Longboard Tricks and Tutorials for All Skill Levels

Throughout my 12 years of riding and teaching others how to longboard, I've found the single most de-motivating aspect for new riders is a lack of confidence and fear of getting hurt. This is partly due to a lack of structure in progression leaving longboarders with questions like: “What longboard tricks should I work on first?”, “Can I do tricks on my drop-through longboard?”, and “What longboard tricks should I learn next?”.

Besides the few beginner guides out there that teach you just a handful of longboard tricks and skills, many riders are simply unaware of which easy longboard tricks to work on next. I've spent the past 6+ months making basic longboard tutorials and compiling them into the most comprehensive longboard dancing and freestyle trick list on the internet – so you don't have to!

This guide is a collection of the most popular longboarding tricks (and tutorials) from all different styles of riding: longboard dancing, freestyle, sliding and more. Whether you’re looking for inspiration on a new trick to learn, or simply want to start with your first easy longboard trick – you’ve come to the right place! This list includes beginner-advanced longboard tricks as well as tricks you can do on any longboard.

I just made learning new longboard tricks even easier - Amp Skate

Recently I released a new longboarding website called Amp Skate with the intention of making learning longboard tricks easy and intuitive. With Amp you’re able to filter by difficulty, skating style, and other attributes as well as search specific tricks directly.

Create an account today and you’ll be able to bookmark your favorite tricks by pro longboarders Jeff Corsi, Mirko Paoloni, Jarrid Lopez, and many more.

BTW, all the trick links in bold below will take you to their respective pages on ampskate.com/tricks.

#TrickTipTuesday

Many of the links you’ll click on below are from #TrickTipTuesday – a weekly Instagram and TikTok series where I break down longboard tricks into quick and easy to understand tutorials. Available for regular AND goofy riders (on most posts if you swipe over).

Beginner Longboard Tricks

Are these longboard tricks easy for everyone? Well, that depends on your skill level. These are the first freestyle longboard tricks to learn on your longboard and will provide you with the Foundation for Flow. The best part about this section is that you should be able to do all these on any board.

The key to minimizing injury and maximizing progress is to master these beginner longboard tricks before moving on to more difficult ones. Even if some of these seem like an easy longboard trick that you already know, it’s worth watching the tutorial again to make sure your form and style is dialed.

1. Frontside Body Varial

2. Backside Body Varial

3. Tail Manual

4. Nose Manual

5. Frontside Pivot

6. Backside Pivot

7. Hippie Jump

8. Early Grab

9. Apple Sauce

10. Look Back

11. Nollie Frontside Shove-It

12. Nollie Backside Shove-It

13. Frontside Boneless 180

14. Ghostride Kickflip

15. Frontside No-Comply 180

16. No-Comply Pirouette

17. Frontside Tiger Claw

18. Backside Tiger Claw w/ Natalie Pluto

19. No-Comply Pop Shuvit

20. Road Runner

Longboard Dancing Tricks

Learning how to longboard dance is fun and expressive. It’s all about the flow and learning how to be as smooth as possible while combining different steps. BTW, longboard dance “tricks” are often called “steps” because you step around on the board.

The best part about longboard dancing is that you don’t need any specific board to do these maneuvers. The most important thing is to have something big enough that you can comfortably move around on. A board length above 40” is ideal for most longboard dancers because this gives you more space to step around on.

1. 180 Step

2. Cross Step

3. Peter Pan

4. Chop the Wood

5. Cross Step Over

6. Reverse Cross Step

7. Chop the Pan

8. Sidewinder

9. Bop It

10. Lazy Susan

11. Twist Step

Intermediate Longboard Tricks

This list of intermediate longboarding tricks is best for those with more experience. Many of these tricks will require (or at least be significantly easier) with a board designed for longboard freestyle and tricks. The Moonshine Elixir and Eclipse are both great boards for this.

1. G-Turn

2. Frontside Pirouette

3. Fakie No-Comply Big Spin

4. Old-School Kickflip w/ Nick Jones

5. Pop Shuvit

6. Frontside No-Comply Fingerflip

7. Half Moon

8. Backside No-Comply Shuvit Slide

9. 540 Frontside Pivot

10. Nollie Frontside Big Spin

11. Spin Big

12. Aero Grab

13. Aero Slam

14. Kickflip

15. Frontside No-Comply 180 to Pivot

16. Frontside Ollie 180 to Pivot

17. Ollie

18. Double Rainbow w/ Achel Machin

19. Frontside Ollie 180

Longboard Slides

Learning how to slide a longboard isn’t easy, but the right gear can make a big difference. In the world of longboard tricks, longboard slides are arguably the most dangerous. Please wear a helmet and gloves when attempting any of these slides.

1. Heelside 180 Slide

2. Frontside 180 Powerslide

3. Backside 180 Powerslide

Advanced Longboard Tricks

These tricks are some of the most difficult tricks and should only be attempted by proficient longboarders. If you rush into these too quick you run the risk of damaging yourself or your board with limited progress. Many of these tricks are combinations of different freestyle longboard tricks. For example, the Varial Kickflip is a combination of a longboard kickflip and the pop shuvit. It’s essential to master these tricks before putting them together.

1. No-Comply Wheel Flip

2. Full Cab

3. Fakie No-Comply Bigger Spin

4. Circus Flip

5. Kickflip Body Varial

6. Varial Kickflip

7. Double Kickflip

8. Big Flip

9. Handstand

Longboard Tricks for Drop-Through Boards

Many people buy drop-through longboards as their first board because they’re lower to the ground making them easier to commute on. Drop-through longboards are usually a bit cheaper, have shorter tails, and a small platform which makes longboard tricks more difficult. Although, that doesn’t mean they are impossible!

Below is a list of longboard tricks you can do with no tails. If you complete all these and are still interested in learning more, I recommend upgrading to a freeride longboard like the Moonshine Elixir.

1. Frontside Body Varial

2. Backside Body Varial

3. Frontside Pivot

4. Backside Pivot

5. Hippie Jump

6. Nollie Frontside Shuvit

7. Ghostride Kickflip

8. Look Back

Longboard Grab Tricks

This is a collection of longboard tricks which require the use of your hands. They’re popular to use in longboard dancing lines because they add a bit of flare and excitement.

1. Frontside Boneless 180

2. Frontside Tiger Claw

3. Backside Tiger Claw w/ Natalie Pluto

4. Aero Grab

5. Aero Slam

6. Half Moon

Stuck on a longboard trick and don’t know what to do?

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