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Skateboarding => Skate Questions => Trick Tips => Topic started by: rocklobster on October 20, 2020, 08:53:03 AM
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Been trying to apply the same principals of a frontside tailslide to the backside variation.
- Drag sideways instead of up
- Aim to lock my tail closer to the start of the ledge rather than too far ahead to avoid the board slipping out under me
- Look forward with front shoulder pointing forward
I can slide and roll out fakie but it's hit or miss, either my tail missed or the deck slips out front under me. Whenever I get a solid lock in I don't slide and stick. Feels like I have all the ingredients but the cake isn't coming out right.
Ledge had been waxed sufficient on the top and sides. Ledge I'm practicing on is low, between ankle and shin height so it always feels like I'm slapping my tail in too hard and hence not sliding
Any and all help appreciated.
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Been battling bsts for years and I m essentially in the same boat as you. I am not sure if that qualifies me for giving you tipps on it, but I heard a lot of them, so here we go:
When you think your lower body is twisted enough, twist it some more. Make sure your shoulders stay parallel to the ledge while your have all your weight on your backfoot. It´s kind of like you are bowling but push that weight on your backfoot as hard as you can. The preassure has to come from your hip (not your foot) and the shoulders are there to create some kind of counterweight so you don´t slip out and can control it. Also try to jump into the slide and not a lot higher than the ledge...
Maybe some of that helps, but as I said... I have been practicing and discussing backtails for a long time and still work on them ;)
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Make sure you don't BS your BS 180s.
Mentioned above, turn more than you think and don't be afraid to stand on top of what you're sliding.
Look over your shoulder when sliding if you're worried about going blind.
For tranny:
turn even MORE than you expect. worst case scenario you start to turn bs into the tranny but you can probably yank it back under you for a normal drop/roll in.
Get those wheels screeching like busenitz and you'll know you're doing it right
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Been battling bsts for years and I m essentially in the same boat as you. I am not sure if that qualifies me for giving you tipps on it, but I heard a lot of them, so here we go:
When you think your lower body is twisted enough, twist it some more. Make sure your shoulders stay parallel to the ledge while your have all your weight on your backfoot. It´s kind of like you are bowling but push that weight on your backfoot as hard as you can. The preassure has to come from your hip (not your foot) and the shoulders are there to create some kind of counterweight so you don´t slip out and can control it. Also try to jump into the slide and not a lot higher than the ledge...
Maybe some of that helps, but as I said... I have been practicing and discussing backtails for a long time and still work on them ;)
Interested, I was thinking about how the hips are really important in the rotation, just dragging with your feet isn't enough and it causes your upper torso to get left behind. I guess getting the hips helps complete the rotation across the body from the waist up so your shoulders and head follow suit. I've tried getting the steez position (shoulders parallel, looking back) but it all pose not slide plus no lock. I guess there could be something about getting the whole body into it so the forward momentum isn't lost during the lock.
Edit: I managed to get more comfortable with FS Tailslides by opening up my hips more (focusing on the dragging sideways), I'll try this same principal the next time I'm at the park.
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the first thing that came to mind when learning back tails was to ollie into 5-0, then turn
https://youtu.be/Fs6wIMYH0eM?t=91
next, remove the 5-0 and flow into position in one motion
that didn't work for me
instead, i would do back tails like back lips. rather than pivoting from the back truck, i'd whip the tail backwards, into the ledge
focus your mind on the forward motion. imagine you're powerslidng through the air and there happens to be an obstacle underneath your tail
don't worry about landing on anything
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the first thing that came to mind when learning back tails was to ollie into 5-0, then turn
https://youtu.be/Fs6wIMYH0eM?t=91
next, remove the 5-0 and flow into position in one motion
that didn't work for me
instead, i would do back tails like back lips. rather than pivoting from the back truck, i'd whip the tail backwards, into the ledge
focus your mind on the forward motion. imagine you're powerslidng through the air and there happens to be an obstacle underneath your tail
don't worry about landing on anything
Damn for a moment I thought you were asking me to do them like Ricky Oyola, great back tail but more speed than I could ever muster.
BS Lipslide is another bucket list trick for me. I can't find a rail low enough to practice locking in, the 1 I have nearest to me is a touch too low, really short and riddled with cracks in the roll up.
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Ronnie Creager says that, when practicing your bs tailslides, "If you need help, come at a 90 degree angle, ollie back tail and ollie out."
https://youtu.be/rhvU053idKA
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I find looking down and back at your back foot as soon as you pop helps a bit.
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Ronnie Creager says that, when practicing your bs tailslides, "If you need help, come at a 90 degree angle, ollie back tail and ollie out."
https://youtu.be/rhvU053idKA
Thanks Ronnie, very helpful.
Reminds me of this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY38m4nW5LA
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Asking as well as I can't do them for shit either but have a different problem than most, I just cannot keep my board on my feet when ollieing into them no matter what. I don't think I'd have trouble sliding or landing but I just can't get into them. As soon as I pop my board goes away from the ledge and I land on one foot on top of it. I think it's a commitment thing of not leaning away from the ledge as I ollie so my board rockets but idk. Anyone else had that and figured it out?
instead, i would do back tails like back lips. rather than pivoting from the back truck, i'd whip the tail backwards, into the ledge
focus your mind on the forward motion. imagine you're powerslidng through the air and there happens to be an obstacle underneath your tail
don't worry about landing on anything
This makes sense in my head, although I have real trouble getting backlips round far enough as well. I'll try it out
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I have never done a decent front side tail slide, lip slide, or smith grind on a ledge, but I can do all three back side and learned them all relatively quickly. I am a backside skater, so maybe I can give a few pointers to front side skaters.
-on all three look over your shoulder when sliding. If you go parallel I don’t think you can push the slide enough.
-come in at a 30 degree angle—just enough to get your tail onto the ledge with a quick whip.
-Ollie your front foot 90 degree like a bs 180. In air push your back foot through the ledge.
-land on your toes. You really have to stand on your toes to not stop.
-coming out regular you loosen your push and turn your board forward with your front heal.
Doing a shuvit out is actually easier in a way.
Nollie tail slide can also help to understand the motion with less risk.
I learned lip slides and smith grinds first so maybe try those at the same time. BS smith grinds are the same motion as bs tail slides but with less twerk.
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I have never done a decent front side tail slide, lip slide, or smith grind on a ledge, but I can do all three back side and learned them all relatively quickly. I am a backside skater, so maybe I can give a few pointers to front side skaters.
-on all three look over your shoulder when sliding. If you go parallel I don’t think you can push the slide enough.
-come in at a 30 degree angle—just enough to get your tail onto the ledge with a quick whip.
-Ollie your front foot 90 degree like a bs 180. In air push your back foot through the ledge.
-land on your toes. You really have to stand on your toes to not stop.
-coming out regular you loosen your push and turn your board forward with your front heal.
Doing a shuvit out is actually easier in a way.
Nollie tail slide can also help to understand the motion with less risk.
I learned lip slides and smith grinds first so maybe try those at the same time. BS smith grinds are the same motion as bs tail slides but with less twerk.
You mentioned push through the ledge a few times, can you explain that further?
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When I miss on this trick it is because I am leaning too far back and my board will shoot out. I expect this to happen warming up and will eventually find the right amount of pressure. If you just Ollie to tail you will stop dead.
The push is where your back foot gets slightly out ahead of your body. You are not 90 degrees your front foot is in back of your back foot.
I will try to find a picture that illustrates my point.
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
Look at the action on the back foot. See the heal lift and the back leg angle. That’s that PUSH...
