There are a lot of new comers to the world of Freestyle and those who are curious to learn more about it so this entry will give you a quick overview of the history and basic terminology of Freestyle Skateboarding!
Brief History: The essence of skateboarding is turning.
Everything else done on a skateboard is technically "freestyle" as it is beyond the simple essence of turning.
Freestyle started when skateboarding started (50's-60's) it is the origin of all modern day skateboarding.
The essence of Freestyle is progression both technically and creatively
When people today refer to Freestyle it is often related to the 80's era of Freestyle skateboarding where the most notable Freestyler Rodney Mullen came from. Rodney's innovations as well as those of his peers spawned a new age in skateboarding as we know today as street skateboarding.
In the early 90's due to the popularity of this new and highly accessible form of skateboarding Freestyle and Vert Skateboarding became an underground pursuit, and although the mainstream skateboard industry stopped supporting top riders, the true die hards and enthusiasts kept the fire burning throughout the 90's throughout the world.
In 2000 due to the efforts of some of these die hards and the world wide web Freestyle made its reemergence once again as a world wide competitive scene at the 2000 World Championships of Freestyle skateboarding in San Fransisco. Since then the world of Freestyle has communicated with one another and started getting together and organizing more events throughout the world and is growing exponentially each year! Freestyle skateboarding has almost come full circle and although industry obstacles still face the community, this new generation of Freestykers have been getting sponsors and progressing the form once again to extraordinary levels!
Terminology: The basics
Primo Slide: refers to a slide performed on the side of the skateboard while moving and named after the inventor Primo Desidario
The stationary equivalent is called a
"rail stand" to which there is positioning called heel side and toe side rail depending on the way you are standing on it while on its side.
Flip Tricks: Any trick that "flips" over in a barrel motion, end over end or variation of. Flip tricks can be done with Finger/Hand, Feet (toes/Heel), top of the foot or any extremity that can cause this motion.
Finger Flip: a maneuver with ones "fingers" to flip the board over in a rolling manner and can be done stationary or moving, similar to the modern day kick or heel flip to which the toes or heel is utilized to rotate the board.
Truck stand: any maneuver where the board is near or is perpendicular the ground and your standing with at least on one the trucks of skateboard. some variations: Two handed, No handed, Ooh Lala
Pogo: Is the up and down set up movements needed to keep balance when in a "truck stand" combination.
Footwork: is done in between tricks creating utilizing your feet to maneuver the deck in various and interesting ways to create movement and continuity.
Space Walk: a footwork technique similar to a tick tack and is done while in a manuel (wheelie) and rotating your hips to create movement.
To learn more about basic Freestyle moves got to:
www.youtube.com/user/TonyNewmanDesign