The No Comply and the 180 No Comply
By Mario Rubalcaba

The No Comply suddenly appeared on the scene at the 1986 Oceanside Pro-Am when Neil Blender and others began popping their boards over slanted parking blocks and achieving a loft not even the ollie could match at the time. The no comply is somewhat like an ollie, except that you slip your front foot off the heel edge of the board as the front end flips up, followed by the tail, etc. You can think of it as an ollie boneless one, legitimized by the fact that no hands get anywhere near the board.

The no comply can be done at almost any speed, but medium to fast works best. Rolling along the flat ground, position your back foot on the middle of the tail and press down as you slide your front foot over the heel edge. Your front foot is holding the front of the board down, but the moment it slips over the edge the nose snaps up under the pressure. As your front foot sets down on the ground, step forward and scoop the now inclined and slightly airborne board with your back foot - still planted on the tail. The nose of the board will bounce against the side of your knee if you get a really good pop. Get used to it - it only hurts the first couple times. As you hop forward, shove the board downward with your knee and hop up with your planted (front) foot and set it back on the front of the board, just where it all began. The no comply can be done up curbs or other low to medium height objects, and many variations are possible.

The 180 no comply is a no comply with a 180 twist of the board and body so that when you step back onto the board you're now rolling backwards. It's a lot like a 180 ollie, and in many ways it's easier than a straight no comply because your body and the board both arc in a natural frontside curve. To do a 180 no comply wind your upper body a little by reaching your leading arm across your torso, and swing back frontside as you step off with your front foot and the board pops up. When your foot hits the ground, pivot around on the ball of your foot and swing your back foot - still firmly on the tail - around so that the nose of the board sort of hovers between your legs as it swings around. When the back wheels are now in front, set the board down with your foot on the tail, step off with your other foot - still on the ground - and set it on the board where it was in the beginning. With the board swinging 180 degrees, the nose almost stays in the same place, so there's less hopping to get it back on the board as there is for a straight no comply. And with the wide arc of the back foot, the nose doesn't achieve the loft it could on a straight no comply, so your knees get less abuse.

Click here for Quicktime (231k) or here for an MPEG (198k) video clip of the 180 no comply.


The Frontside Tailslide
By Mike Manzoori


The frontside tailslide is a trick that, although difficult, can be learned in stages and worked up to. It is useful to be comfortable with the frontside 180 ollie, though you won't need to turn around all the way. Practice landing in the tailslide position by riding at the curb slowly and ollieing frontside and landing your tail flat on the top of the curb with the wheels hanging back over the curb. Once you're comfortable landing with your wheels up like that and your weight centered over the tail, try it with a little more speed and roll at the curb almost parallel to it. The faster you go and the more parallel you are to the curb, the longer you'll slide. Once you do get the hang of sliding, get a feel for how long you can push it before the tail slows down and locks in place. You'll want to begin shifting your weight back over the board as it slows down so that you can come off the curb with at least some speed, before it stops completely.

Once you have the frontside ollie tailslide wired on curbs, take it to a ledge or something a little taller. Also, try swinging your torso frontside as you ollie into the tailside position, and instead of shifting your weight back over the nose to come off the object, push the tail ahead of you while bringing the nose underneath and behind you to 180 off.

Click here for Quicktime (215k), or here for an MPEG (198k) video clip of the frontside ollie tailslide.


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