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Just incase you wanna learn how to do an ollie the 'proper' way.
(yes it means getting outta the livingroom and going public)

The Ollie - how to:

1. Find a flat surface - any smooth, flat surface will do.

2. Push a few times, so that you're rolling with moderate speed. (the faster you're traveling when you ollie, the farther you will go. Physics? Yep.)

3. As you're rolling, position the ball of your back foot on the tail, and place your front foot in the middle of the board.

4. Bend your knees

5. Here's where the trick is: You must simultaneously (at the same time) smack the tail on the ground, jump, and slide your front foot up the deck. (smacking your tail allows the front of the board to raise up off the ground, jumping allows your body to break the confines of gravity, and sliding your front foot up the board allows the deck to level out, thus raising the back of the board from the ground.) Sound simple? Well, it's not at first. But, practice makes perfect.

6. Stay over the board. At the peak of your ollie you should be centered on the board, your knees bent again ready for landing.

7. Important note: keep your shoulders in line with the direction you're travelling. (the ollie requires you keep shoulders in line, or will certainly lose balance.)

8. When you land, keep your knees bent to absorb the impact with the ground. (this will save your lower back.)

9. Upon landing, your back foot should be on the tail, though slightly closer to the back truck bolts (so as not to break the tail), and your front foot should be directly over the front bolts.

HOW TO OLLIE in detail:

Requirements for this trick are: None

After over a decade of riding, I've finally come to the conclusion why, out of so many skaters, so few reach that 'Pro' standard. It's not from lack of facilities like everyone thinks, nor is it from the weather. It is from something far simpler than we all think.

Those of you who are impatient have already speed read ahead to figure that I'm talking about the 'Ollie'.

There, I've said it. Now everyone knows.

The Ollie is what we all start out learning but never really bother to master. Not only is it the reason why 90% of us are crap, but also why we fall off so much. Those who do figure it out, get noticed and blatently abuse their knowledge before our very eyes. Missing a rail? Miss-timing a flip? Hanging up on the coping? Judging gaps? Lack of confidence? It's all down to the Ollie.

So there's the problem, a fatal error encoded into many of our minds from the early days of self-tuition on the living-room carpet. The trouble is, is that the damage is done, and it is therefore going to be difficult to undo, but not impossible. The living room carpet has got a lot to answer for. As here you can concentrate on the ollie and forget about the movement. This is the start of your problems. How we should learn is to find a smooth surface to roll on and practice manual rolls.

Hang on! I'll explain!

The art of popping an ollie in a straight line and at speed, is best developed from doing loads of tiny ollies, concentrating more on landing squarely, balanced and with good foot positioning. Most people start by trying to get as high off the ground as they can stationary, they achieve this and then find they can't do it whilst moving! All that effort is going to waste.

If you're a total beginner and even if you're not, each time you go skating, try to spend sometime rolling your weight around on the board, lean forward, backwards and to each side to find your limits before you fall over. Soon you'll know what is needed to achieve a short manual roll (always moving though, never practise stationary).

From this manual position the ollie can begin. Whilst still moving lean back on the tail, lift the trucks and pop the tail into the ground but make sure you jump before the tail hits, this is the secret of the ollie. **You must pop BEFORE the tail hits the ground**. Assuming your weight is central over the board, you will have popped the ollie and have started the correct technique.

It doesn't matter if you only just got off the ground, it's about getting your bodyweight central whilst your legs pop around... and most importantly.. that you land in a straight line.

I know what you're thinking, "I can already ollie, so I can't be bothered to start again".

So what about this:

How many of us find out how high our physical limit is when ollieing? Try running at a 3 or 4 foot high box, fence or block. Can you get on/over it? Yes? Well then you can ollie it. Right? Probably not, because you haven't got the right technique.

The height of an ollie is determined by the timing of the tail pop (and leg strength, obviously, though I'm assuming most people can jump at least a foot off the ground without a board). It's about being able to smack the tail as hard into the ground as hard as you physically can and jump both feet into the air, BEFORE the tail makes contact, whilst maintaining your weight central over the board.

A lot of people smack the tail hard, but fail to jump high enough, resulting in a low ollie. Others do the reverse and jump high but only after the tail has hit the ground, result: low ollie.

But what about the front foot then?

Forget about it!...What????

Yep, that's right forget about it. You don't need it to ollie, when beginning anyway. People will tell you, you have to slide it up the board and level up the back accordingly, but you don't need to learn that shit yet. Personally I can ollie at least a foot without using the front foot at all. Now I'm no expecting you to be able to do it that high, but you should be able clear most average height curbs with no problem. You won't do yourself any favours if your trying big ollies too soon and slamming because of it.

I'm not going into how the front foot works, though I may at another time. But for now just deal with popping small ollies with control and good balance. It will set you up for many other tricks later if the basics are right.

Oh alright then... So those of you who aren't beginning, want to know what to do with it. Well try this: Train those legs! Eh? You say. Yeah, that's right some people are born with a bloody good pop and some aren't. I haven't been that blessed, so I have to work on my legs a bit to get them to do what I want. There's a high chance that you will have to as well. The best training I've found is a real childish, fantasy skater stylee method... but it's quite fun to do, though could make you look a bit of an idiot in front of Joe Public.

Pick an obstacle, a low wall, bollard, traffic cone etc.. and run at it imagining you are on a board. Now jump over it... but keep in a skater frame of mind and jump it by pulling your front leg up as high as it will go (try and make your knee hit your chest), then boost with as much power as you can off your back foot... as if you are smacking the tail... then pull it up level with the other leg (try and knee-hit your chest with this leg as well). Now float over the obstacle sideways just like you would on a board... and, obviously, land it with both feet evenly on the ground with your weight balanced. That's it. Nothing more to do. Do a whole bunch of these at the local car park or in the front room before you skate and A: Your legs will be as warm as toast and as poppy as possible and B: because you will have been imagining you were on a board, psychologically you have been pulling off some stunningly perfect ollies at a good height and will be full of confidence. I find this technique gives me the most satisfaction when I'm clearing a big object that's near my limit. Remember...

"Lack of confidence is created by bad technique.

Bad technique causes lack of confidence."

So there you are, go learn, and if you get chance, watch the big boys in the flesh (not video's). But don't get me wrong. This isn't written from some, "I know - You don't", angle, as I'm off to learn myself.

The Ollie.

Probably the easist trick I'll never learn.