Understanding Skateboard Stances
In skateboarding, your stance—how you position your feet and body—defines how you perform tricks like the ollie or varial kickflip. The four main stances are regular, nollie, fakie, and switch, each with unique mechanics and uses. Whether you’re a beginner learning to ride or an intermediate skater aiming for a heelflip, knowing these stances will level up your game. Confused about which is which? We’ve got you covered with this breakdown.
Use our guide and the Skate Tricks app to practice these stances and shred with confidence!
Breaking Down the Stances
Here’s a clear explanation of regular, nollie, fakie, and switch, including how they work and when to use them. Practice at a skatepark near you using the Skate Tricks Map.
- Regular Stance:
- What It Is: Your natural stance, either goofy (right foot forward) or regular (left foot forward). Your back foot is on the tail, front foot near the front bolts.
- How It Works: You pop tricks like an ollie or kickflip using your back foot to snap the tail and front foot to guide or flick.
- When to Use: Most tricks start here, like the pop shove-it. It’s your default for street or park skating.
- Example: A regular kickflip uses your back foot to pop and front foot to flick the board.
- Nollie Stance:
- What It Is: You pop tricks from the nose of the board instead of the tail, with your front foot on the nose and back foot near the middle.
- How It Works: Snap the nose down with your front foot to pop, while your back foot guides or flicks, reversing the regular stance motion.
- When to Use: Great for stylish variations, like nollie heelflips or nollie 180s. Often used in street skating for ledges or stairs.
- Example: A nollie kickflip pops from the nose, with the back foot flicking for the flip.
- Fakie Stance:
- What It Is: Riding backwards in your natural stance (goofy or regular) after a 180 or half-cab. Your feet stay in regular position, but the board’s tail is forward.
- How It Works: You pop tricks from the tail (now forward) while moving backwards, requiring adjusted balance. Common in transition skating, like rock to fakie.
- When to Use: Used in park skating or when landing tricks backwards, like fakie ollies or fakie big spins.
- Example: A fakie ollie pops from the tail while rolling backwards, often after a fakie transition.
- Switch Stance:
- What It Is: Riding in your non-natural stance (e.g., goofy if you’re regular) with the opposite foot forward.
- How It Works: You pop and trick as you would in regular stance, but with your weaker foot on the tail, making it harder to control.
- When to Use: Adds style and challenge, like switch stances or switch flips. Common in street skating to show versatility.
- Example: A switch kickflip uses your non-dominant foot to pop and flick, feeling like learning the trick anew.
Tips for Mastering Stances:
- Start with regular stance tricks like the ollie before trying nollie or switch.
- Practice fakie riding in a skatepark to get comfy rolling backwards, as in rock to fakie.
- Use the Skate Tricks app’s slow-motion tutorials to nail foot placement for each stance.
Ready to mix up your stances? Download the Skate Tricks app for video guides and find a spot to practice with the Map feature!