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Dew Action Sports Tour Issue: [ Intro | Skate-Punk Oral History | Skate Parks | Glossary | Sports Tour Schedule ] A Glossary 1080 A 1080 degree rotation in the air, landed fakie. In the vert ramp, a 1080 is started and landed forward. 180 A 180 degree rotation in the air, landed fakie. In the vert ramp, a 180 is started and landed forward. 360 A 360 degree rotation in the air, landed fakie. In the vert ramp, a 360 is started and landed forward. 5-0 grind A grind using only the back truck 50-50 A type of grind that uses the axles of both trucks 540 A 540 degree rotation in the air, landed fakie. In the vert ramp, a 540 is started and landed forward. 720 A 720 degree rotation in the air, landed fakie. In the vert ramp, a 720 is started and landed forward. A abadaca In BMX, a term used when a rider rides up the ramp facing forward, touches the back tire to the coping, then rides down the ramp fakie abubaca Going straight up a ramp and stalling on the back tire on the coping, then coming back down the transition backward and rolling away. The trick was named and invented by Ron Wilkerson. acid drop When a rider goes straight off an object and freefalls to the ground aerials Examples are quadruple flips and multiple front and back flips with twists alley-oop A trick executed opposite the direction the rider is going B back flip Flipping in the air with the rider still on the bike. In vert, and in park, the rider will land fakie on the same wall of the ramp. In dirt and park, the rider will do a back flip from jump to jump or ramp to ramp. backside The term used when a turn or trick is executed in such a direction that the back of the body is facing the arc of the trick. The opposite of frontside. backside air An air performed on the backside wall of the vert ramp backside rodeo Coming off a jump with your back turned down the hill, flipping 540 and landing fakie or rotating a total of 720 and landing regular backside rotation Rotating clockwise for a regular-footer and rotating counterclockwise for a goofy-footer. When riding switchstance the reverse applies. backside wall When standing at the top of the vert ramp and looking down toward the bottom, the backside wall is the left wall for regular footers and the right wall for goofy footers. bank An elevated surface on a park course or in true street used to complete tricks bar hop An air trick where the rider simultaneously kicks both feet over the crossbar of the handlebars while in the air barrel roll An air trick where the rider and the bike rotate clockwise or counterclockwise horizontally bar spin In BMX, an action where a rider spins the handlebars a full rotation or more, and grabs them again before landing. Bar spins are typically executed in combination with another trick, to increase the total difficulty. big spin Spinning a skateboard beneath the feet 360 degrees while the skater's body is turned 180 degrees to the backside blindside Term used when a rider cannot see either his takeoff or landing and must look over his shoulder to see blunt On a ramp you pop your wheels onto the deck in a stalling position, ollie or nollie back into the transition. On a rail ollie to vertically tail slide. board Main platform of the skateboard board length The measurement of the length of a skateboard boardslide/railslide To slide on an obstacle or lip with the underside of the board sliding along the edge box jump A type of obstacle, used in park competitions, that consists of two ramps on either side of a deck bus driver A bar spin where one hand stays on the bars the whole time around, so it looks like you're turning the steering wheel on a bus C cab Short for caballerial; the trick is a fakie ollie 360. Named after Steve Caballero. can-can When a rider takes one foot off a pedal and stretches his leg over the frame between his legs so both legs are on the same side of the bike, then returns the foot to the pedal before landing candy bar A BMX trick that involves a rider kicking one leg over the handlebars canyon The space between two ramps in park and dirt BMX carve Turning without lifting your wheels cased When a rider or skater misses a landing casper When a skater has his board upside down with the front foot underneath the board and his back foot on the tail. This forces the board to point up on an angle. cliffhanger In BMX, a rider hooks his feet under the handlebars while raising his hands concave The contour of a skate deck coping A rounded lip at the top of a ramp or obstacle, usually made of metal or cement crooked grind A simultaneous nose grind and nose slide D deck Area of skateboard that a skater typically stands on disaster A lip trick where a skater's board hangs on the coping double grab In skateboarding, a combination of two tricks in the air double can-can In BMX, a rider moves one leg to the opposite side of his bike while in the air drop in When a skater or rider begins his run drunk driver a 720 with a bar spin thrown in E eggplant A 180 degree one-handed invert in which the front hand is planted on the lip of the wall while grabbing indy F fakie Riding backward farside When a trick is performed on the outside edge of a vert or park course feeblegrind In skateboarding, a type of grind that uses the rear truck while the front truck is on top of the obstacle flat bottom The area between the two walls of a vert ramp flatland Term used to describe tricks performed on the flat part of a park course and not utilizing any obstacles fork The double-pronged section of the frame, which holds the front wheel in place frontside When a trick or turn is executed with the front of the skater's body facing the ramp or obstacle fufunu Trick performed by stalling on the back tire on the coping or edge of a ramp at about a 45 degree angle or so then pulling back in funbox A platform object with banked sides, usually found in a park course G goofy A goofy-footed skater skates with his right foot forward, as opposed to regular, which is left foot forward. grab In skateboarding, using your hand to grab onto an area of the skateboard while performing a trick grind Scraping one or both axles on a curb, rail or other surface H half cab A 180 degree Caballerial halfpipe Another term for a vert ramp, it is a U-shaped structure hand plant In skateboarding, a handstand with the board still touching a skater's feet hang up In skateboarding, where the back or front truck gets stuck on an obstacle heel flip In skateboarding, flipping the board with your heel heel clicker A trick in BMX where the rider brings both feet over the handlebars and touches them together ho ho A hand plant using both hands I Impossible In skateboarding, a trick where the board spins around your foot Indy grab A trick that involves grabbing the board in front