YouTube Comment Response #2-Keeping Stable When Attempting Tricks

[@zacharykolbe161]

The worst advice I got as a beginning skater was to loosen my trucks. One day I tightened them up and all of a sudden I was able to land Ollies!

[@NormanWoods]

One of my students just had the same thing happen. Told to loosen his trucks. That it would make his style better. Then he couldn’t stay on top of his board.

[@timematrix]

Another commenter was also helpful. They suggested I work on switch basics (kickturns/pivots/powerslides) other things are helping: Being more aware before I throw down. Take a deep breath, relax my shoulders. that sort of thing Taking my ollies to transition, including switch, fakie and nollie.

[@NormanWoods]

Transition will really force you to be stable. That’s solid advice.

[@thedarkriver1]

Appreciate you sharing that comment 👍👍 my kick turns and pivoting is currently garbage. Fear of falling is my issue..but it'd part of ot I get it🤷‍♂️

[@DarkoNomad]

Hi Norman, one of the reason why ollies often feel unstable is the fact that some people don't have as flexible ankles as they should be. I had the same issue for years. I noticed that I was flicking with my soles only, while many would destroy their shoes in a few weeks mine would last for months. It was all because of stiff ankles and lack of mobility, I couldn't simply get a proper motion for flicking, my ollies were high but I often need to push them down to jump over things.

[@NormanWoods]

This can play a role. After my last ankle sprain(not the current one) I had severely lost mobility. Took a while to get it (mostly)back. I think, since the person in question here is already doing strength and mobility exercises, that his case is a bit different.

[@xander.2736]

@@NormanWoodsHow'd you restore the mobility back?

[@FloatDown]

i'm not even a big guy, 160-170 lbs, i ride thunders, and i have to tighten them so at least 4 or 5 threads of the kingpin are showing for them to feel comfortably stable, and they still don't seem especially tight to me. ps your tip on when exactly to flick for heelflips helped me a ton. i had a lot of trouble either flicking too early, right as i popped, or too late, resulting in lotsa half-flips, before you gave just that right tip about flicking as you come up to jump..for me focusing on that has been just the right "mental hack" to get the timing right thanks norman

[@Scharfster]

replace the top bushing with a harder one, problem solved (usually)

[@yooomarie]

@@Scharfsterima have to try this cuz thunders really jus loose asl wit them stock bushings in

[@AnneALias]

Love your skill, athleticism, and teaching style! Can't wait to join the patreon this summer : D good luck with the ankle 😭

[@NormanWoods]

Awesome! Thank you! Seems to be healing quickly. We’ll see how long it takes though.

[@timothyquinn4919]

I aim for as tight as i can get them while they can still turn.

[@viracocha03]

Just had a recommendation for a ERGO clothing vid you did over a decade ago, crazy seeing you look so young.

[@NormanWoods]

Oh MAN! That was a lifetime ago. Fun company, and great times.

[@JuanMorales-hi8ld]

Thank you 4 share all of your knowledge ❤

[@NormanWoods]

You’re welcome! Thank you, sincerely for watching, and for engaging with these videos! It really helps the channel.

[@DavidChadwick-u2q]

Really appreciate the time and knowledge Guru nuggets

[@richardpeterjohnson5372]

when it comes to higher pop advice I think I'll agree with whatever you have to say 😂. good subject for a video though, id also add that bearings/wheels/trucks can be a factor for feeling balanced in the nose-tail axis. i had a setup recently where every time I crouched I got a little resistance from the wheels and I think it came from bad alignment on my trucks. the axles had been bent slightly so when I leaned into them they'd resist the roll. you can get a similar effect from really bad bearings or excessively tiny wheels.

[@ryanrowe1975]

Congratulations on the new sponsor

[@thedarkriver1]

Great info bro ty! 👌

[@wowyoursister]

Congratulations on the new sponsor!!!

[@NormanWoods]

Thank you! It’s been a couple of years. But, they are the newest supporter for sure.

[@wowyoursister]

@NormanWoods when I saw the bolts I was surprised you were stepping out of the rocket bolts but then I saw these ones were splined too. I'm going to have to check them out.

[@crownedinterror9]

I love the AF-1 truck...but it is way too loose stock. the ACE hard bushing swap is a must.

[@NormanWoods]

That swap is clutch! The bushings are great as well.

