How to Grind on a Skateboard: 50-50, Nose Slide & More

Photo by Travis Yewell from Unsplash

Some of the most iconic skateboarding tricks are skateboard grinds. Whether you’ve played any of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games or you’ve watched any content having to do with skating in the last 40 years, grinding is pretty much everywhere. And for good reason!

Grinding can be done practically anywhere you can find a rail, bench, or box. It can be added to the top of a quarter pipe, half pipe, or ramp. Plus, there are tons of ways to grind that there are nearly limitless combinations that you can make between grinds and environments, making them essential to getting creative on your skateboard.

Before you start learning to grind, be sure that you’re a fairly competent rider. You should feel really confident with ollies, balancing, and falling off your board safely. You don’t have to be an expert by any means, but you should be good enough on your skateboard that you can access the rails and feel comfortable on your board to try out each trick.

If you’re feeling pretty good about your skills, let’s get started! In this post, we’ll cover:

• Where to learn to grind
• Grinds for Beginner Skateboarders
• Grinds for Intermediate Skateboarders

Where to learn to grind on a skateboard

Learning to grind in a conducive environment is important to ensuring that you successfully progress with the skill. Although it may be tempting to go learn in an area outside of the skatepark, we advise against it mostly because you’re going to likely fall a lot. You want to be sure that the area around you is clear of other people and property so that you don’t accidentally hurt someone or break something around you. Skateboards flying through the air tend to be hazardous and being in an environment where that is somewhat expected is the safest place to be!

With that said, find a space at the skatepark that is relatively clear to practice in. Find yourself a low rail to grind on so that you don’t have to ollie too high up to reach the rail. Plus, when you fall, you won’t have as far down to go! 

Once you’ve got your environment dialed, let’s talk specifics with grinding. Which grinds should you master first?

Photo by Shawn Henry from Unsplash

Grinds for Beginners

If you’re new to grinding, it can be overwhelming to think about where to start learning. There are so many ways to do it! Focus on learning these fundamental grinds to help progress yourself through learning how to grind.

Frontside Boardslide

The easiest grind to learn on a skateboard is the frontside boardslide. A boardslide is simply where you stand on your skateboard normally and grind down the obstacle standing perpendicularly to it on your board. You have the entire area under the deck of your skateboard to land on the rail after ollieing, giving you a much larger chance of successfully completing the trick. 

The frontside boardslide variant is when you grind with your toes facing in the direction you’re grinding. This helps with learning the boardslide as you’ll get a good sense of when you’re coming to the end of the rail, which will help you transition off of the grind.

Backside Boardslide

Once you’ve gotten comfortable with the frontside boardslide, add in a new degree of difficulty by trying it backwards! Approach the rail in the same way that you did with the frontside variant, but instead of ollieing up and opening your front shoulder, close your front shoulder and scoop the tail of your board to the rear to land on the rail with your heels going in the direction of travel. 

As with the frontside variant, try to straddle your feet over the rail to maintain balance throughout the slide. When you approach the end of the rail, prepare to land by opening up your front shoulder and hips to successfully roll away off the rail!

Grinds for Intermediate Skaters

After you’ve mastered the basic boardslides, it’s time to add in some more challenging skateboard grinds. Consider adding these into your sessions to progress to the next level of grinding!

50-50

One of the things that makes the 50-50 difficult is the smaller surface area you have to land on. It may be a little easier than the boardslide because you don’t really have to turn your board or body to grind on the rail but landing balanced on the rail on your trucks can be tricky! 

Start by getting some forward momentum towards the rail, trying to be as centered on it as you can in your approach. Ollie up onto the rail and try to land your trucks in the center of the rail. If you’ve done it right, you’ll slide parallel down the rail and land easily on the other side!

Nose Slide

As with the 50-50, the nose slide is a more difficult grind because you’re landing on the rail with less surface area than with boardslides. Nose slides are also difficult because they often require that you enter into the trick riding fakie. 

Start with the frontside noseslide by riding up to the rail fakie. Then, nollie up onto the rail and weight your front foot on the nose to help keep your tail from falling down. If you’ve done it right, you’ll be able to hop off at the end of the rail and roll away.

Final Thoughts

Learning to grind on your skateboard is difficult, but oh so worth it! Skateboard grinds look sick and are sure to add in the balance you need to increase your confidence in any environment. After a while, you’ll be grinding on pretty much everything you can find. Just remember to be responsible and respectful with your newfound skills. And let us know which grinds you found easiest and most fun to learn!