How to Air Out of a Ramp on Roller Skates | Trick Tutorial

Hi I'm Shorty and welcome back to my channel Shorty Skate Series. I've had a few requests for airing a quarter pipe but I wanted to go over airing out of a quarter pipe first as it will help you build up to that trick. Firstly you should know how to pump, and I mean really pump so you can gain momentum. It's pumping into the transition that will help you gain the air. Here is a visual of no pumping and just coasting up the ramp, versus pumping up the ramp, versus pumping down the incline and pumping up the ramp. So you can see the differences in height pumping makes. Step one, pump to stall. And I mean stall by rolling both feet onto the coping and not stepping on. This will help you practice pumping into the transition and rolling all the way up to the coping. As you skate towards the ramp, about two meters from the start of the transition I will squat and load my legs. As I start to go up the transition I will pump by pushing the power through my legs and into my heels. However I will not fully extend my legs and will look to keep a slight bend in my knees the whole way, as this helps me to pivot my body around the coping. Remember to lift your toes to help your skates over the coping. Step two, rolling over and out. You want to do the same technique as the pump to stall but with a little bit more speed so that you will roll over the coping and out onto the deck. What you want to focus on in this step is the feeling as you ride the ramp up and your body axis pivots over the coping. This is the motion your body will be doing as you air out. A common mistake is that skaters tend to put too much weight into their toes. This brings their body axis vertical to the ramp and you end up jumping out early or boosting off your toe stops. Instead you want to ride the ramp the whole way and push through your heels. Tip, look to lift your heels as you roll off the coping so your back wheels don't catch. Step three, a little more pop. So in step two you added speed and now you want to add more pump. Pumping harder will give you the upwards momentum and the pop or airing feeling. Remember the body positioning as you ride up the ramp. Don't lean forward and think about the pumping force going through your heels. If you need a visual, think about the ramp being a foot taller than it is. You want enough pump to make it to the top. Just before you reach the coping of the real ramp, lift your knees towards your chest and the momentum will send you over the coping. Look to land by bending your knees to absorb the impact. When airing out over coping I will also lift my toes to help me clear the coping especially if it sticks out. If you're worried about coping you can try it on a ramp without it like a launch box as your wheels can stay on the ramp the whole way. Step four, going higher. All you need to do to go higher is more speed and or more pump. Also lifting your knees to your chest will give the illusion of jumping higher. You can also practice spinning out with 180s or 360s or jumping over obstacles. I hope you were able to take a couple things away from this video that will help you with airing out of a ramp. I'll look to film how to air a quarter pipe next. If you have any questions please comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Also tag me on instagram at shortstop.6 as I'd love to see your progress. Thank you for watching and please like and share this video if you found it helpful. Also don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more skating tips and tricks.