# Ollie help?



## FacePlant4Free (Oct 19, 2011)

strengthen your legs? 

also, do you have a super noodly board? if you're not getting enough height in your ollie, then you need to use your board to get up.

practice by strapping in and ollieing on a flat surface. before you jump, lean back and load some of your weight on the tail of your board and then jump more with your back foot. If you do it correctly you will use the tail of your board as a spring and you will notice that you will really pop up a lot higher.

again, try it a bit on a flat surface in a room with a lot of room. the first few times you will feel off balanced but it gets better the more you do it.

EDIT:: ahhhhh beat by SNOWOlF as usual


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## mixie (Mar 29, 2011)

silly question about the same topic...

I've been wanting to do tricks in my living room but I have all hardwood floors. For people who practice inside do you have carpet? 

Im kinda scared about either fucking up my board or floors....should I take it to my backyard int he grass instead? I mean, my neighbors already think Im nuts I don't need to prove them right you know?


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

mixie said:


> silly question about the same topic...
> 
> I've been wanting to do tricks in my living room but I have all hardwood floors. For people who practice inside do you have carpet?
> 
> Im kinda scared about either fucking up my board or floors....should I take it to my backyard int he grass instead? I mean, my neighbors already think Im nuts I don't need to prove them right you know?


I've done snowboard practice on the back lawn many times. I do however spread out one of those blue tarps first. If you wet it down it'll even give a bit of slipperiness to help it feel a bit more real.

(sigh. I've rephrased that 3 times and it STILL sounds dirty. :dunno: )


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, *learn to ollie a skateboard*. Even just doing it a few hundred times if you have zero success, the mechanics and complexity of them will get into your brain properly. This is how I taught my buddy, he still can't ollie the skateboard to save his life but his snow oliies are infinitely better. I showed him how and then he just practiced for a couple weeks randomly on work breaks and shit.

There is a a ton of dynamic and unnatural movement in an ollie that you do not realize just from watching someone who knows how. This is why someone who doesn't know how looks so terribad trying.


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## mixie (Mar 29, 2011)

Donutz said:


> I've done snowboard practice on the back lawn many times. I do however spread out one of those blue tarps first. If you wet it down it'll even give a bit of slipperiness to help it feel a bit more real.
> 
> (sigh. I've rephrased that 3 times and it STILL sounds dirty. :dunno: )



awesome. Thanks for the tip on the tarp. The only reason I don't have a dirt bike jump track or ramp in my back yard is liability reasons


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Just for the record (especially to the OP) -- as snowklinger says, ollies aren't as easy as they look. I've yet to successfully ollie a skateboard, and my snowboard ollies are still hit and miss. I have a tendency to look at my board when ollying (which is bad), and I often jump off heelside instead of straight up (which is bad), and I have trouble getting any height -- most of the time. Once in a while I manage a perfect one and it feels great. The secret: practice!


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

I've been boarding for 25 years, I can ollie @ least 3 feet on a snowboard.

I have never been able to ollie on a skateboard, I don't even try anymore.

TT


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## bmaniga (Sep 26, 2012)

timmytard said:


> I've been boarding for 25 years, I can ollie @ least 3 feet on a snowboard.
> 
> I have never been able to ollie on a skateboard, I don't even try anymore.
> 
> TT


I'm the exact opposite. I've skated all my life, and know the mechanics of an ollie. At the same time i'm just not seeing the height expected to feel good about it. My only thoughts are that speed is required, or i'm not actually flexing the board since i'm only about two season in and my not be able to tell?:icon_scratch:

p.s if helps i'm riding a full camber mid flex board.


