Fundamentals: Grinding

Perhaps one of skateboarding’s most intriguing aspects is that of grinding. It’s essentially when a skateboarder makes the trucks of his or her skateboard come in contact with a metal or concrete surface. A loud scraping sound usually results while the rider performs his trick. Additionally metal residue left by the trucks can often be seen on the grinded surface.

Unfortunately grinding is the number one reason why and how property is damaged by skateboarders. It often takes a considerable amount of work to make a ledge, rail, or curb grindable. Ledges need to be waxed; rails need to be sanded, etc. And once that’s been done, the surface is ready for a beating. If you live in an area that is frequented by skateboarders or even bikers and rollerbladers for that matter, you’ll often see a wall that is black with wax. Property owners, who probably need to be reminded of what’s truly important in life, see the evidence of grinding as hideous and detrimental to the “natural beauty” of their area. So why so many factors affecting it, what exactly possess skateboarders to hop on to a ledge or rail, risk bodily injury, and grind?

I think that skateboarders have a wide variety of reasons for grinding primarily depending on his or her particular style. Because grinding can be such a vague idea, I’d like to clear up some of the ways skateboarders grind. The first way is slashing the coping of a bowl or half pipe. Slashing generally refers to riding extremely fast and grinding the metal or concrete edge at the top of the ramp. This is actually the oldest type of grinding; pioneered in the 1970’s in the empty swimming pools of Southern California. See the film, Lords of Dogtown, for more information. Skaters who partake in this aspect of skating are generally the ones with a surfer’s mentality. They enjoy cruising around a skatepark feeling the all dips and curves it has to offer. Additionally, many of the fundamental grinds of street skating like the Smith grind or the Hurricane were borrowed from pool and ramp skating. The exception to this rule is the crooked grind which, by the way, is the only basic street skating grind to be adopted by ramp skaters.

Street skateboarding has taken grinding to a whole new level, primarily driven by the desire to have fun, break the laws of gravity, and innovate. Many skateboarders have grinded ridiculously long handrails and ledges like the El Toro rail or the Clipper Ledge. Others have learned to add flip tricks to their grinds to form combos, made famous by the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games. Still others have grabbed their boards prior to grinding. Whatever the case may be, grinding is a fundamental part of not just street skating but as of skateboarding as a collective whole.

So that brings me back to my original thought, why do skateboarders grind? Well truth be told, it’s a lot of fun. There is not a whole lot else in skateboarding that is as gratifying as landing a grind trick down a handrail or slashing the top of an eight foot tall bowl. In fact, grinding sets skateboarding apart from a lot of other sports. There’s really nothing comparable in things like baseball or gymnastics, which is another reason why more and more people are beginning to skateboard. Needless to say, people have different motivations for skateboarding and grinding as well.

I guess I would say to those of you who are skateboarders, Go outside and grind something. It will be a lot of fun. And for those of you who do not skate and specifically those who own property that skateboarders use, just appreciate the innovation and uniqueness of skateboarding and do not worry about the damage done, we’ll all be dead in the long run anyway.