Skateboarding Tricktionary - T

Tail

Part of a skateboard - the rear kicktail. Although some skaters have an end they prefer to use as the tail, the tail is always defined as the rear regardless of which way the board may be facing.

Tailblock Slide

Grabbing the nose and pulling the board up so you are sliding just on the tail of the board; all 4 wheels are in the air.

Taildrop

From a tailstall, dropping off the obstacle by shifting your weight off it.

Tailgrab

Fairly self explanatory, and the opposite of a nosegrab; a grab trick involving gripping the tail of the skateboard with your back hand while in the air.

Tailslide

A slide on the underside of the tail only. The skateboard is at right angles to the obstacle.

Tailstall

Stalling with your weight centred on the tail. Like a tailslide without moving.

Tailstop

1. Coming to a halt by grinding the tail of the skateboard against the ground. 2. Standing on the tail when stationary, as a position to do tricks from in freestyle.

Tailtap

In vert skating, a brief tail stall on the coping of a half pipe on the way down from an air trick.

The Loop

Simply a classic loop-the-loop. Few skaters have done it, but Bob Burnquist mastered it, doing it switch and taking the roof out to essentially do a switch frontside air from one side of the loop to the other.

Tic Tac

The act of carving the skateboard repeatedly left and right in order to speed up while rolling. The front wheels are lifted between each carve causing the skateboard to make a distinctive 'tic tac' noise. If you're a beginner looking to learn how to tic tac, please see Skateboarding For Beginners, Part 2.

Toeside

Referring to a flip in the direction of the toe edge of the skateboard, or a railstand where the grip tape is facing your front. The opposite of heelside.

Tre Flip

Another name for a 360° flip.

Truck To Truck Transfer

A truck-to-truck transfer is a type of pogo or 50-50 truckstand where you effectively throw the board into a flip or rotation that results in you landing back to 50-50 or pogo on the other truck. Tommy Harward does more of these than I can even name.

Truckhook Impossible

A nosehook impossible performed by hooking your front foot behind the front trucks instead of under the nose of the board. Generally done on longer boards, where stretching to the nose can be uncomfortable, or as part of a freestyle trick called a broken fingers.

Trucks

Part of a skateboard - the mounting system for the skateboard wheels. Each consists of a base plate, hanger, axle, two cushions and two washers held together by a kingpin, and two nuts to hold on the wheels.

Truckstand

A flatland skating stance more accurately called a no handed 50-50. In a truckstand the skateboard is held almost upright with the top of the deck facing the ground slightly and balancing on one of it's kicktails. The skateboarders 'back' or bottom foot stands on the bottom truck while his 'front' or top foot is hooked on the other side of the deck to keep the skateboard upright, usually but not always near the top (it is positioned lower down when the skater wants to do a pogo.

This trick is more commonly known as a "no handed 50-50". See also the 50-50 truckstand.

Tuck Knee

Another name for a Japan Air.

TV Stand

A handstand in a pogo/truckstand position. One hand grips the back (or bottom) bolts, while another holds on to the nose of the skateboard. This is something I've never attempted or even seen done, and needless to say I imagine it's extremely difficult.

Tweak

A tweak is a general term used to describe a fine adjustment applied to a trick in order to make it more stylish or difficult (or both). Tweaks are usually applied to grab tricks by vert skaters. Some examples of specific types of tweaks are boning a trick or doing a shifty.

Twisted Flip

If you've read my articles about flatland skating you'll know all about spinning the board one way and jumping the other. The twisted flip is an advancement on this - a varial heelflip or varial kickflip with a body varial in the opposite direction to the spin of the board. In essence, a twisted flip is a boomerang with a flip thrown in for good measure.

Skateboard City has a pretty cool video of a twisted flip here.