[@cjchavez19]

Lol I took forever to really learn how to kickflip. Never quit skating all these years but I just decided not to flip the board for the longest time. Just bomb hills and carve bowls. Pop an ollie here and there.

[@chasebrown7130]

If I'm trying a trick for awhile and not landing it I'll take a break for a bit and break it down it's simplest forms if I can't 360 flip correctly on a specific board I'll adjust pretty quickly by just running through the basics like pop shuv- 360 shuv once my ankles feel nice and warm I'll start with kickflips ultimately landing back at the 360 flip

[@NormanWoods]

That’s an interesting way to build back up. I’ve only used this tactic for handrail and ledge tricks. But, that’s only because I usually just abandon ship on flatground, if I’m not feeling the trick that day 😂

[@chasebrown7130]

Yeah that process seems to work very well for handrails & ledges I think we all have our own staple tricks we can do pretty quickly but then we add the building blocks linking things together i've just found if i'm stuck on a trick i dont give up or get discouraged i just breath slow down in mind and break the trick down into 3 parts 1.front side board slide, 2. front board shuv, 3.front board big spin ​@@NormanWoods

[@AmputeeAdele]

Learning to tre flip atm and defo feel this vid has helped me realise that i need tighter trucks/harder bushings so i dont loose stability when setting up for the trick 😊 thanks Norman, keep rolling 👊💙👊

[@NormanWoods]

Tre flip is the main one. I went from Tre flipping over the little box, in this video, to the bushings breaking, trucks loosening, and struggling to Tre flip up a curb. All in a matter of days. Really need that resistance. 👊🏾

[@AmputeeAdele]

Thanks dude, hopefully with your help I'll have that tre landed soon 👍😎👊 one love from the UK 🇬🇧

[@yesmaybe630]

I'm confused? You ride Ace trucks , which are meant to be ridden loose, but you prefer tight trucks. " Loose trucks save lives" is their slogan.

[@NormanWoods]

Ever hear of marketing? Also “Medium” and “tight” are extremely different.

[@thebrokenskater]

yeah i also have struggled with deck wobble even before i try ollies as a beginner. spent so much energy trying to balance it stunts the whole ability to even do the trick at all.

[@NormanWoods]

I remember that revelation too. Only mine was probably 9 years in 😭 I went from tight as possible, to loose as possible. Took me forever to arrive at a sensible medium. But it made my skating so much more consistent.

[@donovanhays]

I'm seriously dealing with the "jumping in a row boat effect". It's not so much heel side/toe side leaning but leaning too far forward towards the nose, or too far back on the tail. When I say "too far" I don't mean a lot, just enough to mess up my trick though. I've been skating for 1.5 years and have a decent stance on my board but I still find that when I ollie/kickflip/heelflip that I will be leaning too far forward and it's hard to get over the board and use my front foot to flick the board when I have too much weight forward. I've got some ideas for things to try next time I'm out but I know it's probably just going to come with time. 1.5 years isn't that long for something as technically difficult as skateboarding. Also I only skate like twice a week and sometimes miss weeks, so it's not like I've been skating 5 days a week for 1.5 years.

[@boogie..]

Harder bushings are always a good solution for feeling unstable on your board. As a heavier skater the black independent bushings are a game changer.

[@rogerdavis9962]

What's your bodyweight homie.

[@IsaacDedios-k3t]

How do I master timing my kickflips always Flick early and when I Flick late it underflips

[@kitcatski]

Im with you on the ace bushings man. Exact same issues with bones bushings, I literally break them in 1 session. The ace ones are amazing

[@NormanWoods]

The Ace are so good! I’m not sure what happened to the Bones. They were great, for a long time. Then, recently, the dove off a cliff.

[@JuanMorales-hi8ld]

🤝

[@Ryoubreathingnow]

Man, while i do like the ace bushings, you really need to check out riptide and venom, especially the riptide fatcone, and venom freeride. The riptides are going to amazing if you like it on the softer side, and venom much better on the stiffer side. Fatcones are going to be nice and soft in the middle, the freerides will have a lot more stable of a center; but both will add far more resistance once leaning than a barrel. I skated venoms when i was a bit heavier(and still do for hillbombs and such), recently switched to riptide and have been loving them, although most of my skating does consist of slappies and small ledges now. I think you would enjoy the 87a HPF freerides.

[@boogie..]

Also that ace hardware is amazing. No tool needed and they don't come loose.