yes, they have airbags, and other training facilities that make learning much less scary and really up your confidence. the biggest difference tho is that you can try your hardest to learn a trick from a vid, but having a professional critique your technique and point out what aspects you need to fix helps you learn tricks way faster and understanding the maneuver completely allows for much more consistency. if you are just in it to learn the trick, going to a place where their job is to teach tricks is the easiest way to learn for most people.