The Best Kick Scooter Tricks for Beginners

Do you want to be one of those guys who can backflip, do 360s, and other jumping tricks on the skatepark? You don’t need to train hard on scooters and break a limb. Learning how to do these basic maneuvers is simple if you are serious about doing this passion of yours. All you need to do is to learn to have a good stance, balance, and landings positions. In this article, I am going to explain all you need to do to show your scooter skills to your friends.

There are some basic steps to master and one of these is the placement of your foot, hands on the handlebars, proper positioning of your legs and hips, and others – continue reading to learn more.

Kicks scooters are becoming more and more popular not only for teenagers but also for adults. Finding top-quality scooters that can be used in exhibitions and on skateparks is quite easy. Some of the latest models are built for both daily commute and stunt so whether you are looking to do stunts or just daily commuting to work or school, you can find these models easily.

For many riders, the real fun is when they are on the skatepark. Jumping and doing various types of activities like that on skateboards and rollerblades are not only fun but also effective physical exercise. Others even doing summersaults and other fancy maneuvers just to show their friends what they can do with their scooters. 

In doing scooter tricks, there are styles for beginners and there are also for pros which are harder to accomplish. Leave those harder maneuvers behind. Everything must start with the basics and this is what this article is all about. Remember that if you force yourself to learn harder styles without going through the beginners’ tricks, you may end up breaking a bone and no one would be happy to experience that.

The following are my top 5 beginners’ tricks. They are easy to do and need only a short amount of time and effort to practice.

1. Bunny-hop/Ollie/Jay-hop

This is one of the easiest and basic stunts that a beginner can accomplish. This is also known to be fundamental to many harder maneuvers. If you want to be a pro someday, this is the first thing that you must achieve. Not most but many scooter tricks begins with Bunny-hoop which is the very trick you must try and get used with.

To begin with, Ollie, pull the handlebars while your feet are on the deck and slightly jump lifting the scooter above the ground. To simply put it better, just ride the scooter with both hands holding the handlebars and your feet on the deck and jump. Do this several times to familiarize yourself and increase your jumping height. You can also learn how to land properly. The Jay-hop is basically the easiest style to accomplish and has a level 1 out of 5 in terms of difficulty.

2. Manual and nose manual

The nose manual is another easy style to master. Unlike the Ollie, instead of jumping off the ground while you are on top of the device, just pull the handlebars to lift the device off the ground without lifting the rear. This is why it’s called “nose manual” because you are only lifting the front side of the scooter.

In order to do this, just lean back and put your weight at the rear of the machine. The seesaw effect will pull the front side off the ground while retaining the rear on the ground. Many riders said this is easier than the Ollie but some argue that it is more difficult because you should keep the balance and control of the handlebars.

3. Kick-out

This is where the learning gets really serious. The kick-out is an Ollie with an additional maneuver. To accomplish this, just do the Jay-hop and while off the ground, kick the deck to one side (either left or right) 45 degrees with one foot while the other is still on the deck. Sounds difficult? Not really!

This trick is considered ⅖ in terms of difficulty. Just remember to straighten the deck before landing to avoid any accidents that could result in injuries. Even if the height is low, when you land outbalanced, it still a failure.

4. Grind

The grind is similar to kick-out but it needs much kicking. Instead of kicking the deck sideways for 45 degrees, do it with 90 degrees. This is one of the most popular scooter maneuvers for beginners because of its ease to accomplish. But remember that the more distance the scooter from your foot, the more risk of accident it could cause. Similar to the kick-out, make sure to straighten back the deck before landing.

Grind can be better done while on top of rails but can also be done on a flat surface. You can do as much grind as you want before learning any other basic tricks mentioned above. By the way, all styles mentioned here can be done independently and nothing is a prerequisite of another trick on this list.

5. Bar-spin and tail-whip

The bar spin and tail whip is a combination trick that involves spinning of handlebars and deck while off the ground. Although it is considered a beginner trick, this is also done by the pros because this can be done in combination with other more difficult pro ticks.

This style is rated 3.5/5 in terms of difficulty. Although it is not necessary to learn other basic maneuvers before doing the bar spin, this maneuver can easily be accomplished if you mastered all of the four styles mentioned above. 

There are dozens of scooter tricks both easy and difficult to do but learning the above basic maneuvers will give you an idea of how far you can go with improving your ability to do stunts. 

Setting these tricks aside, always remember that this activity is not done with the risk of injuries. Always wear proper protective and safety gear once you decide to try any of the above scooter tricks.