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This is where most of you skaters fall under. Here we'll go over some moves that require you to be in the know of things. We'll try to teach you some common tricks and also give you room for your own imagination to push you to higher ground( or shall we say air!) To keep with the same format, I'll first start out with things we will assume you are proficient at... if you find yourself uncomfortable with the following moves or do not know what they are refer the beginner section of vert riding.

Things to know

So you're tired of going up and down. To add a little more excitement to your rides try throwing in some variations to all your basic moves. They are:

360s
Fakie 360s
180 stalls
Stall 180s off
Grinding the coping
Any and every combination of the above
Getting some real air!

360s

This is a fairly easy move for those who can do them on the ground. Remember all moves learned on the ground will improve your chances of success on the vert.

The 360 should only be tried on halfpipes that actually have a vert section. Pump the vert till you're reaching the coping on either side. The 360 attempt should begin as soon as you leave the transition area. It is important to start here to give you the time to complete the turn before you hit the transition on the way back down. This beginning time is no longer crucial once you start getting air above the coping but for now make sure you commit as soon as hit vertical. The crucial area here is timing and commitment. Don't think of yourself as being vertical, rather look at the perspective relative to the ramp. In this light you are not vertical at all, if fact its like skating on the ground. Now just as if you were on the ground, do a 360, making sure to take your hands from out to in(from the body.) As I said earlier the timing is important as well as commitment. Give 100% there is room to pull it off! You want to finish the 360 before hitting the transition area. Coming down the transition at an angle backwards is not easy to control. A clue to timing is this. If you haven't passed 180 degrees before you are on your way back down, you've done it too slow and your chances of completing the move are minimal. Remember at 180 degrees you should be seeing the ramp below you. Once the 360 is complete and you are facing the sky above, put your feet in a spread stance from forward to back. You are now coming down backwards and the spread feet stance will give you stability. Ride down backwards like normal.

fakie 360s

There's nothing to this. The hardest part of a fakie 360 is being comfortable going up the ramp backwards. Once you are, you're set. In fact, you may find these easier due to the fact that once you've completed the 360 you'll be coming down the ramp forwards! So just hit it, go up backwards, and just like a normal 360 commit yourself to a total spin.

180 stalls

This is a basic, basic trick. As you drop in and head up the other side, turn quickly as you hit the coping so that you will land in a 'backside' stance. Make sure to look down at your feet so that you can spot your landing, and be careful to keep your weight above the coping. Otherwise you will go falling down on the ramp and hurt. (heh)

Stall 180s off

Drop in and do a forward (frontside) stall on the coping. Keeping your weight above the coping (so you are just standing there), turn your waist at least a quarter of a turn and look directly down the ramp. Using your head to keep you going the right direction, do a little hop straight up, and turn following your upper body. Just be careful not to push off too much or you will miss the transition.

Grinding the Coping

You'll like this! Objective: slide across the coping as you would a rail or curb on the street. The approach here is what will make you or break you. As with all rail slides the sliding part is the easy part. Unlike street however you cannot approach the bar at 90 degrees. The trick is to get as close to 90 degrees as possible. Usually 45 will do it. As you come up the ramp, start heading for the coping at an angle(45.) then instead of doing a 90 degree jump to land on the rail do a 45 one (or whatever is needed to get you parallel to the bar.) Keep your feet in wide stance and ride out the slide. At the end of your slide you will come to a stop. Take this moment like any other stall and leave the coping in your preferred fashion.

Variations!

Thats right! start throwing all these things together in different orders. Do em backwards! Do em half-backwards! example: pump the vert, 180-stall, pump to the other side and 180->backside, 180 off, finish with a fakie 360 on the other side.

Air Air Air!!!!

Ok this is the deal. You can't get air, because you won't let yourself! Seriously thats it! Its all a mental block. So why read this! well we're going to give you some tips on overcoming that mental block. Here goes... Why is it that you can pump up a big ramp all the way to the coping but you can't get air on a small ramp... Try thinking of the small one as a big one! When you pump, focus on a spot in the air, a few feet above the coping, now pump as hard as you think you need to get to that spot! walaah! you're there! Remember your pumping fundamentals, pump with the legs, don't try and stroke to get speed just squat and push!!! Remain calm, while you attain air, pretend there is a ramp there and your riding it just like if you were below the coping. Try keeping your feet tucked in at first so you will stay in the confines of the ramp, then when you get back down to the ramp, simply push your feet back out to hit the ramp and ride down...

As with all tricks there comes the mental aspect. This is like backward stair-bashing, easier on the body than on the mind. Just concentrate and commit. If you think about it too long you've doomed yourself. As your tricks become more complex you find that you just have to let your body go through the motions. If you try and think each step of the move out for too long you'll psyche yourself into failing. Let it go, try something easier, then come back to it and let yourself go!!