The Most Annoying Tricks of All Time

They always make it look SO easy. All the guys in the videos and samplers, I mean. Chucking dubs like they eat them for breakfast, throwing snapus left and right, and all perfectly mixed into combos too. Seriously, that’s nuts. But in a way, you’re okay with it. They’ve worked really hard for those tricks, and everyone agrees that they really are tough. So good for them!

But here’s what you’re NOT okay with: seeing a bunch of tricks that don’t look too hard, but for some reason, they’re FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE whenever you try them. Oh yes, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there, and I think it’s time that we vent some of our frustration. So, here is what often goes through our heads while practicing the most relatively simple yet most annoyingly difficult tricks of all time.

1) Jacknife. Can someone explain to me why this is so hard? It’s literally just TWO KICKS. TWO. You just jump, kick once, turn a little, and kick again. Simple. But for some reason, mine always come out sloppy. If you turn too fast, the first kick doesn’t come out, but if you turn too slow, the second kick is god-awful. I hate everything.

2) Touchdown raiz. Okay so you lean down, push off, and WHOOPS that was way too high. Didn’t touch down at all, it was just sort of a raiz. Let’s try this again OW MY ARM. Just jammed my hand straight into the ground, guess I was too low. Third try is the charm? NOPE. Just as bad. This is what touchdown raiz practice is like. And just wait til you try swinging out of it. That’s a whole new struggle, my friend.

3) Loser/Webster. So you’re telling me that I need to reach up and back with my leg, while keeping my chest up? Do you realize that’s like physically impossible?? Forget this trick, I can barely even combo with it anyway. Even though it does look cool when you’re trying to show off…

4) Cheat 900. Okay so I’m spotting the wall right there. So the kick should come out right in front of me, right at the wall. Easy. I just turn jump and CRAP the kick came out too early!! Why won’t my leg just stay down until it’s time to kick? WAIT YOUR TURN, LEG. My hips aren’t even turning over, so I’ve got a crappy outside crescent kick instead of a round. UGH let’s try again…

5) Gumbi. I mean this is just a touchdown raiz with two hands instead of one, and I think that also means it’s twice as awkward. There are no words to describe how weird this trick is. Does not compute. I’m done.

6) Coin drop. You thought you’d work some groundwork into your combos? You thought you’d start with coin drop? WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG. It’s a droppy-spinny-springy thing, and it makes ZERO sense until you start to get the feel of it. And you will, but it feels like it might take all the tutorials in the world to finally get it.

7) Jesus flip. I need to get airborne, stall/stop my rotational momentum… And THEN do a backflip? That sounds terrifying. Who would do that. Why. Okay, here it goes… Aaaaand I just did a normal backflip. My body doesn’t like this whole “stalling” thing. Neither does my mind. In fact, no part of me likes this. But the move just looks SO COOL and it shouldn’t be that hard!! Let’s go again…

8) Corkscrew. For many of us, this is the mother of all easy-but-actually-hard tricks. You kick up, you twist, you flip, you land. All in one smooth motion, are you insane?? Trust me folks, when it clicks, it clicks. But until then, corks will make you cry. It was the great Cory Dunson of Tennessee Tricking (TNT) who once said, “You don’t get corks until you hate yourself.” Truer words were never spoken.

The bottom line is this: certain tricks only look easy because the best trickers have drilled them a ton. So don’t blame yourself if you’re struggling with these moves! Even if they are mostly considered intermediate-level, they are still really tricky, and everyone has to put in their time to master them. You’ll get it one day soon, you really will. But in the meantime, just know that everyone else had the exact same struggles, even if it doesn’t seem like it. You’ve got the strength and support of the entire tricking community behind you, so good luck!!