How To Practice Manuals Skateboarding

What this video teaches

Spencer Nuzzi teaches a crack-in-the-pavement drill as a bridge between flat-ground manuals and scary full-pad approaches. Rather than just balancing with wheels stuck in a crack, he recommends treating the crack as an invisible manual pad and actually popping a small ollie over it into a manual, this is more realistic than parking in a crack and directly builds the commitment and timing needed for real pad work. He also demonstrates a 'side approach' confidence builder for manual pads.

Key tips

• 1Use a crack in the pavement as a practice 'invisible manual pad', ollie over the crack and hold the manual, more realistic than parking in the crack
• 2Practicing over a crack still applies even if you are advanced; the crack drill transfers directly to real pad work
• 3A side approach to the manual pad (entering from the side rather than straight on) reduces the risk of hanging up and builds confidence before going straight
• 4Tic-tac into a nose position before attempting nose manuals, gets your body accustomed to the weight transfer without a full commit
• 5When learning, it is OK if you don't hold the manual all the way through the crack-drill; the pop timing and body position are the benefit
• 6Approaching from the side of an obstacle lets you get the feel of the elevation without the hang-up fear from a direct ollie onto it
• 7Practice in a low-stakes environment first (empty parking lot, quiet crack) so mental blocks don't interfere with learning body position
• 8The same practice techniques for regular manuals transfer to learning nose manuals, switch manuals, and trick-in trick-out combos

Summarized from the video transcript.