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The thing that helped me the most was popping further from the ledge than I normally would for backside tricks and leaning back slightly on the pop. And then just look over your shoulder like a front board and your legs will follow on the pop out. Also for tranny as was mentioned over rotating really helps make the slide easier. With back tails i tend to try to make it slip out before i try to start really being able to stand up on the slide.
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When I miss on this trick it is because I am leaning too far back and my board will shoot out. I expect this to happen warming up and will eventually find the right amount of pressure. If you just Ollie to tail you will stop dead.
The push is where your back foot gets slightly out ahead of your body. You are not 90 degrees your front foot is in back of your front foot.
I will try to find a picture that illustrates my point.
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
Look at the action on the back foot. See the heal lift and the back leg angle. That’s that PUSH...
Great explanation and the pic.
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When I miss on this trick it is because I am leaning too far back and my board will shoot out. I expect this to happen warming up and will eventually find the right amount of pressure. If you just Ollie to tail you will stop dead.
The push is where your back foot gets slightly out ahead of your body. You are not 90 degrees your front foot is in back of your front foot.
I will try to find a picture that illustrates my point.
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
Look at the action on the back foot. See the heal lift and the back leg angle. That’s that PUSH...
Great explanation and the pic.
You’re welcome.
Editors note: it is impossible for ones front foot to be in back of ones front foot. I meant back foot but I am sure you interpreted that.
Skating is so weird that I look at people who FS tail slide like why do you look so good on that I suck and then BSTS and the other guy thinks the same thing. My body just moves backside so much easier. Front side I always open up or something. Maybe I just need to find the right ledge/high curb. I don’t get any enjoyment skating boxes anymore. Feels like practice and the ones and the park use aluminum edging which sucks to grind.
Have a good day...
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Ronnie Creager says that, when practicing your bs tailslides, "If you need help, come at a 90 degree angle, ollie back tail and ollie out."
https://youtu.be/rhvU053idKA
Thanks Ronnie, very helpful.
That's funny, thanks for that. Yeah, I guess Ronnie ain't exactly as erudite as a college professor...
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I have never done a decent front side tail slide, lip slide, or smith grind on a ledge, but I can do all three back side and learned them all relatively quickly. I am a backside skater, so maybe I can give a few pointers to front side skaters.
-on all three look over your shoulder when sliding. If you go parallel I don’t think you can push the slide enough.
-come in at a 30 degree angle—just enough to get your tail onto the ledge with a quick whip.
-Ollie your front foot 90 degree like a bs 180. In air push your back foot through the ledge.
-land on your toes. You really have to stand on your toes to not stop.
-coming out regular you loosen your push and turn your board forward with your front heal.
Doing a shuvit out is actually easier in a way.
Nollie tail slide can also help to understand the motion with less risk.
I learned lip slides and smith grinds first so maybe try those at the same time. BS smith grinds are the same motion as bs tail slides but with less twerk.
You mentioned push through the ledge a few times, can you explain that further?
I was doing switch tailslides yesterday and worked that out, would imagine it's the same for back tails. I realised you need to 'complete' the turn into it once you're already in. Like just aim to get your board onto the ledge and then push your back foot round that last bit to not only complete the turn but also get your board slightly in front of your body weight. Doing it that way means it should slide easier as you're not dropping down straight into it, but also stop you from spinning out as it stops your body rotation
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just an aside note:
this is one of my tricks...and.... i'm old as fuck.
back when i was a young whippersnapper (twenties) i thought backtails were easiest on a knee-high + ledges -- anything lower was actually difficult. eventually, my age doubled, and my pop...did i say pop?? yeah, that disappeared. no pop left. backtails are now possible on curbs, but much more doable on shin-high ledges...but, only on the rare days that i feel springy.
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Maybe if I tell you what I DIDN'T do, that could help you out. I have no one to talk to about this, so it's going to be a long one.
I spent the whole spring and summer this year trying to relearn them on a curb and I failed. I learned them 15 years ago and got lazy and lost them like a fool.
When I could do them back then, I could only do them to fakie. I guess that was more natural to me. This spring I wanted not only to relearn them but to go out to regular because that's more "acceptable."
But I don't know, that might've fucked me over. I think I was spending too much effort trying to contort my shoulders into a position where I could come out regular. I'm pretty sure that was stopping me from leaning into the slide and pushing it with my toes. I should've just focused on relearning them fakie and then went from there.
I eventually started trying them to fakie but it felt too late; I was barely sliding any, and if I did slide, it would only be for a millisecond.
I'm goofy-footed, and the recurring problem I have is that when I ollie and turn backside, I'll always stick on the curb. My back wheel facing the curb would always hit the curb and I'd land at an angle.
I remember that when I initially learned them many years ago, sometimes I would lock in, slide, and shoot out, or I would land with my back wheels on the ledge (the Janoski). Neither happened this year - I would ollie and if even I got my tail on the curb, I would stick every single time.
The weird thing is I tried relearning back tails five years ago and I DID shoot out of a few attempts, as a result of correctly locking into the curb...but now I can't even do that.
Full disclosure, I think part of my problem is that I couldn't even do b/s 5050s because I lost those as well. But I relearned them, did a few on a curb, but they're also strangely difficult to do now. So maybe it's going to help, because 15 years ago I learned bs 5050s before I learned back tails.
I was trying to take everyone's tips - swing my hips more, keep my shoulders parallel with the curb, roll up at a slight angle, pop THEN turn, try and push with my toes, look at my back foot, lean in the opposite direction of where I'm going...nothing was working.
I know the problem's in popping and turning properly. 50% of the time, when I'd try to ollie on, the board would flop off my feet or hit the curb. My ollie isn't as precise as it needs to be, I guess. For some reason it's hard to correctly visualize landing the trick.
Also the thing that sucks is that it's started to snow where I live, so I'm going to have to wait for five months before it's consistently warm enough to try to relearn them again. There's only one indoor park and it doesn't have anything small enough for me to learn on, if I can even get in due to virus regulations. It's fucked.
Here's an attempt of mine if anyone's interested.
https://imgur.com/AnB9taB (https://imgur.com/AnB9taB)
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Few observations:
-a curb is too low for that trick. 12”-14” ledge is ideal.
-you are floating the bs Ollie so you land on the ledge on the down.
-you over rotate the bs 180.
Try to get your back tail on quicker.
It’s hard on a curb (I’ve never tried one on something lower than a ledge) because you want catch the tail on the up. You only want to Ollie high enough to get on the ledge.
Check out @franc doing an air nollie to back tail in the ‘Old guys post here’ section. He has impeccable back tail on curb form. That’s your guy!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGNcWFAl0gX/
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http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2020/10/21/30-year-quest-learning-backside-tailslides/
We ain't along my friends!
So much to take in and try this evening at the park!
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You look like your jumping into it from a mile away and with too much angle.
I cant really do them. But to me it looks like people that do them do a nice crispy ollie then late bs "180"
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When I miss on this trick it is because I am leaning too far back and my board will shoot out. I expect this to happen warming up and will eventually find the right amount of pressure. If you just Ollie to tail you will stop dead.
The push is where your back foot gets slightly out ahead of your body. You are not 90 degrees your front foot is in back of your front foot.
I will try to find a picture that illustrates my point.
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
Look at the action on the back foot. See the heal lift and the back leg angle. That’s that PUSH...
Great explanation and the pic.
You’re welcome.
Editors note: it is impossible for ones front foot to be in back of ones front foot. I meant back foot but I am sure you interpreted that.
Skating is so weird that I look at people who FS tail slide like why do you look so good on that I suck and then BSTS and the other guy thinks the same thing. My body just moves backside so much easier. Front side I always open up or something. Maybe I just need to find the right ledge/high curb. I don’t get any enjoyment skating boxes anymore. Feels like practice and the ones and the park use aluminum edging which sucks to grind.