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## alaric (Aug 28, 2007)

snowklinger said:


> I've said it before and I'll say it again, *learn to ollie a skateboard*. Even just doing it a few hundred times if you have zero success, the mechanics and complexity of them will get into your brain properly. This is how I taught my buddy, he still can't ollie the skateboard to save his life but his snow oliies are infinitely better. I showed him how and then he just practiced for a couple weeks randomly on work breaks and shit.
> 
> There is a a ton of dynamic and unnatural movement in an ollie that you do not realize just from watching someone who knows how. This is why someone who doesn't know how looks so terribad trying.


this this this!!! attempting to ollie on a skateboard helped my ollie on a snowboard so much, as well as my landings on jumps. I would assume because of how sketchy landing on a skateboard can be (at least to me). 

as far as the tarp in the backyard goes, i did the same thing as donutz back in the day. a wet tarp works well


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## alaric (Aug 28, 2007)

Snowolf said:


> You guys are overthinking the Ollie. It is a very non complicated maneuver. It has two very basic movements put together. A sime fore-aft shift and an independent flexion and extension. Personally I find very little similarity between a snowboard Ollie and a skateboard Ollie; the mechanics are very different, but that's just me.
> 
> The Ollie is done flat based not off of your toes and definitely not off of your heels. It is a sime thre step maneuver:
> 
> ...


I agree and disagree :cheeky4:

The motions aren't quite the same, that's definitely true. I think what it was for me was a confidence thing. Being able to do it on a skateboard mentally told me I could do it on a snowboard.

As I said earlier, I think the biggest thing that the skateboard helped me with was simply landing on it. It is much more difficult to land on a skateboard (my opinion) but it helped me balance better in air on a snowboard leading to a better landing. Also, the whole confidence thing is there too.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Its complicated because of the timing involved. On a skate aside from the off-timing of the piston action, the front foot also has to slide up the deck pulling it into the air while the back foot is forced to follow paralell so that you are actually like this in midair \ \. 

The main difference for the guy who can ollie a skate, the power you get out of kicking your tail on a sk8 is what you get from flexing your board somewhere around or a bit behind the rear binding (depending on the board). Every board has its own personality, but you will find that when you mix boardflex, timing and a little terrain help, you can BOOST it.

Unless your riding some plank.

Snowolf if you are doing a flatland ollie like over a slow sign or something you have to get your front foot shoved like you do in a big skate ollie, I see your perspective but suggest there are as many similarties as differences between the two.


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## NWBoarder (Jan 10, 2010)

^^^This reminds me, I'm gonna show you how to properly ollie that skate of yours one of these days.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

skateboarding is fucking difficult and painful. I hanged it up at 25.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

I don't have the most consistent or best ollies, but I can pop some good ones on occasion. What I have found helps:

A.) Making a pretty exaggerated circle with the while compressing the legs, first over the front foot, moving weight to the back foot, and then exploding out off the back foot. When I'm not popping good ollies, I tend to not load enough on the front foot and just snap off the back foot. Works in some situations, but you definitely don't get the same power.

B.) Keep your upper body mostly upright, with hips and center of gravity over the board. What I notice happens when I pop shitty ollies is I break at the waist and lose a ton of power that would otherwise be going into the board.

C.) Keep the upper body quiet and your shoulders parallel to the direction you're trying to go. On bad ollies, I let my upper body get wild, open the shoulders, which opens the hips, and throws me completely off balance in the air.


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## RockyMTNsteeze (Oct 21, 2012)

I ollie one footed on my snowboard higher than I can with a skateboard. I can't skate like I can snowboard. I actually think mountain biking was a big factor in my nice snowboard ollie.

When I see a good thing to ollie off of, I get flat on my base and go directly in for the kill. I pick a spot to ollie. I kinda scoot the board a little forward and shift my leading knee into the ollie and pop the tail up. Then I hear that POP, it sounds like thunder when I ollie.

This probably makes no sense, look up snowboard ollie on Utube and watch other people do them. This video does a better job at explaining ollies than me. For me it was like something that clicked and was not being pursued. Once it clicked I was always doing them.


