Almost every aggressive inline grind belongs to one of two families, depending on which part of the skate touches the obstacle. If you learn the two families, a trick name like "topside mizou" stops sounding like gibberish and starts describing exactly where your feet go.
Soul grinds: on the soul plate
In a soul grind, at least one skate turns parallel to the obstacle and slides on its soul plate, the flat outside edge of the frame and boot. The soul foot carries most of your weight, so lean slightly back over it.
- Soul: the back skate souls and the front skate locks into its H-block. Nearly every soul trick starts here.
- Makio: a soul on one foot, with the front skate lifted. It's the trick this shop is named after.
- Mizou: the soul foot leads instead of trailing.
- Acid: a soul with the front skate grinding on its outside frame.
- Topsoul: the soul skate reaches over and grinds on the far, topside edge.
Groove grinds: in the H-block
In a groove grind, the skate sits perpendicular to the obstacle and the rail or ledge locks into the H-block, the gap between the middle wheels. Groove grinds feel more stable on rails because the frame holds you in place. This is where an anti-rocker setup helps.
- Unity: a frontside with your legs crossed.
- Torque: a frontside on one foot.
- Royale: the back skate rolls its ankle over onto its outside edge.
- Backslide: a royale on one foot.
Topside, alley-oop and true spin
Three modifiers stack on top of either family:
- Topside: the skate grinds on the far side of the obstacle.
- Alley-oop: you approach from the side you aren't facing.
- True spin: you spin into the grind in the unnatural direction.
Stack them and you get names like "alley-oop topside mizou", which is what a kindgrind is.
Which family to learn first
Start with a frontside on a low ledge, waxed. It's the easiest groove grind and teaches you to lock in. Then learn a soul on the same ledge and try sliding your weight onto the soul foot until you can lift the front skate. That's your first makio.
Wear the trick
Our apparel is drawn from these tricks. The Truespin Topside Tee is a topside soul on a handrail, the Backside Torque Tee is a torque down a big-drop ledge, and the Grind Index Tee lists fourteen grinds, from Soul to Kindgrind, on the back. Every piece is printed to order.
The full list, with all fourteen tricks and how to do each, is in the aggressive inline trick glossary.