This is a simple move that is really nice for working into a footwork line. Great for doing on a freestyle board or a street board.

spin shove it from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.

You’ll want to be able to do an endover to a nice smooth backward roll.

I’ll explain a bit more in the video – but you get into a 1-footed tail wheelie position while rolling backwards. You take your front foot off and begin turning your body frontside. The board lags behind just slightly, as you used a little ankle control to life the front wheels. This will naturally cause the board to do a frontside kickturn as it try to keep up with your body. As the board swings around, surprise! Your front foot is already there to meet it and get back on!

Not complicated, but like all footwork tricks there is the potential for things to go horribly wrong. Don’t underestimate this move if you aren’t used to doing this kind of thing. Maybe put that helmet on until you really have it down, or may keep it on.

Old Bastard Freestyle Trick Tip 6 from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.

In keeping with the simple movement/flow footwork kind of thing we’re looking at here, this week’s tip is for 180 shove-its. Again, you can learn these on a normal board. I’d love it if you’d go to Moonshine skateboard or Mode Skateboards (see the side-bar) and buy a freestyle board, but don’t let that stop you from working on this stuff.

Like any other trick, it’s easier to do a shitty shove-it. I did a bunch when I was filming the first version for this tip. Bad landings. Simple trick, but bad landings. Weird. I’ve been doing these tricks for 40 years, but still the bad landings plague me on the forward 180 shove-it. That’s OK. Just means I can still get better! So once you start landing these, start working on making good landings (I kept landing the forward shove-it with my back heel on the board, toes hanging way off, and it looked like crap).

Old Bastard Freestyle Trick Tip 5: the 180 Shove-It from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.

First, for a really comprehensive guide to learning this trick, I recommend you go to Tony Gales End-Overs tip on FreestyleTrickTips.com, on which Tony guides you from the very beginnings of this move. Tony gives you some variations that are very much part of the basic freestyle movement vocabulary that I’ll probably not cover here.

End-overs are one of the most basic elements of freestyle, and in my opinion skateboarding in general, and are often overlooked. Until I started this project I honestly had no idea that people have trouble with this. I suppose because it is one of the first things I learned back in about 1975 or 76, it has just never occurred to me that everyone doesn’t do these. But I think skating began to be so vert and later street oriented that people just didn’t learn this.

So here’s my tip. It is intended as “additional commentary aimed at the old guys” to Tony’s more comprehensive instruction.

EndOvers from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.

I would also point out that when you can do endovers easily, stuff like this becomes easier as well, though it isn’t freestyle. Freestyle really should be, in addition to and end in itself, the fundamental building block of your skating.

360 Nose Rock from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.

My talking seems to be increasing rather than decreasing, but I swear to remedy this. Part of the issue is that I am not just teaching the trick, but I’m also trying to talk to the old guys out there and address what I think are particular concerns and issues they might face. So that simply requires more talking. Next time I may wear a mask so y’all don’t get too sick of seeing my face.

So, Walk the Dog is one of the primary footwork tricks in freestyle. It’s important. Like the moves I’ve described in previous tips, it is a move that emphasizes the ability for the skater to move atop the board. It requires that your feet not be glued to the deck. You must be able to move them with some ease and eventually some grace. That’s the goal.

One thing I failed to mention in my excessive talking is the idea of not overpowering the kickturn in this. This move is all about subtle weight distribution. You may not have it at first. That’s OK. This trick will help you develop it. But when you are doing the kickturn part, try not to beat it to death. Just relax. Everything’s gonna be OK. A calm, peaceful, centered kickturn is what you want. So calm your mind, get all Zen, and let it flow slowly and smoothly.

Practice your Walk the Dog along with the previous tips here. Over, and over, and over. That’s how you get better. Mix them all together. Be creative!

I know with 100% certainty that you can do this!

Also, you can always get better! Looking at this video, I really need to work on my arm style. Man, it’s not the worst I’ve every seen, but it could be a lot better. I generally don’t like to copy anyone’s style, but when I see something in my own that I find ghastly, I try to adjust a bit.

Finally, for additional trick tips, and additional more detailed info on these, check out FreestyleTrickTips.com , by Tony Gale.

OBFTrickTip3 from Bob Loftin on Vimeo.