling

When they start to feel consistent, try ollieing over something like a crack in the sidewalk, a stick, a 2x4, or even another skateboard.

After lots of practice your ollies will get higher and will feel automatic.

You won't have to think about the individual motions because the muscle memory takes over,

and you'll only have to concentrate on the thing you're ollieing over.

As you start gaining more control over the board try adding a little style by poking out your front foot to bone the ollie.

or try some variations like shifties or ollie norths.

After you've learned the ollie, other tricks like kickflips and heelflips will come much faster

because you've already done most of the hard work of training your legs

to jump, pop, crouch, and land with the proper timing.

So it's important to have a consistent ollie if  you want to continue to progress your skating.

One last thing is to not get discouraged.

Nobody said that skateboarding was easy.

The learning curve is very steep and it won't come in a day.

But with determination you will improve and achieve your goals.

And that feeling of accomplishment is what makes all of the hard work worth it.

If you got any comments or questions just  leave them in the box down below,

and have fun learning ollies. Peace!

I don't frickin' know!