Analysis of Rodney Mullen vs Daewon Song Round 1 (1997)

[@dumbdata34]

Twitch: www.twitch.tv/meltedmarblez

[@Blaststar]

In the mid to late 90s’ switch skating, especially throwing down heavy tricks switch, was pretty new. Not everyone likes to admit it, but we would push switch-mongo to make it obvious to people who might not know our natural stance that we were skating switch.

[@beemelonhead1]

Also along with what you were saying that switch bangers was rare it was easier to get the speed needed to do the switch trick because we never practiced pushing switch. At least that was one reason for me before forcing myself to learn pushing switch in the 2000s because it started becoming looked down upon.. I respect it now and think it looks cool and wish I never would've cared what people say.. But ultimately I think it's one of those things kids won't understand because they weren't there.

[@Gr4ndyAndy]

i agree with you.. like imagine stevie williams not pushing switch mongo.. you get to appreciate it on another level if the OGs keep doing it

[@UnknownGaming..]

Forget about what people say. I actually think mongo looks super cool it's so funky and different. Growing up I had two friends who pushed mongo, regular stance... 🙃 The stigma around it it's so stupid. Nowadays is not something you see, so when I do, it brings that childhood nostalgia and happiness along

[@justintimeproductions23]

Started skating in the 90´s aswell. Pushing switch mongo was absolutly legit in Germany. but only for switch. I still do it today when aiming for fakie tricks as I never bothered to learn pushing switch. As for me people could do whatever they want back in the 90´s or today, but it still looks kinda stupid to me. Like when I look at the movement of the legsn from mongo pushing to setting the feet in ollie position, it just looks like something is not right.

[@ellisdtrails420]

Pushing mongo isn't as controllable, and a wee bit slower in the push, then everyone turned it into an eyesore, I included. I pushed mongo switch only because I was use to pushing with only one foot. Switch skating hadn't been awfully huge, kind of like 3 pointers in basketball. Was there but not commonplace.

[@simongunkel7457]

I think people struggle to express what makes Rodney so important. Skating by its nature is a form of hacking. Hacking is the creative use of man-made objects by looking beyond their intended purpose and seeing them for what they really are. Pool skating is based on seeing a pool not as something to be filled with water so it can be used for swimming, but as a curved smooth surface - skatable. To skate handrails you had to see them, not as something people who can't easily climb stairs can use to support themselves, but as smooth surfaces and thus skatable. Rodney Mullen was the first Skater to really look at a skateboard itself in this way, not as a board to stand on, with wheels that roll, but as an object with some moment of inertia, some size, etc. The magic flip was the first trick where the skaetboard was truly reduced to it's physical properties and stripped of its purpose. It was the moment skateboarding became self-aware. This goes to say: Rodney truly is a living legend, because stories where something becomes self-aware are generally mythologies.

[@dumbdata34]

Nice

[@manmadeartists]

🤝wow! your words nailed it!

[@sonicmouse3083]

isn't this just a reiteration of Rodney's TED speech?

[@simongunkel7457]

@@sonicmouse3083 I think the skating as a form of hacking bit is in his TED talk as well - allbeit briefly, but Rodney mainly talks about the appropriation of spots, which is more like the two other examples i gave. But that's something that holds for skating in general. My point here is that what makes Rodney important is that he was the first skater to use this way of interacting with the world to interact with his board and that the ollie kickflip was the trick where this first happened.

[@benjamindlevin]

@@simongunkel7457 there have been academic papers written on the subject. Check out the awesomely cerebral documentary "Skate the Void : The Philosophy of Skateboarding "

[@BuuBuuKeys]

It’s crazy how skating has progressed in every single way except for freestyle tricks, and it makes Rodney’s skating even more timeless

[@galvanizedgnome]

I think skating has regressed.

[@moudly]

Actually, you'd be surprised by the freestyle today. Rodney watched me compete in Canada back in 2017 to visit the community with Kevin Harris and Chris Haslam (Before he moved) in Canada. I'm not saying I'm the best, but my homies like Isamu Yamamoto and Ikkei are going up there for sure. Ikkei and I are on the same team and that little dude is incredible. Covid screwed our contest consistency but you can still find me and everyone else on the world round up website. We are few but we are not dead and we are still pushing.

[@JeffersonSteelflexx]

@@galvanizedgnome I guess you don’t watch skateboarding? Or are you one of those purists who always talks some bs?

[@galvanizedgnome]

@@JeffersonSteelflexx I'd wather watch Gino push than some of the trash thrasher puts out.

