Learn the lipslide: prerequisites, five stages from the boardslide on a low curb to a short lipslide, typical mistakes and why big rails are no place to learn.
In the lipslide you slide across an edge on the underside of the deck as in the boardslide, only that the back truck is guided over the obstacle. You learn it in five stages, and the honest answer is: it is the boardslide with different timing, but on another side of the edge.
The lipslide is one of the tricks where the edge does not forgive mistakes. If you can boardslide securely, you recognise the position. The difference lies in the approach and in which truck goes over the edge.
What competitions reward in lines is in the criteria: in the Olympic formats five judges rate, among other things, difficulty, variety, consistency and execution as well as use of the course and obstacles [1]. A clean lipslide that fits into a line counts more than a wobbly one on the biggest rail.
How long it takes is experience: if you boardslide securely, you often find the lipslide on a low ledge after a few weeks.
Ride the boardslide on the low ledge until you know the rhythm of approach, turn and exit. Milestone: 5 of 10 boardslides with rolling away.
Standing, put the board across the ledge: deck centre on the edge, the back truck over the edge, front truck in front. Feel how the weight lies. Milestone: 8 of 10 times held five seconds without the board tipping.
From the position you turn back, hop down, land with both feet and roll away. Milestone: 10 clean exits.
Little speed, approach slightly diagonally, ollie, turn, land with the deck centre, slide 30 to 50 centimetres. Milestone: 5 of 10 attempts with an audible slide and rolling away.
More speed, longer ledge. Weight central, shoulders parallel to the edge. Higher only when the short slide sits. Milestone: 3 slides over one metre in a row.
Film check: Film yourself from the side doing the lipslide and check whether the shoulders stay parallel to the edge and the hips lie over the edge. Count the slide length in the clip: 30 to 50 centimetres are enough for the first stages. If the board hangs up, the clip shows which truck hits the edge, and you can adjust approach and height.
Session structure (experience): Warm up with ten boardslides, then practise the position standing, the lipslide only after that. Plan at most three sets of five attempts, wax the edge before each set and end the session at the first sloppy landing.
In the lipslide you fall across the edge, and forearms and head are close to the obstacle. In a survey of 197 skaters in Spain, of 323 injuries 13.6 percent happened on ledges and 2.5 percent on rails [2]; these are shares of accidents, not risk per hour. In an Australian analysis of 5,026 injuries, 44 percent were fractures, 56 percent of them of the upper limb [3]. Register data from Sweden confirm that fractures of the upper extremity are the most common and "skateboard elbow" is a pattern of its own [4].
Fatigue counts as a risk factor [5], and wrist and forearm make up more than 50 percent of injuries [6]. Practise only on low ledges, never on high rails, stairs or gaps. The guide gives no instruction for large obstacles, it explains and motivates, it does not replace supervised training.
Make the exit your signal: if you notice during the slide that it is getting too much, you jump off immediately. A lipslide with an emergency exit often stays clean. Film yourself from the side: if the shoulders stay parallel to the edge and the hips lie over the edge, you are right.
A lipslide is a slide where you slide across an edge on the underside of the deck and guide the back truck over the obstacle. It is related to the boardslide but uses another side of the edge.
In five stages: refresh the boardslide, the position standing, exit first, short lipslide, longer and higher. A boardslide on a low ledge is the prerequisite. Start small.
In the boardslide the front truck goes over the obstacle, in the lipslide the back one. This changes approach, timing and direction of gaze.
So low that you get on it securely right away: about knee height. It only gets higher when the short slide works. There is no study on this.
There are no data on this. Both tricks fall under edge tricks where forearms and head are close to the obstacle. What counts is the build-up: low edge, wax, exit first and protective gear.
Learning the Nosegrind: Over the Edge on the Front Truck Only