How To Balance Manuals
How To Balance Manuals by VLSkate is a skateboarding tutorial for the Manual. A concise VLSkate breakdown of the mechanics of manual balance, covering the sweet spot, holding a still body position, and why some skaters find regular manuals easier while others gravitate to nose manuals.
What this video teaches
A concise VLSkate breakdown of the mechanics of manual balance, covering the sweet spot, holding a still body position, and why some skaters find regular manuals easier while others gravitate to nose manuals. The key cue is finding the sweet spot, the precise balance point where you can relax and hold the manual with minimal effort, and that this point feels different for everyone due to body proportions and natural stance.
Key tips
- Find the sweet spot: the exact balance point where you can relax and hold the manual without constant fighting; this is the whole skill
- Try holding still in the manual position (not rolling) first to understand what the sweet spot feels like before adding movement
- Some skaters are naturally better at regular manuals, others at nose manuals, try both and develop whichever feels more natural first
- Holding on to something (wall, fence) while getting into the manual position helps you find the sweet spot safely
- Rolling manuals are often easier than stationary ones because forward momentum provides slight stabilization
- Keep your body as still as possible once in the sweet spot; the less you move, the longer you hold it
- Practice on a smooth, flat surface to remove pavement variables while you learn what the balance point feels like
- Over time, the balance point becomes muscle memory, short daily practice sessions build it faster than long infrequent ones
Summarized from the video transcript.
Teaches
Manual