Skateboarding is cool and all, but it’s sure not easy to learn. To improve your chances of succeeding at learning new tricks quickly, let us hook you up with a little tutorial. This week, the frontside tailslide! Read carefully and remember that after the technique, the number one secret to skateboarding is practice!
Roll up to the ledge
This part of the trick is key as you need to roll at the perfect distance from the ledge in order to place your tail on it properly. Roll up to the ledge so it's parallel to your board and at a nice distance. Remember that only the back part of your board will sit on the ledge so you'll need room to turn.
The pop and lock in
When you reached the perfect pop spot that’s not too far and not too close from the obstacle, that’s your cue to get the trick going and to pop on the ledge. The pop is probably the most important part of this trick as once you’ve locked a good tail slide, the work is pretty much done. The hardest part is to get on that ledge properly.
First off, make sure that your shoulders are open and looking in front of you. Almost 90 degrees from the obstacle you’re trying to slide on. Opening your shoulders will help for the next step, which is to turn your board 90 degrees while getting your tail above the ledge. The key for locking a good tail slide is what we like to call the half rocket pop. Usually, ollies look good when they are poked and the nose is closer to the ground than the tail, but for the tailslide, you’ll want to keep your tail lower than your nose so you can drop it on the obstacle easily and put the pressure on your back foot to start sliding.
Once you’re over the obstacle with the tail of your board leaning towards its edge, it’s time to put that tail down and smack the edge of the obstacle deep in between your board and wheels so your lock and slide are solid.
The slide
That part is also very important. A good slide is what’s gonna make this trick look good. Keep your back foot on the pocket of the tail and your front foot over your front bolts. Once you get into a good lock, put all your weight on your back foot so it stays on the obstacle and you can start sliding.
While you start sliding forward on the obstacle, shift your weight to the center and try to stay as balanced as you can. Your shoulders should be aligned with your board so the motion is smooth and fluid.
The pop out and roll away
Depending on how your shoulders are placed at the end of the slide, you have two options for the pop out. You can go to fakie or just land back on your regular side. This trick tip only shows a tail slide to regular, but if you feel more comfortable keeping the rotation going to a full 180, don’t hesitate to do so.
All you have to do is keep your shoulders turning in the frontside 180 direction to land fakie. If you prefer to land forward, just turn your shoulders back so they are parallel with the obstacle and you’ll get out of the ledge or rail like it was nothing. Absorb the impact, roll away and repeat until you land the trick every try!