of the skater's body with his rear hand indy air A backside air with the rear hand grabbing the toe edge. The term "indy" may also be used to describe the location of the grab invert Another name for a hand plant inverted 180 When a rider is upside down while executing a 180 inverted 720 (720 mctwist) A 720 degree rotational flip, performed upside down. The skater lands riding fakie. inverted aerial A maneuver where the rider becomes airborne and upside down J Japan Front hand grabs the toe edge in front of the front foot, knees are bent jump ramp A small ramp in a park course that helps a skater get air when performing a trick K kickflip a variation on the ollie in which the skater kicks the board into a spin before landing back on it kickturn Rotating on the rear wheels of a skateboard while the front wheels are off the ground kicker A name for a ramp. Kickers throw you up into the air rather than giving you distance. L late A last-minute decision to add an unplanned element to a trick lip The edge of a vert wall lip trick A trick performed on the lip of a vert ramp lipslide Sliding along the lip of a vert before re-entering the ramp look back In BMX, when the rider turns the handlebars and his body toward the back of his bike while in the air lookdown In BMX, a jumping variation that involves kicking the back end of the bike out while pulling the front end upward and turning the bars into your body luc-e grind (pronounced lucky) A stall or grind using your pedal and back peg on the coping, your front wheel and front peg hang down below the coping. Named for John "Luc-e" Engelbert. M manual In BMX, another name for wheelie Mcmetz Double, simultaneous Saran wraps. Both legs pass through the arms simultaneously and both arms release at the same time to allow the legs to pass back through to the foot pegs. mctwist An inverted aerial where the rider performs a 540 degree rotational flip. The rider approaches the vert ramp wall riding forward, becomes airborne, rotates 540 degrees in a backside direction while performing a front flip and lands riding forward. Named after Mike McGill. method Your front hand grabs behind your front foot. miller flip A frontside invert with 360 degree turn miniramp Ramps used for technical liptricks and small airs in a park course, usually about 4 to 6 feet tall and may include a spine mongo-foot A style of pushing where the back foot is kept on the board and pushing is done with the front foot mute A front hand grab N nac nac A motocross trick where a rider brings one leg over the rear of the bike, has both legs on same side of bike and looks as though he is stepping off the bike in midair nollie Same as an ollie, except a skater springs off the nose of the board instead of the tail nollie frontflip Combination of a nollie and flipping the skateboard forward nosegrind A grind using the front truck nosepick In BMX, stalling on the front tire of the bike O ollie A no-handed air performed by tapping the tail of the board on the ground or ramp surface. Named after Alan Gelfend. P pick In BMX, when a rider balances one part of his bike on the coping of an obstacle and stalls momentarily. Usually occurs using the front tire or front, back or both pegs. Q quarterpipe A vert ramp with only one wall R railslide A trick in which the skater slides the underside of the deck along an object, such as a curb or a handrail regular foot Riding a skateboard with the left foot forward revert In skateboarding, switching from riding fakie to forward, or vice versa while the board is on the ground rock and roll A trick where the underside of the board and wheels are tapped on the lip before a kickturn to re-enter rocket air In BMX and motocross, when a rider stands on back pegs with both legs and then returns to a sitting position before landing rodeo Turning frontside 180 while completing an inverted 360 rotation for a total of 540. A rodeo 720 is when you would turn frontside 360 while completing an inverted 360 rotation for a total 720. rodeo flip Partially inverted 360 and backflip combination roll-in An area at the top of a vert ramp that riders can use to roll into the ramp rather than dropping in over the vertical section of the ramp. Typically helps a skater or rider gain more speed. S saran wrap Rider passes one foot between his hands and back to the peg, removing one hand from the bars to let it pass through shove it A trick performed by spinning the board beneath the feet smith grind "Part grind, part slide." Named after Mike Smith. The back truck is grinding while the rail of the board is also grinding the lip of the ramp or rail. Frontside Smith Grind the toe-side edge; Backside Smith Grind the heel-side edge. Named after Mike Smith. spine ramp Type of ramp which consists of two launch ramps sitting back to back with each other and meeting at a point with a small deck or two pieces of coping between them stalefish A frontside trick where the rear hand grabs the heel edge behind the rear between the legs while the front leg is boned sub box A box set up on the deck of a quarterpipe, set back from the edge superman BMX and motocross trick where a rider takes both feet off the pedals and stretches legs out straight behind the bike. Named superman because it looks like Superman flying while holding on to handlebars. switch stance Riding the board with the opposite footing than usual, i.e., "goofy foot" instead of "regular foot" T tabletop A type of obstacle that is comprised of an upward ramp, flat on top and a ramp in the opposite direction on the other side tail The rear end of the board tailwhip BMX and motocross trick where a rider in a circular rotation and sits back on the seat before landing tire tap In BMX, trick where the bike's back wheel balances on the deck of the obstacle or vert ramp while the front wheel is in the air tombstone An extra section of wood added to a vert ramp, so that the top edge is uneven and is higher than the other edges of the ramp. Named this because it looks like a tombstone sticking up from one edge of vert ramp. top tube The top horizontal tube on a bicycle frame, between your head tube and seat tube transition The point where a ramp or jump goes from a horizontal surface to a vertical surface truck The hardware on the bottom of a skateboard to which the wheels are attached truck driver In BMX, a 360 that also includes spinning handlebars 360 degrees turndown In BMX, a trick where a rider turns the handlebars and his body toward the ground while the rest of the bike remains upward V variation To change from one type of movement to another in the midst of the same trick vert Also known as a halfpipe W wheelbase the distance between the front and back wheels, measured between the two sets of innermost truck holes Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]