Have a good day...
Some observations from today:
"The Push" works - 1st one I tried today I got a decent slide and exited forward, the 2nd one I tried I slid got out fakie, then nothing in between for around 20 tries till my last 4 in the session where I got a solid lock and exited fakie with a proper pop out instead of slipping out.
1) It's counter-intuitive because you would think that the added push would cause over-rotation and the deck slipping out. But "The Push" helps to get the baseplate slotted into the ledge perfectly while overcoming the inertia from the initial lock of the tail.
2) I still got stuck on a lot of the attempts but I attribute that to under-rotation from not committing, not looking back or smashing my tail from above the ledge and not staying on my toes.
3) The ledge I'm working on is tiny (6-7" max), a taller ledge like 10-12" seems ideal
4) Slight angle to parallel worked best for me, too much angle caused me to under-rotate my board and "The Push" couldn't compensate for it. While rolling up my front shoulder was pointing into the ledge slightly, that helped with opening up the shoulders to aid the rotation.
I visualized Josh Kalis' Backside Tailslides (and 360 flips) when I attempted the trick because he exaggerates "The Push". After sifting through his Memory Screen and IG but couldn't find the specific clip.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3j7akUD7cD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This one was the closest I came up with, in one of the last few trick you can seem him really jamming / slotting his tail into the ledge with his back foot. I guess that's where the hip rotation really makes the different - rotation of the board under foot with while maintaining the upper body parallel to the ledge.
Overall not a bad day, landed 6 (1 regular, 5 fakie) out of 20-ish tries. I was locking in a lot more consistently but sticking and the times I did lock in I could actually feel the baseplate slide instead of gliding haphazardly across the ledge. I still need to work on my hip rotation. "The Push" is scary and counter-intuitive - it definitely takes commitment to allow yourself to over-rotate so you actually rotate sufficiently.
Shoutout to @GardenSkater77, @jerrygurneyscream and @Billy Bitchcakes for your secret sauce.
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@GardenSkater77 and @lazer69 Thanks guys! Appreciate the feedback. I'm rooting for you @rocklobster !
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@GardenSkater77 and @lazer69 Thanks guys! Appreciate the feedback. I'm rooting for you @rocklobster !
Shalom.
My bucket list of tricks has expanded substantially post-lockdown and hearing you guys talk about the secret sauce of tricks has been really helpful. I think I've skated better in the last year than I did in 20s when I was struggling to balance work, social life, partying and other hobbies. I'm not mindlessly trying tricks and hoping to land 1 in 3 hours; I approach more methodically and think about my the physics of the board and body. And just be more chill about skateboarding.
Edit:
More progress today, "The Push" is becoming more 2nd nature and I have the confidence to roll up faster, pop and lock with more authority. My board is slipping out a lot less than (once in the whole session) and the baseplate is catching on more consistently. Like I mentioned above, it's counter-intuitive but it's working for me. Still not getting the weight distribution where I want it, I can control my slide and actually turn out fakie, but regular is still a challenge. The times I was able to come out regular I slid 1/2 a foot.
Going to work up the balls to try it on a taller ledge tomorrow, going from 6" to 18" so quite the step up. If I get close on 1 tomorrow I'll take it as a victory.
Hope the rest of you are making some progress, shalom for the weekend.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CGt3d7Yheso/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
2 weeks ago I didn't have the confidence or consistency to bring this trick to a tall ledge. Today, 2 hours and 50+ tries later, I got 3 rolling out to fakie but I'll take it.
The slide on a taller ledges is definitely easier since I couldn't get too high above the ledge and slam my tail down. The push came more naturally as well. The hardest part was committing to a solid pop instead of a 1/2 assed one and kicking the board away, I find I land my tricks faster and with great consistency once I do that. After getting a solid pop the rest was just muscle memory and hanging on for the ride.
3 words: Pop, drag (sideways), lock
Shalom pals, couldn't have done it without you guys. I'll work to get them cleaner with a proper exit in the coming weeks.
Edit: After multiple re-watches, I'm still not getting "The Push", I think that's the difference between a solid lock with control on the slide and a lazy glide over the top.
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@rocklobster
That was perfect. Looks like you’ve been doing them for years.
I can’t remember the last time I tried one, but I may have to start trying them again. I am happy for you.
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I learned back tails last fall, but I have finally mastered them, and understanding the “push” is tricky. What I do for getting a good slide is right before my tails hits the ledge I slightly kick out my back leg in front of me which initiates the slide. To hold it long, you will find that your toe side wheels are sliding against the ledge more than your heel side wheels so your board is almost more diagonal than perpendicular with the ledge. This helps with coming out to forward because the friction pushes your board back to forward (if that makes sense). To come out to forward, while I am sliding (I am regular) my board is in the bottom right of my vision and I am looking in front of me to spot the landing. I also find that having my front arm down helps me look over my shoulder. Hopefully this helps a bit with holding it and coming out to forward, it took me a long time to understand this trick but man it’s a fun one!
Btw, back tail to fakie was super clean! Good form.
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I learned back tails last fall, but I have finally mastered them, and understanding the “push” is tricky. What I do for getting a good slide is right before my tails hits the ledge I slightly kick out my back leg in front of me which initiates the slide. To hold it long, you will find that your toe side wheels are sliding against the ledge more than your heel side wheels so your board is almost more diagonal than perpendicular with the ledge. This helps with coming out to forward because the friction pushes your board back to forward (if that makes sense). To come out to forward, while I am sliding (I am regular) my board is in the bottom right of my vision and I am looking in front of me to spot the landing. I also find that having my front arm down helps me look over my shoulder. Hopefully this helps a bit with holding it and coming out to forward, it took me a long time to understand this trick but man it’s a fun one!
Btw, back tail to fakie was super clean! Good form.
The push / slot in is what gives guys like Justin Strubing the style and control. You're right about the leading arm (left in our case) position, having it slightly down allows us to keep out line of sight clear.
I'll start a separate thread for BS Smith grinds because that is the 2nd trick I want to hammer out this year too. But if anyone has some initial thoughts fire away.
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I learned back tails last fall, but I have finally mastered them, and understanding the “push” is tricky. What I do for getting a good slide is right before my tails hits the ledge I slightly kick out my back leg in front of me which initiates the slide. To hold it long, you will find that your toe side wheels are sliding against the ledge more than your heel side wheels so your board is almost more diagonal than perpendicular with the ledge. This helps with coming out to forward because the friction pushes your board back to forward (if that makes sense). To come out to forward, while I am sliding (I am regular) my board is in the bottom right of my vision and I am looking in front of me to spot the landing. I also find that having my front arm down helps me look over my shoulder. Hopefully this helps a bit with holding it and coming out to forward, it took me a long time to understand this trick but man it’s a fun one!
Btw, back tail to fakie was super clean! Good form.
The push / slot in is what gives guys like Justin Strubing the style and control. You're right about the leading arm (left in our case) position, having it slightly down allows us to keep out line of sight clear.
I'll start a separate thread for BS Smith grinds because that is the 2nd trick I want to hammer out this year too. But if anyone has some initial thoughts fire away.
I think I did a paragraph in response to you about back smiths a while ago, not sure which thread, could be worth diggin up. Props on the back tail, to fakie is just as satisfying imo, I also need to brush up on mine to regs, maybe gotta put in some hours soon.
