Early Grab
also known as: Early Grab Air
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Shown for a regular-footed rider. Teal ring + arrow = the rider's facing direction; teal band = the tail; a dot is where a hand holds the board - bright yellow for the front hand, amber for the back one, which is the whole difference between a mute and an indy. Board and rider rotate independently - each follows its own component. Drag to orbit.
How it works
The original air technique: the rider grabs the board before leaving the coping and carries it into the air by hand, no ollie required. Every air before Gelfand's no-handed pop worked this way - the grab replaces the ollie as the mechanism keeping board and feet together, so the takeoff is a lift rather than a pop. It survives today as a beginner's gateway to airs and a deliberate old-school stylistic choice.
Step by step
- Ride up the transition with speed, crouching earlier than you would for an ollied air.
- Grab the board (indy or mute position) while the wheels are still on the ramp, just below the coping.
- Lift board and body together off the lip, the grab holding the deck to your feet.
- Float the arc holding the grab, steering with the grabbing arm.
- Release as you descend past the coping and set the wheels down on the transition.
Body mechanics
| Front foot | Presses into the grip as the hand takes hold on the ramp surface. |
|---|---|
| Back foot | On the tail, lifting with the grab at takeoff instead of popping. |
| Shoulders | Dip toward the grabbing side before the lip, then level through the air. |
| Arms | Grabbing hand is the trick's engine - it carries the board off the coping; free arm leads the arc. |
| Gaze | At the coping through takeoff, then down the wall to the re-entry. |