The half cab is a simple skateboarding trick that involves a few other basic riding maneuvers. Here's how to land it fast and easy.
Skateboarding is a progressive sport that sees climbing the ladder of experience and expertise one step at a time.
You start by learning to push on a skateboard, practicing turns and tic tacs, mastering the ollie, and rolling fakie before moving to more complex and multi-axis kickflips and aerial tricks.
The half cab is somewhere between the beginner and intermediate stages, combining features of both sides.
To put it simply, it's a fakie backside 180 - you're riding switch stance and then transition to regular.
It's a maneuver in which you are riding fakie with your back foot on the tail or nose of the board and your front foot in a regular ollie position, somewhere slightly above the middle of the board.
Technically, the goal is to start riding fakie, pop up, and perform a half rotation, i.e., a 180-degree turn in the direction you're going.
As with the kickturn, the trick is to swing your shoulders, arms, and head and let your legs follow.
Then, you throw it a pop or ollie, pivoting the front wheels.
So, in order to land the half cab, you really need to master and be comfortable with these three different skills: riding fakie, kickturn, and ollie.
Half Cab 101
Let's break down the half cab to make it easier for you to practice.
- Push on your skateboard at slow to moderate speed;
- Switch to fakie;
- Bend down and adopt the ollie stance;
- Make sure your toes are within the board's limits;
- Start turning your head and swinging your arms;
- Pop your legs ollie-style;
- Level out the board mid-turn;
- Let the skateboard complete the 180-degree turn;
- Keep a low stance to absorb impact;
- Land regular and ride away;
Extra Tips
The half cab is a pretty cool way to flip your board around after doing a regular 180.
Your first pops don't necessarily need to get you very high; with time and practice,, they will get better and more dramatic.
Remember that the secret lies in turning your head and shoulders.
Lastly, make sure not to lean too far forward (wheel bite) or too far back (slip out) when you land.
The half-cab was invented by Kevin Staab. It is a variation of the Caballerial, the famous maneuver created by Steve Caballero in 1980.
Curiously, it became more popular than the original trick and was ported to other sports, such as snowboarding and BMX.
"Half Cab" is also the name of a famous skateboarding shoe model by Vans.
The Vans Half Cab shoe was first released in 1992 in collaboration with Caballero, and it became a classic in the skateboarding community thanks to its mid-top design and ankle support.