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I learned back tails last fall, but I have finally mastered them, and understanding the “push” is tricky. What I do for getting a good slide is right before my tails hits the ledge I slightly kick out my back leg in front of me which initiates the slide. To hold it long, you will find that your toe side wheels are sliding against the ledge more than your heel side wheels so your board is almost more diagonal than perpendicular with the ledge. This helps with coming out to forward because the friction pushes your board back to forward (if that makes sense). To come out to forward, while I am sliding (I am regular) my board is in the bottom right of my vision and I am looking in front of me to spot the landing. I also find that having my front arm down helps me look over my shoulder. Hopefully this helps a bit with holding it and coming out to forward, it took me a long time to understand this trick but man it’s a fun one!
Btw, back tail to fakie was super clean! Good form.
The push / slot in is what gives guys like Justin Strubing the style and control. You're right about the leading arm (left in our case) position, having it slightly down allows us to keep out line of sight clear.
I'll start a separate thread for BS Smith grinds because that is the 2nd trick I want to hammer out this year too. But if anyone has some initial thoughts fire away.
I think I did a paragraph in response to you about back smiths a while ago, not sure which thread, could be worth diggin up. Props on the back tail, to fakie is just as satisfying imo, I also need to brush up on mine to regs, maybe gotta put in some hours soon.
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BS Smiths and Lipslides! Can't get over the mental barrier to pop a BS 5-0 and point my toes down for the Smith. Can't bring myself to ollie up and over the top of the ledge to lock in the lipslide.
The way I learned back smiths was to get comfortable with getting into a smith going slow ish without grinding. Think about it more like a missed 5050 instead like a 5-0 where you tend to rocket your ollie a bit.
Once you're comfortable with getting into the back smith position and sticking, try going a bit faster, leaning not only back but also away from the ledge (toeside) when you get in. Also make sure you get into the ledge very gently (ollie into the grind, not onto it) and try have your board and lower body slightly ahead of your upper body and you should slowly be able to start grinding it a bit. Obviously put most of the weight on your back foot, your front foot is only meant to point the front of the board in a dipped position and for the most part should be pretty limp with no real weight over it.
I found getting into the position quite difficult, let alone getting it to grind which is why I think it might be beneficial to break it down into two phases: ollieing into the position and then learning to be delicate/having the correct weight distribution/grinding, so that there isn't too much to think about at once. Also, like with most backside tricks, I find that trying to look at my back foot after popping generally helps me get my shoulders aligned properly.
For the lazy, text in bold is an important distinction I will work on. Trying to ollie up above the ledge and pointing my toe down feels overly complicated and gets the weight distribution all weird.
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When I first learned them I did it to fakie that helped me as it was more like a back 180 just barely sliding the tail. Back tails are one of my favorites. For me I roll up at a slight angle, pop up and over the ledge and then rotate 90. Land on toes and slide for a few feet then come out.
Lots of good tips in here, I look straight down at my back foot never even thought to look over my shoulder I’ll have to try it. I can’t hold them for more than 3 feet maybe that would help.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CGtoKNHg0up/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CGtoKNHg0up/)
I FINALLY learned these over the weekend and got a little back to back with the homie. For me, I've been able to get into them for years, but couldn't slide them and would either stick, or, on the rare occasion, slip out. They clicked for the first time the night of the clip and what it was for me was I had to
1. learned back smiths and back lips first. Huge help. Feels really really similar to a back smith.
2. back foot way further ON the tail, not hanging off the back in the slightest. This is what fixed my slide
3. hit the edge of the ledge at first, that way you don't have to think much about the slide and can think about getting in and out of it
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CGtoKNHg0up/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CGtoKNHg0up/)
I FINALLY learned these over the weekend and got a little back to back with the homie. For me, I've been able to get into them for years, but couldn't slide them and would either stick, or, on the rare occasion, slip out. They clicked for the first time the night of the clip and what it was for me was I had to
1. learned back smiths and back lips first. Huge help. Feels really really similar to a back smith.
2. back foot way further ON the tail, not hanging off the back in the slightest. This is what fixed my slide
3. hit the edge of the ledge at first, that way you don't have to think much about the slide and can think about getting in and out of it
Coming out regular all proper and with authority, hope something in this thread was helpful for you.
Could you explain #2 a bit more? Do you mean when popping or sliding.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CGtoKNHg0up/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/CGtoKNHg0up/)
I FINALLY learned these over the weekend and got a little back to back with the homie. For me, I've been able to get into them for years, but couldn't slide them and would either stick, or, on the rare occasion, slip out. They clicked for the first time the night of the clip and what it was for me was I had to
1. learned back smiths and back lips first. Huge help. Feels really really similar to a back smith.
2. back foot way further ON the tail, not hanging off the back in the slightest. This is what fixed my slide
3. hit the edge of the ledge at first, that way you don't have to think much about the slide and can think about getting in and out of it
Damn that looked really good. I gave up on them after slipping out a few times but this thread is getting me hyped.
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Thanks for the love, y'all.
With the back foot thing, it's more of a set-up thing so that I land with my back foot more centered (both laterally and vertically) and the sole of my shoe isn't touching the ledge. It also feels like it pushes my baseplate against the ledge and locks it better, as well as being able to stand on top of it easier. I wish I could explain with a picture, but imagine you're board as an x(width) and y(length) axis. I'm mainly talking about moving your back foot further up the y axis instead of being right on the edge of the tail. Less on the edge and more ON it. Might have been a personal problem that not everyone has, since i've been making that adjustment on a lot of tricks lately.
As for the slipping out, I had the same problem and it actually messed with my wrist pretty bad, which made me stop really going for them for a while. I don't think I would've realized it at the time, but I wasn't fully committed and standing up on top of it, which was making me slip out. Once I was really on top of it and had my head and shoulders looking OUT of the slide ready to come out to regs, I stopped slipping out and actually stuck a few times, which was weirdly refreshing, after slipping out constantly, cause that just meant I had to go faster and push on my back toes a bit more.
Whew, just typed an essay, but anything to get those sweet sweet back tails.
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Being more confident on them, pushing faster and sliding further is definitely a great feeling. I was able to do them to fakie within 5 tries today, to regular took more control but I was rolling out to fakie on the fail attempts anyway.
Can't emphasize the importance of the push / nudge. It separates a lock in and no slide to lock in plus slide.
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yo props that was a nice back tail
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BS Smiths and Lipslides! Can't get over the mental barrier to pop a BS 5-0 and point my toes down for the Smith. Can't bring myself to ollie up and over the top of the ledge to lock in the lipslide.
The way I learned back smiths was to get comfortable with getting into a smith going slow ish without grinding. Think about it more like a missed 5050 instead like a 5-0 where you tend to rocket your ollie a bit.
Once you're comfortable with getting into the back smith position and sticking, try going a bit faster, leaning not only back but also away from the ledge (toeside) when you get in. Also make sure you get into the ledge very gently (ollie into the grind, not onto it) and try have your board and lower body slightly ahead of your upper body and you should slowly be able to start grinding it a bit. Obviously put most of the weight on your back foot, your front foot is only meant to point the front of the board in a dipped position and for the most part should be pretty limp with no real weight over it.
I found getting into the position quite difficult, let alone getting it to grind which is why I think it might be beneficial to break it down into two phases: ollieing into the position and then learning to be delicate/having the correct weight distribution/grinding, so that there isn't too much to think about at once. Also, like with most backside tricks, I find that trying to look at my back foot after popping generally helps me get my shoulders aligned properly.
For the lazy, text in bold is an important distinction I will work on. Trying to ollie up above the ledge and pointing my toe down feels overly complicated and gets the weight distribution all weird.