[@JeffersonSteelflexx]

@@galvanizedgnome lmao

[@CleverTricksGames]

The pogos you're mentioning are actually called "truck stands" but great video and breakdown as always. And agree Rodney took round 1. Excited that seeing round 2 and 3 is a possibility now cause those will get even harder to judge I think. I can't wait. Kudos!

[@paulpyro5955]

Rodney tuk all in my opinion they have different styles others would disagree and saw song won all song was all benches doing slides Mullen freestyling on flat ground mainly which I personally think is harder at the lever off tricks involved

[@iangeles38]

Switch Mongo pushing is definitely an Era thing. I started skating in the 90's and it was just a normal thing to do. I still do it to this day. I think it's steezy if you came up from the Era.

[@kingraptor11]

I like how switch mongo feels and looks, also I'm not a big memory machine so it helps me tell if skaters are goofy or regs.

[@tomtownsend5009]

Switch mongo was cool in 97. At the time it was good etiquette to show you were skating switch. Gives the viewer less brain work to do while enjoying the vid. I like it, so does tiago lemos lol. Great vids always dude

[@ben_west]

This vs series was so epic when it first came out. We wore out those freaking video tapes. Rodney is the goat. No doubt. Daewon was like the next step in the evolution. Steezy doesn't even describe it. Counting tricks can't even begin to capture the magic of these humans. But I'm glad you broke it down anyways.

[@bottomfeeder5189]

This turned into a beautiful dokumentation of skateboard history. I'd love to se more historic content.

[@laughingman_confused]

I don't know but switch mongo feels good for me. It's like an escape from standard pushing. Relaxes my mind.

[@travissmith2875]

They both won ! It was a great marketing scheme an paid off well ... Both sk8 at their own ways an style...loved growing up in the 90s...

[@groovefretboard]

It was more a way to motivate each other. It’s obvious Dae could never compete at that time with all that innovation. Now a days Dae could be closer to a W with his creative abilities not counting freestyle. I just am a bigger Mullen fan and would never put anyone’s skating above him. It’s like it’s own universe.

[@elias-lc8dh]

dude this channel is crazy i can tell its gonna get super popular

[@brocksamson9737]

In my heart there both winners! I started skating in 1999 so I grew up on VHS cassettes. Round 1 and ,2. I'll never forget when I first witnessed these video parts in my skater boy eyes. Good times.

[@homemsapo]

@ 13:42 I believe the most appropriate label is "180 toe hook Impossible". Rodney does them at other vídeo parts, including at a yellow bank in his THPS 3 bonus character video. It has always caught mg attention. Never seen anyone else doing! This "toe hook" seems like a forgotten freestyle technique, used before flatground ollies. Would love to hear Rodney's view on this!

[@johnnyraven8178]

Usually you hear nose-hook not toe hook

[@homemsapo]

@@johnnyraven8178 My bad. Was thinking in terms of climbing nomenclature.

[@MrNight-iw9md]

Excellent video and breakdown. Got this video when I was a kid, and could’ve never imagined that over 20 years later I’d see a full comprehensive breakdown of this 90s masterpiece! Please do round 2! I feel like Daewon dropped a lot heavier footage in that one, but Rodney is still 🐐

[@FinlayO9]

I love the switch mongo push! Classic

[@robertblackmore703]

I believe one of those tricks you couldn’t identify is called a nose hook impossible, or half cab nose hook impossible.

[@jDDignity]

Nosehook Impossible

[@dustykh]

Love how in the very first trick of the LA sequence someone is looking over their shoulder to see mullen do a switch heel, and sorta doesn't care and turns around the instant before the half cab kickflip underflip goes down

[@BIMONLAKI]

Switch mongo is like fine wine. Not everyone can tell why it’s special it’s for those with finer taste

[@RoseUnseen]

this is rodney a little older , and skating was still evolving , imagine if he was younger and with this set of skills

[@MagicgerG]

Now ofc you have to do Round 2 and 3. Daewon goes off in those

[@Nollie_Fullcab]

Thanks for all the hard work you clearly do to make these videos. Skateboarding is so inherently subjetive and unquantifiable. Its really interesting watching you try to do just. Would love to see a breakdown of matt tomasello, gou miyagi, or other weird stuff.

[@Clearycolin3011]

Waiting patiently for round 2!

[@Forasteiro]

Thanks for the amazing content!

[@fernandoreyes680]

13:26 that's called a kickback 13:43 and that's a half cab nosehook impossible

[@Dodes6040]

Thank you. I’ve wondered about the name of that trick for 24 years. Just the kickback. Learned the name for nosehooks a few years ago. Always thought it was crazy that Rodney nosehooks his regular impossibles in one fluent motion. I know he’s not the only person who does them that way, but I know he was the first.

