Q. Why is Naming Skateboarding Tricks So Confusing?

Q. Why is Naming Skateboarding Tricks So Confusing?
From Steve Cave,Your Guide to Skateboarding.

Do you ever get confused about what to call a certain skateboarding trick? To be honest, it happens to everybody. It can get frustrating, and people can even get angry about it. So why is it so confusing?

A. Skateboarding has its roots in surfing, and so a lot of skateboarding tricks borrow names from surfing - like "backside" and "frontside" turns. You ever get confused about which is which?

But, as skateboarding began to evolve on its own, piles of skateboarding-specific trick names rolled around. Take the "Ollie" for example, named after Allen "Ollie" Gelfand who invented it. A lot of skateboarding tricks got named after the skater who invented them, like Christian Hosoi's "Christ Air" or Steve Caballero's "Caballerial". The McTwist is after Mike McGill, who invented it.

Other tricks were named for what they looked like, like a "Kickflip" or a "Pop Shuvit" (you pop the board then shove it around...).

Nollie is an Ollie off the Nose. A 360 is when you spin 360 degrees.
So, the mix of skater invented names and names that make sense would be confusing enough, especially with skateboarding evolving all over the planet independently, but then you add in snowboarding. Snowboarding uses several of the same names, but differently.

For example, the Indy. I was recently corrected on this one - in Snowboarding, the Indy is the name of a certain grab, where you reach down with your back hand and grab the board between your toes. In skateboarding, an Indy looks exactly the same, but the name implies that you are spinning backside.

But, here's where it gets REALLY messy - what if no one you know knows that? So who tells you the real name then? What do you call the trick where you sail off a ramp, don't spin, and reach down and grab the board, just like in an Indy? Do you know? Most likely, you'll call it an Indy, and would you be right? Would you be mad if someone told you you were wrong?

Here's where skateboarding fights against itself a little - everything in skateboarding is about being free, independent, and without rules. There IS no ruling body for skateboarding. You can't call up the NFL of skateboarding and ask them questions. It's impossible to ever nail anything down "officially". As soon as one group says, "We're right! Listen to us!", a lot of skaters out there will turn the other way. We don't like being told what to do, including what to name things.
But on the other hand, we don't want to look dumb, and we also want to make sure we are naming tricks correctly!

So, what should you do? A lot of skaters I know get their trick names from two places - the X Games and video games. And when they disagree about the name of a trick, sometimes they fight over it. Truthfully, those aren't the best sources - sometimes they are wrong. But, if they are wrong, and then you run with what they say, and everyone says it, then are you really wrong anymore? Skateboarding is still changing - there is no immutable Holy Bible or Pope of skateboarding. At least not yet!

Really, it doesn't matter what the trick is called, so much as you have fun doing it. That's the deal. Once you're good enough, and everyone listens to what you have to say, then you can demand that your trick be called a "Bobbyflip", or whatever your name is. But for now, don't stress about it. As long as you and your friends have a name for it, you're good to go. Get out and skate!