Managed to land 2-3 of them yesterday, couple of sloppy non-dipped ones. Definitely easier once you have BS Tailslides since the pushing motion of the back foot is very similar. Much like the Tailslides, I think the key is to pop low and avoid dragging too high. I used to think of them as:
1) Ollie
2) Get the nose up
3) Lock the back truck in
4) Point the nose down
But like @tzhangdox said its much more like slotting your back truck into the side of the ledge as opposed to ollie up and poke down. The practice ledge I've been trying it on feels too low, I'll see if I get more success over the weekend on a taller ledge.
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Gave them another go yesterday after dealing with some gear madness. Managed to get a nice lock in and slide with coming out regular but the ledge at my park had a huge screw sticking our the end which was fucking with my slide.
I found that looking under my left arm (I'm regular) helped me control the slide so my board didn't want to automatically come out to Fakie. I could actually look at how I was sliding. I think when people say look back as you slide: ideally you want to look over your shoulder, but for me I'm able to make it work looking under my arm below my bicep.
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okay this is a big one for me--actually got them to slide today but keep doing this weird one footed thing. Thoughts? I think i just need to go faster...but stoked! Thought back tails were a never gonna happen trick for me.
https://vimeo.com/478060274
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okay this is a big one for me--actually got them to slide today but keep doing this weird one footed thing. Thoughts? I think i just need to go faster...but stoked! Thought back tails were a never gonna happen trick for me.
https://vimeo.com/478060274
Shit is looking good my dude, if you notice the slide it looks a little choppy and uneven. I would saw go a little more wax especially on the sides, then increase speed accordingly.
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okay this is a big one for me--actually got them to slide today but keep doing this weird one footed thing. Thoughts? I think i just need to go faster...but stoked! Thought back tails were a never gonna happen trick for me.
https://vimeo.com/478060274
Yeah bud! And nice shoes as well. Pop into and landing onto all looks solid. Keep the slide a bit more under control by having your knees a bit more bent when sliding. Think of the difference between doing a bs powerslide with your knees straight vs. slightly bent - much easier.
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okay this is a big one for me--actually got them to slide today but keep doing this weird one footed thing. Thoughts? I think i just need to go faster...but stoked! Thought back tails were a never gonna happen trick for me.
https://vimeo.com/478060274
You need to turn about 10 degrees more, but other than that looks good
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Thanks for the advice and kind words yall. Today was a breakthru--managed to land two of them on a 10" ledge to forward. Continuous slide and they felt awesome! Beyond stoked. I had a session two days ago where I wasn't even getting into them but today it just clicked.
Things that helped:
- I spent the time today getting my backside 5-0's feeling consistent and comfy.
- Bending the knees during the slide.
- Trying to use just my toe on the ledge; i realized the reason my slide was choppy is because my heel was dragging.
Appreciate yall and this thread for keeping the motivation up!
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I'd echo what some other people have said in that in the beginning thinking of it like I was just doing a BS 180 but tapping my tail on the ledge helped. This is probably a super weird one, but I think doing a shove out is easier than just back tailing. I'm usually pretty light footed so I'd always stick but doing quick back tail shoves helped me figure out the weight distribution. Doing a shove out forced me to really put my weight on it.
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My buddy just learned them, 1/2 the battle was building up the nerve to pop up high enough and slide blind side. Rather than think about "the nudge" he thinks about approaching them as a kickflip back tail. Makes zero sense to me but he's got a superb kickflip, guess it helps him get up and on top of the ledge.
Spent my morning trying to get 1 where I exit regular, have them coming out fakie pretty consistent. Only came close on 2 attempts out of 30. I figures that if my shoulders are parallel to the ledge when I slide, I get the look-back steeze and exiting regular comes more naturally. If I'm looking down at my feet and have my shoulders perpendicular to the ledge I naturally want to come out fakie, or I stick.
Led me to thinking about how this trick involves both upper and lower body control, sort of like disconnecting the hip (lower body) from the head and shoulders (upper body). Lower body (hips / legs) control the rotation and getting the weight on top of the board. The upper body (shoulders) maintains the momentum.
https://youtu.be/9dibBsXQBas?t=89
Hips and Nips, gotta keep it sexy. If not I don't eat.
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To come out to forward, while I am sliding (I am regular) my board is in the bottom right of my vision and I am looking in front of me to spot the landing. I also find that having my front arm down helps me look over my shoulder. Hopefully this helps a bit with holding it and coming out to forward, it took me a long time to understand this trick but man it’s a fun one!
There was another post near the top about locking the weight in from the hips and not just the toes, I'll try that along with easing off the pressure closer to the exit.
Filmed a couple more last weekend, want to get them consist on coming out regular:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIQkcDYhNnL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
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^^^2nded on the back Smith thread. Started trying those today and felt verrrry far from possible. Here's where I'm at with bsts-coming out regular off the end of the ledge but leaning super far on my heels. Maybe need to start the slide earlier on the ledge so I have some more time to adjust? Hmmm.
https://vimeo.com/490418681
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For all skateboarding tricks and tips visit these two posts -
http://switchmagazine.com/beginner-skateboard-tricks/
http://switchmagazine.com/advanced-skateboarding-tricks-step-by-step-guide-and-photos-to-make-skate-tricks-easy/
The writer has marvellously categorised all the tricks with photos and gifs.
These are like mini bibles.
Enjoy
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I find looking down and back at your back foot as soon as you pop helps a bit.
I do this as well. I feel like Marius Syvanen is a good person to watch demonstrate that technique. He usually has an amazing backside tailslide in every video part.
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Was working on them last night and got hit with some bro science from some with a great one:
1) Go fast, if you bail and the deck slips out you'll land past the ledge and not on it
2) If you want to come out regular, start at the very front of the ledge so you have more time to feel the slide and control your exit
3) Use your trucks to rub down the edge of the ledge to smooth it out, less cut into the baseplate
Only #2 worked for me, but he was blasting full speed, fully locked ones with a big spin out, so I ain't about to start arguing with his logic.
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Was working on them last night and got hit with some bro science from some with a great one:
1) Go fast, if you bail and the deck slips out you'll land past the ledge and not on it
2) If you want to come out regular, start at the very front of the ledge so you have more time to feel the slide and control your exit
3) Use your trucks to rub down the edge of the ledge to smooth it out, less cut into the baseplate
Only #2 worked for me, but he was blasting full speed, fully locked ones with a big spin out, so I ain't about to start arguing with his logic.
There's definitely some truth to #1 but I think a bit more speed makes backtails easier in general too. I used to heavily heavily wax a ledge and have to be scared of slipping out which imo is worse than sticking.
I could see the logic with sliding longer letting you go to regular but more than anything I feel like how my shoulders are positioned decides if I go regular or fakie whether it's a long or short slide.
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Been struggling to get them consistent again, I usually attribute it to having a worn in deck that won't stick to my back foot, rather than me being a whiny baby about my skills.
https://youtu.be/zgkofdnwv8E?t=193
I usually avoid YouTuber skate content creators but the bit on weight distribution, over-rotation and angle of approach is an interesting take on the trick. Skipped ahead to the mechanics of the trick in the video.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
Over the past week I managed to get them fairly consistent on a low ledge and even a knee high one, can get a lock 3/5 of the time and a slide every 6 tries or so. I break it down into 3 steps:
1) Pop - can be hard to commit to it especially when rolling blindside towards the ledge, but it's the 1st stage of commitment
2) Drag sideways - depending on how tall the ledge is, dragging side ways does 50% of the rotation and the lock, you actually pop much lower than you think you do, focusing on dragging sideways helps control the height and keeps the board connected to your back foot
3) Slot - this does the remaining 50% of the rotation but you have to slightly over-rotate the tail to lock in, that over-rotation helps get the baseplate contact but more importantly overcoming the inertia of the lock, I always reference the picture below when explaining the slot
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
After weeks of work I'm finally able to get them rolling out regular instead of just slipping out fakie. I found success just focusing on my lead hand (left) and tell myself to point it forward / parallel to the ledge during slides. That helped with keeping the shoulders parallel enough so my board was not over-rotated and forced out to fakie by momentum alone. Telling myself to keep my shoulder straight to the ledge resulted in under-rotation, so I would lock in only 45 degrees or I would stick after locking in.