[@garrickslings6113]

If you own Almost Round 3 on DVD you can watch this and round two FOR FREE in full quality with the original music. Go to chapters, click more, go up once and highlight the text that says “Almost Round 3”, select and they will both appear

[@JamesParkour731]

As far as innovation goes Rodney did innovate many tricks, however these casper slide and darkslide variations had already been pioneered by him in some of the earlier Plan B videos. As far as technical street tricks goes, I think Daewon slightly had the edge on Rodney, but Rodney makes up for it with his flatground skills. I find the winner difficult to judge from an objective stand point as there could be much more criteria worth considering. Anyways loved your video, I think it's really cool what you're doing, keep up the good work!

[@sk8.]

Awesome topic for your channel. Agreed with the result. Though I can't help feel there was room for further trick analysis and point association to give the true score. Trick total feels a bit too ambiguous. Regardless, great video. Hope to see round 2 and 3!

[@dumbdata34]

Thank you!!

[@jphjphjph]

@Kر CoD Tricks over the LA schoolyard picnic tables would be a great vid

[@coliimusic]

The impossible at the end is usually just called a "Half Cab impossible" by rodney but it's an early development of the impossible, making it a Half Cab toehook/nosehook impossible

[@eS.white.]

Great video idea ! Hyped to watch this one

[@anthonyskates9079]

I’ve been itching for a new vid and this scratched it perfectly!

[@nickkid]

This is such a great analysis!

[@mateszabo2798]

Daewon showed the shaped of (low impact) skateboarding to comes here. Steez , SPEED , control and tech has rarely been so well rounded even up to this day. It’s the f*ckin golden ratio of the above 4 components. I wouldn’t qualify rodney’s freestyle segment as a street part, but it really doesn’t matter since it wasn’t a competition. Funny how, by this time none of these 2 legends were entering any competition at all.

[@bobkilla430]

They first wanted to call it 'Rodney and Daewon friends' Then someone suggested "vs" and Rodney was excited for that.

[@mateszabo2798]

@@bobkilla430 yes

[@Dodes6040]

It was never a competition. Just another one of Rocko’s marketing gimmicks. When I was a kid, I know I was team Rodney all day. Now, if I had to pick a winner, I’d go with Daewon. Another reason skateboarding walks that line between art and sport. It’s so subjective.

[@edwardp5748]

you worked hard to make this video interesting.. and you succeeded. great job once again buddy.

[@ErwinVervaet]

When I watched this back in the day I never realized there were quite a few duplicate tricks from Daewon. And I agree: Rodney won this round :-)

[@mikel888666]

8:54 3 shuv double underflip, I do singles lots, so this one made me very happy to see

[@cantgetenoughoutdoors3258]

That's exactly what that was I knew a dude that would do it but not double flip lol I only ever did it twice lol

[@BudOnTheLeaves]

Rodney skating that 7.5 board looks crazy

[@tonycruise]

easier to flip small boards

[@brocksamson9737]

That's was the standard through out the 90s and early 2000s

[@BudOnTheLeaves]

Thanks guys I know I remember those days cause I was on the same tip

[@tonycruise]

@@BudOnTheLeaves i set up a 7.75 when i want to learn new flip tricks

[@BudOnTheLeaves]

@@tonycruise I skate 8.5 I don't think I can ever go back but I will say when I was skating 8-8.25 my tricks were wayyy easier to do

[@ItsJADA]

We are all the winners here :)

[@KavaKavana]

I remember arguing in favor of Mullen against a room full Song guys when this came out

[@christinemurray1444]

Song is a phenomenal skater, but Mullen is far and apart the GOAT

[@EnriqueMartinez_jp]

Love your channel. Pure work of love !

[@congeenunu]

@ 9:49 that front shove almost goes pressure flip. At first I was convinced it was a varial heel flip. Style points. I like SweatySkate's point too.

[@hateatchee7508]

I promise you that for a lot of us, switch mongo looks better than attempting to push switch.

[@heyblinkin3675]

Awesome video dude. Still cant decide whether Rodney or Daewon is my favorite skater. Hopefully rounds 2 and 3 are in the pipeline. Thanks again for another great video!

[@ALFYsk8]

Cool topic and cool vid as always! 13:25 is called a kickback and 13:42 is a (half cab) nosehook impossible. ;)

[@something_in_the_radiator1665]

i used to have Round 2 on VHS! ...i don't know what happened to it. well done on this video.

