Folks, tricking is changing. Tricks that were once talked about as pure fantasy are now being stomped like they’re no big deal. I mean come on, Zen threw a full snapu swipe knife and a shurikane in a single combo—in a battle.
So of course it’s tempting to focus our full attention on the latest insane clips. But let’s not forget: tricking has a 25-year history of rich storytelling, inspired creativity, and mind-blowing world’s firsts. And sometimes we have to look back at who we were to understand who we are now, and who we’re becoming.
So with that in mind, we at UST have put together the following list of old-school samplers that we think every tricker should know and love. A number of us have picked out a few favorites, and explained a bit about what the samplers mean to us personally, or to tricking as a whole. See for yourself below!
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Vellu - Part II: This is one of the samplers I would watch every day when I first started tricking, and for good reason!
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Inbackable | moonEmotion by Viven Youlou: This is where I saw double flips in tricking other than double backs. Such a crazy video!
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2012 Portrait by Rasmus Ott: So ahead of its time. He just tries something and it works.
- Source by Rasmus Ott: This sampler still makes me so happy. It was one of the first samplers I saw that had zero gym footage, and it was just mind-blowing. I loved the humanity of it, the elements of real life, the whole vibe. And the transitions! Scoot misleg double B?! There are a bunch that I still geek over, but no more spoilers—just watch it :)
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Unveiled by Crazy Asian: This was for the online tricking community and backyard trickers. Crazy Asian was one of the first trickers to bring higher-level gymnastics skills into tricking. This guy knows how to have a good time, and he was a part of Team FS, an old school tricking team from New York. (Seconded by Tricia Carney!)
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Unleashed by Sesshoumaru: Sean Ellis seemed to come out of NOWHERE. The first clips I saw of him were dub twists on grass, and this sampler showed that Sesh could do anything. He had the best of all worlds—advanced kicks, power tumbling, bboy power moves, swings, and all around unique combos.
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Training for Summer 2010 by Vellu: Vellu was one of the first European trickers getting into live shows, as shown in this sampler. This is also the first video of Vellu after he cut his beautiful long hair, which seemed to give him an insane boost of power. The sampler came out with the release of Distant Relatives (Damian Marley and Nas), which I was already obsessed with, which made the vibe of the sampler super enjoyable.
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Manny Brown’s 2006 Loopkicks Sampler: This sampler showcases how flexibility can be utilized for tricking. It also has a BUNCH of cool and tricky transitions, like the parafuso swing webster at 1:18. There is also one of the most epic dleg gyros at 1:30. YEW!
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Devon Ingraham-Adie’s 2012 Sampler: Beautiful sampler, beautiful corks. Devon was one of the first people “icing” their fulls and corks. There’s an ice cork in front of a rainbow at 0:52, and a 360-degree “bullet time” cork at 0:54. This sampler is quick and super satisfying, and it makes me want to trick outside!
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Atlantis Within by Mr Double ABCDEF aka Scotty Skelton: A community-defining sampler! Lots of positivity! It showcases incredible difficulty in skills. It shows the grind, the rewards for hard work, and how the process is as fun as receiving the rewards for hard work.
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Loopkicks Yellowcard Sampler: This bridged martial artists, backyard trickers, and NASKA competitors. It showcased trick culture and training philosophy for those who weren’t already in the community, and it set the standard for many years to follow.
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ARTSY by Tyler Powell: I’d play this during my early kicking sessions, or when I just wanted to feel like I was dripping with steez.
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Beauty of Tricking by AlexD: I’d watch this slo-mo rain samp when I was getting ready for school in the mornings to motivate my day.
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Karma Re-Returns by Michael Guthrie: I would always go back to this sampler for fuel, to keep building my momentum of progression in my tricks!
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Mogwai Sampler 2007/08: This sampler showed me the possibilities that tricking held. Not only is this sampler SUPER old, but it showed tricking in commercials/productions, tricking in live shows, trickers encouraging each other at sessions, and tricks and combos that are still fire even to this day. It also showed having a super fun time tricking, and making tricking your lifestyle.
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Cut the Grass by Rasmus Ott: The vibe of this sampler is so different from anything I had seen before—not hype music, but it still fits so well. I love that he is just out in the grass by himself vibing. He is also doing such difficult combos on grass, and it reminds me how amazing we can be as humans if we work for it. I also always say the words he says at the beginning even though I have zero idea what he is saying!
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Colors by Sesshoumaru: This “sampler,” if you want to call it that, re-shaped the way I think about training, and taught me that tricking can be meditative. I can still work on tricking without doing my most difficult tricks! I also love how he sets it up like fighting game combos.
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This Is Not My Car by Rasmus Ott: Probably one of the least-talked about Rasmus Ott samplers, maybe because it's one of the earliest. Here you'll see Ott demonstrating a technicality with transitions unseen by anyone else for years. One might observe how different his swing chains look from the modern, more fluid swing chains. This bounciness with mislegs, wraps, and swings really came to define what you see in Ott's tricks. I highly recommend starting here and watching the rest of his samplers to see how he hones his style.
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Growing Up by Daniel Graham: Back at this time, Danny Graham was a huge contender for one of the bests, and this sampler showcased his talent as a well-rounded tricker. He was known for his hurricane kicks, c7 twists, graham crackers (c7 twist hyperhook), insane marathon combos, and of course double Bs. At the time, triple cork had just been landed, cheat 12s were a thing of fiction, and dub dubs were still rare. Here, Danny Graham exemplified power moves in all aspects of tricking. (Watch his later samplers for dub backs and such.)
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Steve Terada’s 2004 Sampler: You can't have an old school sampler discussion without Steve Terada. An entire article can be written about the tricks he's contributed to the sport. Just watch for yourself, and note how his tricks back then could still hold their own today.
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Korean Tricksters - Ingun Yoo aka Kickgun: Oftentimes samplers show the highlights—they omit the journey, they omit the struggle we all go through to land that ONE trick. This is not one of those samplers. While Daniel Pitlock is often credited with the first cheat 12 (from btwist), Ingun Yoo is certainly the first to do it without a set up, and he provided this wonderful sampler for the rest of the world to enjoy that moment with him. If I recall correctly, this was also his debut to the tricking community outside of Korea, showing us how sharp and powerful cheat kicks can actually be.
So, what are we supposed to make of all this? For me, one of the big takeaways is that while current cultural trends shape the way we trick—remember when everyone and their mom just wanted a shuriken cutter?—we can always look to the past for a fresh dose of creative inspiration. Seriously, those samplers contain some wild shit I would never think to do.
In fact, if you’re reading this, I’m officially giving you a tricking homework assignment: looking at the samplers above, pick out one trick, transition, or combo that you’ve never done before, write it down, and give it a shot. In doing so, you’ll form a bridge between you and that person and moment in tricking history.
Lastly, remember that with every trick you throw and every clip you post, you are helping to write the grand, cosmic story of tricking. It’s a story that stretches deep into the past and far into the future, and you—yes, you—are a part of it. As my favorite poet Walt Whitman once said, “The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”
What will your verse be?
Jeremy Price is a longtime martial artist and tricker repping the Muggle Slayers and Team TrickStrong. He also writes about tricking, stunts, and heavy music for VICE, Alternative Press, and more. Follow him on Instagram at @jpricetricks.