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Few observations:
-a curb is too low for that trick. 12”-14” ledge is ideal.
-you are floating the bs Ollie so you land on the ledge on the down.
-you over rotate the bs 180.
Try to get your back tail on quicker.
It’s hard on a curb (I’ve never tried one on something lower than a ledge) because you want catch the tail on the up. You only want to Ollie high enough to get on the ledge.
Check out @franc doing an air nollie to back tail in the ‘Old guys post here’ section. He has impeccable back tail on curb form. That’s your guy!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGNcWFAl0gX/
dope! I’ve only ever been able to do them nollie style but lately I’ve been powersliding/ slapping into them; essentially the same motion!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN9nM73FQOc/?igshid=1zzz2x2x90uu
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I have a perfect low ledge to learn these on and got a couple slipping out to fakie, completely surprising myself. The way I got there is starting off back tail stalling on curbs, rolling up to it at about 45 degree angle. Then, slowly decreased that angle until I just went for a ride on one and slipped out. After I felt how it slid I just thought about doing a back 180 and grazing my tail along the ledge.
Next step is to keep those shoulders straight and try to get the motion down to come out regs.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
Over the past week I managed to get them fairly consistent on a low ledge and even a knee high one, can get a lock 3/5 of the time and a slide every 6 tries or so. I break it down into 3 steps:
1) Pop - can be hard to commit to it especially when rolling blindside towards the ledge, but it's the 1st stage of commitment
2) Drag sideways - depending on how tall the ledge is, dragging side ways does 50% of the rotation and the lock, you actually pop much lower than you think you do, focusing on dragging sideways helps control the height and keeps the board connected to your back foot
3) Slot - this does the remaining 50% of the rotation but you have to slightly over-rotate the tail to lock in, that over-rotation helps get the baseplate contact but more importantly overcoming the inertia of the lock, I always reference the picture below when explaining the slot
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
After weeks of work I'm finally able to get them rolling out regular instead of just slipping out fakie. I found success just focusing on my lead hand (left) and tell myself to point it forward / parallel to the ledge during slides. That helped with keeping the shoulders parallel enough so my board was not over-rotated and forced out to fakie by momentum alone. Telling myself to keep my shoulder straight to the ledge resulted in under-rotation, so I would lock in only 45 degrees or I would stick after locking in.
Well my problem was just committing to ollieing backside. Today I got into about 15 stalls where I just stand on them on the curb, the actual turn and lock in comes fairly naturally to me I just have to trick myself into doing 3/4s of a back 50-50 then turning at the last minute. I’m not quite confident enough to slide them but to be honest I’m just really excited to get stalls because a few days ago they seemed impossible.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
Over the past week I managed to get them fairly consistent on a low ledge and even a knee high one, can get a lock 3/5 of the time and a slide every 6 tries or so. I break it down into 3 steps:
1) Pop - can be hard to commit to it especially when rolling blindside towards the ledge, but it's the 1st stage of commitment
2) Drag sideways - depending on how tall the ledge is, dragging side ways does 50% of the rotation and the lock, you actually pop much lower than you think you do, focusing on dragging sideways helps control the height and keeps the board connected to your back foot
3) Slot - this does the remaining 50% of the rotation but you have to slightly over-rotate the tail to lock in, that over-rotation helps get the baseplate contact but more importantly overcoming the inertia of the lock, I always reference the picture below when explaining the slot
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
After weeks of work I'm finally able to get them rolling out regular instead of just slipping out fakie. I found success just focusing on my lead hand (left) and tell myself to point it forward / parallel to the ledge during slides. That helped with keeping the shoulders parallel enough so my board was not over-rotated and forced out to fakie by momentum alone. Telling myself to keep my shoulder straight to the ledge resulted in under-rotation, so I would lock in only 45 degrees or I would stick after locking in.
Well my problem was just committing to ollieing backside. Today I got into about 15 stalls where I just stand on them on the curb, the actual turn and lock in comes fairly naturally to me I just have to trick myself into doing 3/4s of a back 50-50 then turning at the last minute. I’m not quite confident enough to slide them but to be honest I’m just really excited to get stalls because a few days ago they seemed impossible.
I found the hardest part committing to the BS ollie, can be a real mind fuck not being able to see where you're supposed to lock your tail into. Since you're getting the stall, apply a tiny bit of wax to the ledge, you may get a little bit of a slide going.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
Over the past week I managed to get them fairly consistent on a low ledge and even a knee high one, can get a lock 3/5 of the time and a slide every 6 tries or so. I break it down into 3 steps:
1) Pop - can be hard to commit to it especially when rolling blindside towards the ledge, but it's the 1st stage of commitment
2) Drag sideways - depending on how tall the ledge is, dragging side ways does 50% of the rotation and the lock, you actually pop much lower than you think you do, focusing on dragging sideways helps control the height and keeps the board connected to your back foot
3) Slot - this does the remaining 50% of the rotation but you have to slightly over-rotate the tail to lock in, that over-rotation helps get the baseplate contact but more importantly overcoming the inertia of the lock, I always reference the picture below when explaining the slot
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
After weeks of work I'm finally able to get them rolling out regular instead of just slipping out fakie. I found success just focusing on my lead hand (left) and tell myself to point it forward / parallel to the ledge during slides. That helped with keeping the shoulders parallel enough so my board was not over-rotated and forced out to fakie by momentum alone. Telling myself to keep my shoulder straight to the ledge resulted in under-rotation, so I would lock in only 45 degrees or I would stick after locking in.
Well my problem was just committing to ollieing backside. Today I got into about 15 stalls where I just stand on them on the curb, the actual turn and lock in comes fairly naturally to me I just have to trick myself into doing 3/4s of a back 50-50 then turning at the last minute. I’m not quite confident enough to slide them but to be honest I’m just really excited to get stalls because a few days ago they seemed impossible.
I found the hardest part committing to the BS ollie, can be a real mind fuck not being able to see where you're supposed to lock your tail into. Since you're getting the stall, apply a tiny bit of wax to the ledge, you may get a little bit of a slide going.
I’m gonna go at them some more tomorrow but I’m gonna try and get the stalls a little more consistent before sliding, I feel like I don’t get into them consistently enough so if I do slide I’d surprise myself and slip out and wind myself lol
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
Over the past week I managed to get them fairly consistent on a low ledge and even a knee high one, can get a lock 3/5 of the time and a slide every 6 tries or so. I break it down into 3 steps:
1) Pop - can be hard to commit to it especially when rolling blindside towards the ledge, but it's the 1st stage of commitment
2) Drag sideways - depending on how tall the ledge is, dragging side ways does 50% of the rotation and the lock, you actually pop much lower than you think you do, focusing on dragging sideways helps control the height and keeps the board connected to your back foot
3) Slot - this does the remaining 50% of the rotation but you have to slightly over-rotate the tail to lock in, that over-rotation helps get the baseplate contact but more importantly overcoming the inertia of the lock, I always reference the picture below when explaining the slot
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
After weeks of work I'm finally able to get them rolling out regular instead of just slipping out fakie. I found success just focusing on my lead hand (left) and tell myself to point it forward / parallel to the ledge during slides. That helped with keeping the shoulders parallel enough so my board was not over-rotated and forced out to fakie by momentum alone. Telling myself to keep my shoulder straight to the ledge resulted in under-rotation, so I would lock in only 45 degrees or I would stick after locking in.