[@rastaskate4546]

If we exclude the freestyle tricks, switch varial heel to fakie manual and fakie varial heel fakie manny must be the most difficult tricks in the video. From Daewon I would pick fs 180 manny to fakie big heel out down the picnic table along with the switch heel blunt which arguably is the most technical slide in the whole video. Ledge-daewon wins, manual-rodney wins, gap-rodney wins, style-daewon wins, flat- undeniably rodney again

[@durawya]

i should sleep but this is more important

[@dumbdata34]

get some sleep

[@Evdro.s]

Would be cool to see you doing a series reviewing viewers skate footage

[@giovanepilar857]

Another great video! Thanks

[@RasDudas]

Rodney wins. We knew it back then and now you made it even more clear. ❤️

[@tornparachute5702]

Switch Mongo is buttery and no amount of ridicule will change my mind!

[@Dadbot]

So THATS where Suciu got his idea for Verso. Literally exact same tricks and everything that’s amazing!

[@DanielMarkMellor]

Very cool video! Thank you!

[@leastselfawarepotassium]

I always thought Rodney won this. I watched it so many times.

[@gore1135]

Great video idea, great execution as always

[@jeanmichelly1]

Really like you chanell! keep going!

[@aedelus]

That Rodney guy is pretty okay!

[@tonycruise]

horrible ugly style, worst skater to watch lol

[@iamnotanumber100]

Your editing is superb, love these videos. Please do VS 2 & 3 now, don’t toy with us 😉😉😉😉

[@anthonysmalawipredators8794]

When we were kids we tried to mimic these style spots with their style, heavy influences. Just realizing all of this now 15 years later lol

[@manmadeartists]

Still in melancholy back in these days tears. Can’t think. Answer later.

[@BulletProofBacon]

to me the ender of daewon's part should've been the 180 fakie manny fakie big heel out.. thats way more mindblowing board control than sw heel front blunt

[@twotatanka5396]

Bro you like old wrestling lore!!!???? I love you.

[@nopainnoconfiture]

I needed this.

[@gretchman]

I'm here to say that pushing switch mongo feels goooooood

[@AnubisRacing]

Good break down, but what you were calling pogo's in Rodney's second part are actually truckstand's, in a pogo the board is completely vertical, he can do both.

[@95mcqueen5]

Great video!! I would like to see you breakdown 2019 Dew Tour contest. Your analysis of Sora Shirai's gazelle flip's score would be priceless!!!

[@shanekosik5497]

Rodney will forever be the champ

[@jeangates4900]

The only time switch mongo didn't look good is when u do any trick with a frontside 180 then straight into a mongo push

[@leastselfawarepotassium]

Yeah it might just be nostalgia but I don’t think switch mongo looks that bad.

[@michaelknoth2352]

3am and my fiancé in the bed and this is ‘20 mins’ I’m happy to give up. Not better than at work.. but dude, good shit

[@bobs1474]

The ratings are ridiculous but I like this video concept

[@boilerrhapsody_yt9161]

I think to actually try and take the 'vs' seriously and analyse for a winner, then always Mullen, 100% of the time. In reality they were not even playing the same game. This era was like an aftershock for Mullen, basically his third career and really just seeing how well he could apply himself to the new 'street' style. He was an industry boss, and Daewon was the top of a new generation using many of Mullen's innovations but otherwise totally at odds with what skateboarding used to represent when Mullen was at the top purely as a skateboarder. The freestyle part with The Doors is really where Mullen's head was at, and better showcases his relationship to skating at the time, at home lost in skating, lonely in the crowd and falling back on what he could control. I don't think that part should count in terms of the competition though, it is a much more valuable and artistic contribution to the video than any contrived competition that was marketed after the fact to sell more copies. I think it is also my favourite skating video ever, so maybe I'm biased.

[@grandmascat9782]

Thought it'd be fun to name all the freestyle tricks cause it's funny seeing you do it. In order of when they appear. Half Cab to no handed 50/50 360 straight flip out. Varial finger flip to revert. 360 finger flip to BS revert. No handed 50/50 to no handed fan flip, to rail, plop to casper to casper. Double flip (technically 1 1/2 but whatever) to heel side rail stand, straight rail to rail, plop to casper, capser to rail, Godzilla flip out. (off screen) Casper spacewalk(?) to casper to casper. Back foot kickback. Half cab to no rotating no handed 50/50. half cab nose hook impossible.

[@bklyncrook]

I give Daewon the Best Fit category, fan of Mullen, but, dude looked goofy with his gears. Added with Daewon's 90s perm and tanned.

