Pogo Sticking has various different “styles,” comparable to most other extreme sports. Much like Skateboarding and BMX, pogoing has a huge potential for Street. Unlike others though, is the fact that pogo sticks are also able to do tricks with no forward momentum at all. Regardless of which style you choose to pursue, we’ll have the info to help you. Check out this breakdown of the different styles below!
Big Air
Ryan O’Malley with a Switch Cheese; Daniel Mahoney with a Suicide No Hander;
Bryan Pognant with an Under Leg Bar Spin; Fred Grzybowski with a No Handed Backflip.
Big Air is the most modern and popular style of pogo sticking today. It involves using a Big Air pogo stick (generally a Vurtego) and consists of doing tricks and flips sometimes 8+ feet in the air. It is by far the most dangerous style of this sport, but often times the most rewarding and visually appealing. Big Air encompasses many different tricks, from simple Grabs all the way up to the biggest Stickflip variations. Big Air is truly for the extreme sport athlete looking for an adrenaline rush and is an excellent source of fun.
Tech
Earl Pote with a Casper; Michael Brookhart with a Peg Tap variation;
Nick Ryan with a Peg Tap; Ryan O’Malley with a Super Rad Peg Tap.
Tech is the oldest style of pogo sticking and where the sport gets its roots from. It involves using a classic spring powered pogo stick (beefed up for modern tricking) and consists of doing low ground tricks that require incredible balance and overall skill. Tech is for those who want a real difficult challenge, but not necessarily a big adrenaline rush.
Street
Dalton Smith with a Stickflip down a stairset; Michael Mena with a Tilt Peg Stall;
Tone Staubs with a Grind; Nic Patino with a Can-Can Peg Grab over a rail gap.
Street is doing either Big Air or Tech while using obstacles you can find in everyday spots outside- this can be stair sets, rails, ledges, gaps, walls, etc. There is a big difference between Big Air Street and Tech Street. Big Air Street is using a Big Air stick to do insanely dangerous tricks or flips up or down stairs, ledges, and gaps, and also grinding or stalling big rails and ledges. Tech Street is doing very precise tricks on generally lower ground ledges or gaps, and also includes grinding lower rails and ledges.
“Well Rounded”
Nick McClintock with a Footplant; Earl Pote with a McGryz;
Tone Staubs with a Judo; Daniel Mahoney with a Handplant.
Well rounded is a term we use to classify a pogoer who is seasoned in every style of the sport. They can go from flipping a Vurtego to doing peg tap variations on a Tech stick. This is an incredible skill that used to be the norm back in the day, but seems to be dying out recently. BE WELL ROUNDED! In order to truly understand and appreciate the sport of pogo sticking, you should try to be a seasoned Well Rounded pogoer. Being good at Tech will help you land technical tricks in Big Air that a strictly Big Air rider would find difficult, and being good at Big Air will help you stomp difficult air tricks or commit to bigger street tricks on a Tech Stick versus a strictly Tech pogoer.