beginner // manuals
Nose Manual
Also known as Nose Manny
The reverse of a manual — balancing on the front two wheels with the tail lifted in the air.
The Nose Manual is a beginner Manuals trick. Most skaters land their first one within 3-8 weeks of consistent practice.
Spec
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Complexity
- Learn time
- 3-8 weeksⓘ
- Category
- Manuals
- Stance
- regular
Your progress
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What the tutorials teach
All three tutorials agree that the nose manual lives or dies on foot placement: the front foot must land flat across the nose with the ankle center (not the toe tip) over the bolts. The Braille video is the clearest step-by-step for beginners, emphasizing line-to-line flat-ground practice before taking the trick to a curb. Skate IQ adds the single most common failure mode, straightening the back leg pushes the hip out and ends the manual instantly. Whythetrick goes deepest on the biomechanics, explaining the toe-first landing reflex and why you must counter it by loading heel-side weight on touchdown.
- Front foot flat on the nose with the ankle bone over the bolts, not the toe hanging off the tip
- Both knees bent throughout, never let the back leg straighten or the hip will drift and the trick ends
- Ollie only as high as needed to clear the ledge, a lower controlled pop is much easier to land in balance
- Load heel-side weight immediately on landing to counteract the natural toe-first reflex that tips the nose down
Synthesized from the top video tutorials. Watch them
Steps
- 1
Approach and set up
Roll at a comfortable speed. Place your front foot over the nose bolts and your back foot near the middle of the board.
- Force
- ●○○○○
- Direction
- forward
- Weight
- centered
TipHaving your back foot slightly more forward than a regular stance helps with control. - 2
Press onto the nose
Push down on the nose with your front foot to lift the tail off the ground.
- Force
- ●●●○○
- Direction
- forward
- Weight
- front
TipUse a controlled push — not a stomp. The tail should rise smoothly. - 3
Balance and roll
Find the narrow balance point with the tail about 2–3 inches up. Use micro-adjustments in your back foot to prevent nose-diving.
- Force
- ●●○○○
- Direction
- forward
- Weight
- front
TipLean very slightly forward to maintain the angle. - 4
Exit cleanly
Shift your weight back to bring the tail down level.
- Force
- ●●○○○
- Direction
- back
- Weight
- centered
TipThe exit is harder than the entry. Practice just the exit motion first.
Common mistakes
Can't get the tail up
- What
- You press on the nose but the tail doesn't lift.
- Why
- Not enough commitment — weight isn't actually over the nose.
- Fix
- On flat ground, practice pressing the nose down deliberately until you feel the balance point.
Nose hitting the ground
- What
- The nose slams into the ground mid-manual.
- Why
- Lost back foot counterbalance — too much weight on the front foot.
- Fix
- Keep your back foot active as a counterweight at all times, not just resting.
Common problems
The tail slams immediately — I can't even get to balance
- Why
- Too much forward lean — you're past the nose balance point before you find it.
- Fix
- Shift weight forward incrementally. Find the tipping point just before the tail lifts completely and hold there. Your front foot pressure controls everything.
I can nose manual but can't get in or out cleanly
- Why
- Entry and exit require weight shifts that break the nose manual balance.
- Fix
- Practice stationary first — just hold the nose manual. Then work entry/exit separately. Getting in: ollie slightly forward. Getting out: pop the tail back down with a small ollie.
My nose scrapes every time instead of staying up
- Why
- You found the balance point but the scraping means you're right at the edge, not on top of it.
- Fix
- Find the balance point half an inch further back from where the nose would scrape. Use the sound as feedback — scraping means you're too far forward.
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Community clips
How other skaters land the Nose Manual. Hype the ones you rate — the most hyped becomes this trick’s cover in the catalog.
Why this works
The mechanics behind the trick
- Board
- The nose manual uses the nose as the fulcrum. The front trucks bear all the weight while the tail lifts. Your back foot is the counterbalance that prevents nose-diving.
- Feet
- Your front foot controls the angle of the nose — more pressure lifts the tail higher. Your back foot is the crucial fine-tuner that prevents the nose from slamming into the ground.
- Weight
- This is harder than a manual because the balance window is narrower — the nose plate is smaller than the tail, giving you less margin for error.
Frequently asked
- How long does it take to learn a Nose Manual?
- Most skaters land their first nose manual within 3-8 weeks of consistent practice, once you can manual consistently.
- What should I learn before the Nose Manual?
- The nose manual builds on Manual. Get that consistent first, since the nose manual reuses the same pop, balance, or flick.
- Is the Nose Manual hard to learn?
- The nose manual is a beginner trick. It gets much easier once you can already manual.
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