[@all-day8943]

Do a video on why crooked grinds always get called a nose grind in sls pleaaaase lol!! Love the video btw allays good content!!

[@Gogetassj4666]

13:39 that trick is called "truckstand", it's on a lot of thps games

[@noahprice5014]

I’ve heard that they used to push swongo to make it easier to tell when it’s switch for people seeing them for the first time?

[@aminestoisthebesto806]

“Truckstand”. Pogo is when you hop.

[@paulanthony1689]

Great vid!

[@dumbdata34]

yo thanks!

[@OldManSkateboards]

Hope you do Round 2

[@woodfordmetcalfe9435]

Rodney all day

[@amadousy7543]

bro rlly said swongo doesn’t feel good 😂😂

[@squeezylo]

Fun fact, the homeless person kicking the grocery bag is the same lady in yhe wedding dress in the store front

[@josh_h812]

Rodney has invented so many tricks it's ridiculous. There wouldn't be a kickflip, tre flip, darkslide, and countless other technical tricks if it wasn't for Rodney. He is the GOAT

[@smoothcoastin2484]

This was great. A++

[@dumbdata34]

thanks!! highest grade i've ever got

[@smoothcoastin2484]

@@dumbdata34 To be completely honest, it's still not high enough! Lol Would love to see a part 2 and possibly a video about Lem Villemin. He was the definition of Steeze before I saw Shane and Luan, I'd like to see how you'd highlight his career.

[@nebtrubkny5231]

I liked Duff shoes. Cobnobblers or something. The Tony Halk air walks I had were a size too big, in blue. Half cabs were nice. sals 23 were the best. Then you have bunch of other ones. hidden pocket shoe, steel toe boots . 40's and blunts.

[@maxreard3050]

Such a good video

[@adrienrenaud534]

Back then we wouldn't of known who won cause we'd only watch Daewon's part.

[@austynstephens9263]

YES.

[@willr.9903]

rodney had tricks in this that not only are nbd but you couldn't even accurately name

[@masonjames7308]

Hard to compare when rodney pretty much created most of the tricks, rodney is why that style was created

[@squeezylo]

I say to put it in terms of mma/boxing. Rodney won the round 1 and and 2 by decision and Dae Wong won round 3 by KO

[@smoothforreal4242]

Back in the day i always counted this as a draw. They were both so fkn good i didnt really feel like there was a winner. After watching this i still feel the same too. They dont beat eachother they just clash really hard with their skate powers lol

[@dadaluma13]

switch mongo is dope but depends on the skater. Tiago, Kalis, etc make it look cool.

[@dumbdata34]

gonna have to disagree with you there

[@Drivingdrew719]

It is dope, Stevie Williams for sure never understood the hate for Mongo weird times now though lol

[@joshuadansby2874]

@@dumbdata34 Yes all mongo is bad looking. I agree with you

[@joshuacloudt7066]

Policing switch mongo on the basis of aesthetics while giving Daewon a "slight edge" in the style category does not compute in my 40 year old brain. Granted, I think Rodney's style actually improved after this video, but it never came close to Daewon.

[@joshuadansby2874]

@@joshuacloudt7066 Nope, not policing just stating my opinion that happens to be the most efficient & best optimized technique to push on a skateboard. "Style" (style body movement) is the proportions of your limbs & how they move in synch with one another is the code for each individuals silhouette which cannot be changed, only a trick technique can be changed. Neen Williams heelflip "ninja kick" is not a style, that is a Technique. Neen's foot position, flicking foot direction being fully extended (followed through) which allows the nose of the board to dive down & tail to rise up allowing the tail to make contact (catch) the board First with the popping foot to execute proper Technique. Pushing mongo is not a style but instead is a technique which is not the most optimized & efficient way to push on a skateboard. Most people tend to do things that isn't the most efficient & optimized technique when they begin something new.

[@superskateboardingentertai9228]

This Is awsome.

[@johnnyraven8178]

as a freestyle skater...listening to what you called these tricks really hurt.

[@analysan7]

The “Pogos” are actually TruckStands. Love your vids though. 🙏🏿

[@xxlatincrazy1]

Illuminati definitely filmed this to let us wintness switch stance mastery , and skate boarding on paper 🙏🏽 plus cover Mullen more !🥶

[@bewatermyfriend7355]

Switch mongo doesn't look terrible and doesn't feel terrible... people are still doing it btw. it's just your opinion.

[@BaggyPop]

Exactly. I wanna be Goofy and Switch, not Goofy and Regular. Switch mongo all day

[@coliimusic]

12:08 Halfcab flip to 360 pivot truckstand to truckstand flip out*