My Journey Learning Skateboard Ramps
Since moving to Ireland 🇮🇪, I have had the opportunity to skate more consistently and explore new skateparks. I have been skateboarding for a long time, but I never truly committed to learning ramp tricks. As you may have seen in my blog, I have mostly focused on flatground, ledges, and flatbars. Transition skating was always something I wanted to explore, but I never had consistent access to a skatepark with good ramps. Finally, I had the chance, and I decided to take full advantage of the nearby park.
I started learning skateboard ramps in October 2025 at Mardyke Skatepark in Cork, Ireland. I chose this skatepark because it is the closest one to me and it has a variety of ramps available. At first, I felt excited but also nervous because riding on ramps looked much more difficult than skating on flat ground. The height, speed, and steep angles were intimidating, but I committed to learning because I wanted to make the most of the nearby park.
During my first few sessions, I focused on getting comfortable riding up and down small ramps. I practiced balancing, bending my knees, and keeping my eyes forward instead of looking down. I fell several times, but each fall taught me something new. Wearing a helmet and protective gear gave me the confidence to keep trying.
As my confidence grew, I started learning tricks one by one, with each trick building on the previous one.
The first skill I really improved was the kickturn. I could already kickturn, but learning to do it with a little more speed and precision made me much more comfortable on transitions. It became the foundation for many of the tricks that followed.
Next, I learned the backside/frontside 50-50 stall/grind. This trick felt surprisingly easy, and landing it gave me a huge confidence boost. It taught me that locking both trucks onto the coping was not as scary as it looked.
After that came the backside pivot. I enjoyed this trick because it improved my board control on the coping. It also made me want to learn the Five-0 stall someday, which is one of my next goals.
The trick that truly changed everything for me was the rock to fakie. This was the trick that started it all. Once I finally committed to it, much of my fear disappeared. Riding over the coping and coming back in fakie made ramps feel much less intimidating.
With rock to fakie becoming comfortable, the next logical progression was the rock and roll. Since I already understood the movement of rocking the board onto the coping, adding the turn felt like a natural next step.
Learning the tail stall was a little more difficult. It took me an entire session to get used to the feeling of riding backwards up the ramp. However, since I already knew how to drop in, once I reached the stall position, coming back into the ramp felt very similar. The challenge was mostly getting comfortable with the approach.
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After learning tail stalls, I realized I could simply add a turn and lock both trucks onto the coping, which led me to the fakie 50-50 stall. Practicing riding up the ramp switch and fakie helped me a lot and made this trick much easier than I expected.
The next trick was the halfcab rock to fakie. By this point, I was already comfortable riding fakie because of the fakie 50-50s and tail stalls, so this trick felt very natural. It quickly became one of my favorite tricks.
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Building on that confidence, I learned the halfcab rock and roll. One day I decided to fully commit and let it rip, and it worked! Since I already had the foundation from both rock and rolls and halfcab rocks, putting everything together felt surprisingly smooth.
I also started doing ollie rock to fakie and ollie rock and rolls. These tricks basically involved adding a small ollie into movements I already knew. I am not even sure if they are considered official tricks, but they are fun to do and helped me become more comfortable with timing and board control.
The latest trick I learned is the nose stall. Technically, learning the trick was not too difficult, but mentally it was one of the hardest challenges I have faced. Going up the ramp and committing my weight onto the nose felt uncomfortable for a long time. After battling that fear, I finally learned it. Now my goal is to improve my consistency and eventually learn the nose stall revert.
Looking back, every trick built on the one before it. Each new skill increased my confidence and made the next challenge feel more achievable. What once seemed impossible gradually became part of my normal skateboarding routine.
Learning skateboard ramps has taught me much more than tricks. It has taught me patience, persistence, and the importance of committing even when something feels scary. Progress does not happen overnight, but every practice session, every fall, and every small victory has helped me become a better skateboarder.
I know I still have many goals ahead, including learning Five-0 stalls, nose stall reverts, and eventually more advanced lip tricks. Starting this journey in October 2026 at Mardyke Skatepark was the beginning of a fun and rewarding adventure, and I hope to continue challenging myself every time I step onto my skateboard.
thanks!
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