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## spinn3rs (Dec 31, 2011)

Im also trying to learn how to ollie and i suck at it big time.
Seen a ton of youtube videos but yesterday i came across this one.
Looks by far the simplest to understand and shows all movements involved from start to finish.
Hope this helps a bit.
Burton Academy Trick Trips: The Ollie - YouTube


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## Reminiscent (Dec 5, 2012)

To be able to do a great ollie, I recommend learning how an ollie works. By this I mean how loading up on your back leg and releasing it gets you high up in the air. Learning how to ollie on a skateboard can and most likely will be extremely frustrating and time consuming. This is why I don't recommend it. Also, doing ollies when strapped to a board is a lot different than performing an ollie on a snowboard. I have some friends that can do 3 feet ollies on a skateboard and yet can't get a foot in the air when boarding. Anyways, you have to first learn how an ollie functions/works, and then you'll be that much closer to performing your first perfect ollie. The terrain you ride also plays a role in the ollie. You have to make yourself one with the terrain (Can't stop laughing after writing that). Anyways, you have to know when to ollie. It's hard to explain, but I'll give it a try. For optimal results when performing an ollie, you must execute it when the slope gives you a boost. You know when you're going super fast and sometimes you get some air without meaning to? You have to anticipate those moments and ollie right there. I really don't think this is helping you, but I gave it my best shot. :yahoo:


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## SGoldwin (Oct 10, 2011)

spinn3rs said:


> Im also trying to learn how to ollie and i suck at it big time.
> Seen a ton of youtube videos but yesterday i came across this one.
> Looks by far the simplest to understand and shows all movements involved from start to finish.
> Hope this helps a bit.
> Burton Academy Trick Trips: The Ollie - YouTube


Great video! But I spot a difference compared to previous explenations:
- In the video from weight over front leg he slided the board forward in a quick movement to get his weight over back leg.
- As I read/understood suggestion is from weight over front leg to move upper body quickly to weight over back leg. 
The end result is the same - weight over back leg. But the transition is different - at least as described. I havn't tried it yet. Since I am not that good at ollie it will be interesting to see if this can improve my ollies.


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## SGoldwin (Oct 10, 2011)

Sierrasnowboard usually has good video of tricks. Here is their version of Ollie: Snowboard Trick Tips: How to Ollie - YouTube

I like the way they take it step by step.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

SGoldwin said:


> Great video! But I spot a difference compared to previous explenations:
> - In the video from weight over front leg he slided the board forward in a quick movement to get his weight over back leg.
> - As I read/understood suggestion is from weight over front leg to move upper body quickly to weight over back leg.
> The end result is the same - weight over back leg. But the transition is different - at least as described. I havn't tried it yet. Since I am not that good at ollie it will be interesting to see if this can improve my ollies.


They're not inconsistent. Sliding the board forward is kind of a natural consequence of quickly shifting your weight back. I've never thought of specifically focusing on the sliding forward thing, but it's the same movement either way.


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## KnoxBoarderX (Aug 26, 2011)

Try to simplify the mechanics in your head. You can hear how to ollie from a ton of different people. One of the ways they say to think about it will click for you. 

I think about it as putting my weight on my back leg with my knees bent. Then I think of lifting my front leg to completely put the weight on the tail of the board. Push off the back leg and feel the board help pop you into the air. Bring the board to level mid air.

You'll get it. You just have to get the timing right. When you feel it once, you will always be able to do it.


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## RockyMTNsteeze (Oct 21, 2012)

I have been riding a reverse camber board for a couple of days. It has put an damper on my ollie. They are not consistently big like they were with my regular camper twin tipped snowboard or as loud. :dunno: Maybe I just need to ride the reverse camber board more and get use to it. It is very different from my old board.

I don't like getting 5 inch high ollies when I can do that in the flats bigger with my old board.


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## SGoldwin (Oct 10, 2011)

RockyMTNsteeze said:


> I have been riding a reverse camber board for a couple of days. It has put an damper on my ollie. They are not consistently big like they were with my regular camper twin tipped snowboard or as loud. :dunno: Maybe I just need to ride the reverse camber board more and get use to it. It is very different from my old board.
> 
> I don't like getting 5 inch high ollies when I can do that in the flats bigger with my old board.


