The Science of Ollie in skateboarding

Before popping, make sure to lift your body weight using both feet. When you're standing on the ground, you can jump using only your back foot. This is because when you push down against the ground, the ground pushes you back with an equal force, and your back foot and body receive that reaction.

We humans are so used to this feeling that we tend to misunderstand how an Ollie works. Assuming you could press down the tail with just one foot. Right after you start pushing, there's nothing under the tail. So, no matter how hard you pop, nothing pushes back against your body weight. In other words, popping alone will not lift your body off the ground.

The body continues to descend until the tail reaches the ground. To make it worse, the force to pull up the front foot amplifies this downward force, resulting in a downward momentum when the tail reaches the ground. Trying to counteract such force with the instantaneous force of the tail hitting the ground is like trying to jump instantly while standing on one foot.

So what do you do? If you observe the movement of jumping with one foot closely, you'll notice that the foot continues pushing down on the ground for a certain duration of time before the body starts to lift. That's because it takes some time to cancel out the downward force on the body and generate enough upward force to lift it. In other words, you're not lifting your body with an instant pop; you're pressing down on the ground over time.

The same applies to an Ollie. You need some time to lift your body weight. To do that, you must press down on the board with both feet. When the back foot starts pushing the tail, the nose tries to come up―but the front foot pushes it down with equal force so the board stays level while pressing down on the board.

As a result, the force from both feet transfers to the wheels and pushes against the ground, which creates the reaction that lifts your body. Keep in mind that a pop comes after your body starts to lift.

They often say, "Use the snap of the ankle," when explaining how to pop. However, this does not mean you need to focus only on the motion of the ankle. If you consider the biomechanics of a human when jumping, you'll notice that the final point of contact with the ground is typically the toe. Therefore, in a motion that lifts the body weight, the ankle naturally performs a snapping motion.

In addition to the natural mechanics of the human body, you can maximize your pop by consciously using your ankle at the moment your back leg is fully extended.

As for the placement of the back foot, it doesn't need to be overly precise. In general, placing the ball of your foot near the center of the tail's edge makes it easier to perform a higher Ollie. However, since people have different foot shapes and shoe sizes, it may not always look like your foot is perfectly centered. What matters most is finding a foot placement that feels stable and allows you to pop comfortably.

And after popping, the board does not rise vertically; it lifts toward your body, pivoting around the tail. You can lift the tail most efficiently by pushing the nose in the opposite direction of the board's momentum to come up.

It's just like the bottle flip. When you throw a bottle and flick the cap downward right as you let go, it flips effectively. But if you try to pull it sideways, it won't flip. This means that to lift the tail, the nose must have enough energy to come up, and you have to apply force against it.

To maximize the lifting force of the nose, it is effective to move the center of gravity slightly toward the nose before popping. By popping like so, the force of the back foot will naturally be directed toward the tail, causing the board to rise more strongly than when the tail is popped vertically.

Once the nose lifts, push it with your front foot. From your point of view, try to press it straight down in relation to where your front foot is. There's a common belief that you need to push the front foot forward to "bone out" an Ollie, so some people may hesitate to press straight down. But if you compare the position of your head and your front foot, you'll notice that the front foot is diagonally in front of you. That means even if you press it straight down from your point of view, the force includes downward and forward components already, so you don't have to worry about pushing it forward. Furthermore, as explained, you can lift the tail effectively by pushing the front foot in this direction.

Suppose you were able to push your front foot exactly horizontally. The foot may move horizontally, but as a result of lifting the center of gravity, both the body and the entire leg will continue to rise. Consequently, the front foot will move diagonally upward, and you will not be able to pull up the tail, just like you can't flip a bottle by pulling the cap horizontally.

Also, the timing of pushing down the front foot is a crucial factor. Even if you push it down in the same direction, the results will be completely different depending on the timing. In order to effectively pull up the tail, you must press down on the nose immediately after sliding it up while the board still has the energy to lift.

Imagine you push the nose when the board is already descending. If you push down on the nose at the same speed as its descending speed, the board will not receive any force, and the tail won't lift. And if you push it down faster than its falling speed, it will indeed cause the tail to lift, but it will also increase the overall downward speed of the skateboard. This is why, in some Ollies, the skater lands on the nose first―because they try to push the front foot too aggressively while the board is already descending.

In other words, what's most important for boning out your Ollie is not how hard you push your front foot forward but rather how quickly you can transition from lifting your front foot to pushing it downward.

The tail lifts due to the difference between the board's upward movement and the front foot's downward push. In order to maximize this effect, slide up your front foot to bring the board higher and increase the upward momentum. Even before you reach the peak of your Ollie, you must be ready to press it down. Don't be obsessed by the movement of the front foot too much, though. Once again, the first step is to lift your body weight.

Once the motion of the front foot is complete, lift your back foot. Try to bring it closer to your groin; this causes the entire leg to tilt inward, which helps maximize the lift of the tail.

However, if you are duck-footed, even if you lift your back foot, the toe tends to stay low, which can interfere with the force of the tail to lift. To avoid this, it is recommended that you twist your entire back leg inward as you lift it. This way, instead of the toe, the side of your back foot makes contact with the board, allowing you to lift the tail higher more effectively.

Bringing your back foot higher also moves it forward and plays an important role in bringing the board back underneath your center of gravity, especially when you bone your Ollie.

As the body begins to descend, the back foot moves toward the tail, widening the stance in an attempt to support the body weight. This movement pulls the board back underneath the center of gravity.

Be careful: if you tilt your body axis or if you push the board too far forward, you won't be able to bring the board back underneath your body.