Well my problem was just committing to ollieing backside. Today I got into about 15 stalls where I just stand on them on the curb, the actual turn and lock in comes fairly naturally to me I just have to trick myself into doing 3/4s of a back 50-50 then turning at the last minute. I’m not quite confident enough to slide them but to be honest I’m just really excited to get stalls because a few days ago they seemed impossible.
I found the hardest part committing to the BS ollie, can be a real mind fuck not being able to see where you're supposed to lock your tail into. Since you're getting the stall, apply a tiny bit of wax to the ledge, you may get a little bit of a slide going.
I’m gonna go at them some more tomorrow but I’m gonna try and get the stalls a little more consistent before sliding, I feel like I don’t get into them consistently enough so if I do slide I’d surprise myself and slip out and wind myself lol
After doing them for a bit I'm less fearful of slipping on a BS tailslide than a FS one. Yes the chance of face planting on the ledge is higher, but I have eyes on the ledge so I can break my fall. For FS ones I'm falling behind myself, so it's harder to know where to but my hands to control the fall. Probably a different story if I'm doing them down a hubba ledge or rail, but I'm not going down the THPS path of going pro.
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I have no idea how some of you say these are easier on a taller ledge, I can do a small little slide about every try on a curb with decent speed however I can’t do them for shit on a foot tall ledge. I really struggle with getting that backside pop on an actual ledge most of the time when I pop I will instinctively jump backwards onto the ledge leaving my board out in front of me to fall to the ground. I tried one on a box today for like 2 hours today and all I had to show for it was a stall.
Question for anyone who’s really good at them, I notice a lot of guys will sort of open up their shoulders to wind up into the rotation for these, but I want to know is it just your shoulders that are open and from your hips down you are parallel to the ledge still? I think my problem might be I setup too much like a nose slide/crooked grind when I do them on something taller where my hips are angled slightly open.
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I have no idea how some of you say these are easier on a taller ledge, I can do a small little slide about every try on a curb with decent speed however I can’t do them for shit on a foot tall ledge. I really struggle with getting that backside pop on an actual ledge most of the time when I pop I will instinctively jump backwards onto the ledge leaving my board out in front of me to fall to the ground. I tried one on a box today for like 2 hours today and all I had to show for it was a stall.
Question for anyone who’s really good at them, I notice a lot of guys will sort of open up their shoulders to wind up into the rotation for these, but I want to know is it just your shoulders that are open and from your hips down you are parallel to the ledge still? I think my problem might be I setup too much like a nose slide/crooked grind when I do them on something taller where my hips are angled slightly open.
I find that it works better when I don't open up my shoulders to wind up when rolling up for coming out to regular, I try to have them a bit more parallel, pop a little bit more blindly and just look down/at my back foot right after I pop. To come out to fakie I can have my shoulders a bit more open, as I do much more of a full 180 turn after popping.
Having your shoulders a bit open isn't necessarily a problem if you're able to quickly turn and close them off right as you pop, but if you're struggling to get enough of a turn to get into a nice slide with good form then it may be worth trying to have them a bit closed off.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
This is exactly what I do every time. Sometimes I'll be in bed picturing it and they seem to make perfect sense but as soon as I roll up to a ledge I just have a huge brain fart and can't get my head around doing anything but what you describe. Been skating for 20 years and they've never made sense to me, I had them for about 3 days once about 11 years ago.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
This is exactly what I do every time. Sometimes I'll be in bed picturing it and they seem to make perfect sense but as soon as I roll up to a ledge I just have a huge brain fart and can't get my head around doing anything but what you describe. Been skating for 20 years and they've never made sense to me, I had them for about 3 days once about 11 years ago.
This is my story exactly. I lie awake in bed and think i have a mental breakthrough that will fix everything, only for my hopes to be shredded when i put foot to board. I'm resigned to only nollie back tails on ledges i guess
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
This is exactly what I do every time. Sometimes I'll be in bed picturing it and they seem to make perfect sense but as soon as I roll up to a ledge I just have a huge brain fart and can't get my head around doing anything but what you describe. Been skating for 20 years and they've never made sense to me, I had them for about 3 days once about 11 years ago.
This is my story exactly. I lie awake in bed and think i have a mental breakthrough that will fix everything, only for my hopes to be shredded when i put foot to board. I'm resigned to only nollie back tails on ledges i guess
You’ve probably heard every tip in the book by now but what’s helped me get them, on curbs at least is to use the front foot to “steer” your back foot onto the ledge. If you get a solid straight pop then in the air then sort of whip your front foot sideways (I try to draw a backwards r with my front foot after I pop) it’s a lot easier to lock in. My problem was I would try to use my back foot to initiate the rotation so the board would just fall off my feet because I didn’t have that friction from my front foot dragging.
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I tried dedicating a session to these today and man, this seems like a Herculean task. I got my tail over the curb a grand total of one time every other try the board wouldn’t really stick to my feet and would just rocket pop off the ground while I planted my back foot on the curb.
This is exactly what I do every time. Sometimes I'll be in bed picturing it and they seem to make perfect sense but as soon as I roll up to a ledge I just have a huge brain fart and can't get my head around doing anything but what you describe. Been skating for 20 years and they've never made sense to me, I had them for about 3 days once about 11 years ago.
This is my story exactly. I lie awake in bed and think i have a mental breakthrough that will fix everything, only for my hopes to be shredded when i put foot to board. I'm resigned to only nollie back tails on ledges i guess
You’ve probably heard every tip in the book by now but what’s helped me get them, on curbs at least is to use the front foot to “steer” your back foot onto the ledge. If you get a solid pop straight pop then in the air then sort of whip your front foot sideways (I try to draw a backwards r with my front foot after I pop) it’s a lot easier to lock in. My problem was I would try to use my back foot to initiate the rotation so the board would just fall off my feet because I didn’t have that friction from my front foot dragging.
When I was learning them I broke it down to 3 steps:
1) Pop - get a solid one, not too hard, not too soft, but a committed one
2) Drag (sideways) - front foot does majority of the controlled rotation, dragging up to match the height of the ledge
3) Slot - last bit of the rotation and lock is all back foot, slot the tail onto the side of the ledge instead of smacking it down hard, the slot (and slight over-rotation of the back foot) enables the baseplate contact and overcome the inertia of the initial lock
Edit: The only ledge available to me at the moment is a short one around 8 inches tall. I'm used to skating taller ledges, but out of necessity I tried to get them consistent on the low one. Aside from shifting my front foot further up the board for a lower pop, I focused on the sideways drag till it caught the concave / kicks of the deck. That helped me control the height and better estimate the rotation. I'm sure it's similar for other tricks, just never thought of the importance of the kicks in limiting the drag till today.
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Got backside 5-0s recently so I got the courage to try these yesterday, Only landed a couple suskis and one suski to tail. But I've tried stalling these before and never got this close so I feel the 5-0 really helped me. Gonna try the push today ;D
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Got backside 5-0s recently so I got the courage to try these yesterday, Only landed a couple suskis and one suski to tail. But I've tried stalling these before and never got this close so I feel the 5-0 really helped me. Gonna try the push today ;D
You're almost there! Focus on getting the back foot to slot the tail into the ground, almost over-exaggerate it. That helps to overcome the inertia of getting into the lock.