My friend who is much better than me on ollies had similar problem when he switched board from camber to rocker. He had to play around for a while to find out where the pop-"zone" was. He described it as it was "later" in the press on the rocker compared to the camber. Now he is close to the hights he had before.


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## RockyMTNsteeze (Oct 21, 2012)

SGoldwin said:


> My friend who is much better than me on ollies had similar problem when he switched board from camber to rocker. He had to play around for a while to find out where the pop-"zone" was. He described it as it was "later" in the press on the rocker compared to the camber. Now he is close to the hights he had before.



Good to know :thumbsup: The reverse camber board I have is very different from my previous regular camber board. It's one of those reverse camber boards with camber under the bindings. It also is a little longer and has magnatraction. I was able to get more air today, but I do think I need to ride it more and learn it's ways. It's irritating to get 5 inches of air when your use to feet.

I will say the board is way more stable than my previous one.


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## MeanJoe (Jul 20, 2011)

This has been a good thread, thanks everyone who contributed. I've always struggled with ollies, tending to only clear a few inches off the ground. Then again, I've never really looked at the mechanics of it as described here and in the linked videos. Considering Ohio is snow-less at the moment, I think I'll be strapping-in and practicing at home a bit this week to see if I can pull the various motions together and get that tail loaded and popping.

This is why I am glad I found this place!


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## rasmasyean (Jan 26, 2008)

You can use a heavy blanket in place of a carpet to practice.

But note that some wax will be removed from your board when practicing like this. It might require rewaxing prior to mountain if you want to restore the performance.

And make sure you use a stone to eliminate the burrs so it doesn't catch your blanket and ruin it.


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## mikez (May 12, 2009)

I think this is great - when you get on a mountain, start at the beginning and take your time practising each step as described:
Ollie Snowboard Trick Tips - YouTube


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## ankkassa (Sep 25, 2012)

mikez said:


> I think this is great - when you get on a mountain, start at the beginning and take your time practising each step as described:
> Ollie Snowboard Trick Tips - YouTube


well thanks for the help but i already got my olling when i was waiting in line ofr tow rope or waiting for my friends to strap in i would just play with my board and before u klnew it i was olling like i was born to do it:yahoo:


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Here is a question. When I'm not strapped in on my back foot, and my foot is where a stomp pad would usually go, I can ollie pretty well. 

But once I strap in my back foot, my ollies are very weak. I'm thinking with my back foot almost in the middle of the board I'm getting better leverage so it's popping higher.

My ollies do suck and if I'm going fast and there is a little bump in the snow I can get pretty good air but if it's smooth my ollies are flaccid. I think I'm having trouble doing the fore-aft movement while going fast.


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

There are a couple ways to do an ollie.

You can use your legs only, just by lifting up your front foot, using the board like a diving board & bouncing the tail like a springboard.

Or you can rock your whole body forward then backward like described in the video.

The latter being easier when it's deep, heavy or just chopped up to shit.

I don't really think about it anymore, but when I watched the little vid there.
It looked like similar movements to this little ollie.

https://vimeo.com/60228692

You have to ollie a little bit off drops with no kick, otherwise the nose drops first & you either eat shit or break your board. Possibly both.


TT


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Is that you in that video? I thought he/you were going to leaf it down (he didn't make a turn :laugh

I can do those ollies no problem. And I get what you're saying. The conditions/situation dictates what you can do.


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## Vinh (Feb 19, 2013)

Yay for this topic. Been looking about on youtube already on how to do ollies and learning a lot from it, but I think this topic(and the videos linked that I didn't find) just gave it that extra bit for me to understand it more to start practising ollies next time I'm boarding.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

My ollies are still hit and miss. Most of the time they're mediocre, sometimes I totally flub it, but once in a while I get it just right and almost go orbital. Just practice, I guess.


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