A buddy of mine (fuck his gifted feet) learned this recently too and he employs a much gentler lock into the slide. I tend to pop my tail much higher than the ledge, hence the need to exaggerate the slotting motion to keep the forward momentum. Also means coming out fakie feels more natural and I have to counteract the rotation to come out regular. He locks in just above the ledge and gets much more control on his slide.
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Weird things I did first that I think helped(but may or may not help)
Learned fakie Ollie back tailslide. You can see the ledge on the roll up and get used to what sliding in that position feels like. Maybe you can switch front noseslide but that's not me.
Ollie from over the end of the ledge. Either exactly in line with the coping or even a bit over so the coping is a touch frontside. Then once you get used to locking in start going more and more properly backside. Sometimes popping from before the ledge even starts also helps for me
Find a bank to ledge to learn on
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At this point I’m starting to think I have a better chance of front 180 to back tail. It’s not 270 back tail cause I turn sharply 90 ish to be perpendicular with curb. (Yeah curb I’m old sure ain’t pulling this on a ledge ) then do a front 180.
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What helped me was keeping my shoulders square with the ledge, but whatever
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got way closer after trying to push a slide, way easier to lock in to the trick if i think about it like that. also keeping my shoulders square with the ledge helped but i'm still landning in suski mostly. doesn't feel too far away though which is crazy to me. ;D
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Advice for not slipping out and almost falling on my face so often?
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Advice for not slipping out and almost falling on my face so often?
If you're slipping out it could mean you're dipping your head too much or your tail is locking too far ahead on the ledge, I find aiming 3 inches in front of where I'm popping to be the right distance.
Loosen up the shoulders and keep them parallel-ish with the ledge, that will ensure your eyes are looking forward.
I come our Fakie 95% of the time but when I want to force myself to come out regular I tell myself to focus on pointing my leading arm down and forwards. Then I tell myself to focus on looking at my leading hand. Thinking about keeping my shoulder position gives me too much to worry about, so focusing on my leading hand helps prevent sensory overload.
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I've had a break-through recently with sliding BSTs better, and I think a lot of my past problems have had to do with a lack of ankle flexibility in my back foot.
I'm still really inflexible, but recently i've been trying to keep a mental picture in my head of trying to lock in to the slide with a 45º angle between my back foot and my ankle, so my whole foot perches on the tail instead of just my toes, and i've gotten some of the longest slides of my life in recent weeks. Historically i've only bonked BSTs with minimal slide and it always felt like a crapshoot.
So. much. fun.
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I've had a break-through recently with sliding BSTs better, and I think a lot of my past problems have had to do with a lack of ankle flexibility in my back foot.
I'm still really inflexible, but recently i've been trying to keep a mental picture in my head of trying to lock in to the slide with a 45º angle between my back foot and my ankle, so my whole foot perches on the tail instead of just my toes, and i've gotten some of the longest slides of my life in recent weeks. Historically i've only bonked BSTs with minimal slide and it always felt like a crapshoot.
So. much. fun.
Super hyped for you. I've recently improved my slides aswell. I noticed for myself my weight and body were way too hunched over to sit on them. So recently I've been focused on my posture while popping in. Keeping my chest more upright gave me a bunch of stability.
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Idk much about ledge skating. But on transition, you want to be just about gripping your rail/ back rail "pocket" with your toes through your shoe. Come up the ramp at a slight angle, but by the time you're popping ideally you're about to be parallel with the coping. Give it a scoop, float for a split second, and then stomp it forward, which I guess I would equate to the "push" you guys are talking about. If you're overrotating into fakie, you've let it get away from you and your shoulders have rotated to the point where you'd be contorted/ thrown off the board if you came out regular. Looking over your shoulder is what keeps your upper half of your body in check. Also, everything gets a little more comfy when you go faster.
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180’s to tailstall can help but they’re not necessary at all to do bs tailslide.
I’d say focus more on back 50-50’s, 5-0’s and ollieing up curbs/ledges blindside. The less you see the object the better.
Try to be as much aware as possible where the edge of the ledge is.
Then is just about popping, turning your hips not your shoulders to get that tail sliding. It’s scary committing to it first.
Eventually you’ll get the timing right.
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Had a personal breakthrough today. What made em work today is I pretended I was doing them switch so I set up my feet and body that way - foot instead of pointed to the side, I had it perpendicular to the board And hips squared off. If my explanation makes nonsense just watch people doing them switch.
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When I miss on this trick it is because I am leaning too far back and my board will shoot out. I expect this to happen warming up and will eventually find the right amount of pressure. If you just Ollie to tail you will stop dead.
The push is where your back foot gets slightly out ahead of your body. You are not 90 degrees your front foot is in back of your front foot.
I will try to find a picture that illustrates my point.
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0f79f756839a305edb009ea665a7621/tumblr_nrjdebRP4D1rv4h7no1_500.jpg)
Look at the action on the back foot. See the heal lift and the back leg angle. That’s that PUSH...
Great explanation and the pic.
You’re welcome.
Editors note: it is impossible for ones front foot to be in back of ones front foot. I meant back foot but I am sure you interpreted that.
Skating is so weird that I look at people who FS tail slide like why do you look so good on that I suck and then BSTS and the other guy thinks the same thing. My body just moves backside so much easier. Front side I always open up or something. Maybe I just need to find the right ledge/high curb. I don’t get any enjoyment skating boxes anymore. Feels like practice and the ones and the park use aluminum edging which sucks to grind.
Have a good day...
Some observations from today:
"The Push" works - 1st one I tried today I got a decent slide and exited forward, the 2nd one I tried I slid got out fakie, then nothing in between for around 20 tries till my last 4 in the session where I got a solid lock and exited fakie with a proper pop out instead of slipping out.
1) It's counter-intuitive because you would think that the added push would cause over-rotation and the deck slipping out. But "The Push" helps to get the baseplate slotted into the ledge perfectly while overcoming the inertia from the initial lock of the tail.
2) I still got stuck on a lot of the attempts but I attribute that to under-rotation from not committing, not looking back or smashing my tail from above the ledge and not staying on my toes.
3) The ledge I'm working on is tiny (6-7" max), a taller ledge like 10-12" seems ideal
4) Slight angle to parallel worked best for me, too much angle caused me to under-rotate my board and "The Push" couldn't compensate for it. While rolling up my front shoulder was pointing into the ledge slightly, that helped with opening up the shoulders to aid the rotation.
I visualized Josh Kalis' Backside Tailslides (and 360 flips) when I attempted the trick because he exaggerates "The Push". After sifting through his Memory Screen and IG but couldn't find the specific clip.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3j7akUD7cD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This one was the closest I came up with, in one of the last few trick you can seem him really jamming / slotting his tail into the ledge with his back foot. I guess that's where the hip rotation really makes the different - rotation of the board under foot with while maintaining the upper body parallel to the ledge.
Overall not a bad day, landed 6 (1 regular, 5 fakie) out of 20-ish tries. I was locking in a lot more consistently but sticking and the times I did lock in I could actually feel the baseplate slide instead of gliding haphazardly across the ledge. I still need to work on my hip rotation. "The Push" is scary and counter-intuitive - it definitely takes commitment to allow yourself to over-rotate so you actually rotate sufficiently.
Shoutout to @GardenSkater77, @jerrygurneyscream and @Billy Bitchcakes for your secret sauce.
I know it's a sin to quote yourself but a year after battling this trick i'm finally confident to say I have it consistently in my bag.
Over the 1 year of doing them I've made the following adjustments:
1) Approach with a mellower angle - less drastic rotation into the slide so I don't force myself out to Fakie prematurely
2) Separated by hips and shoulders during the slide - hips and lower body are perpendicular to the ledge for the lock, shoulders parallel to the ledge to continue to forward momentum and exit out both regular and Fakie
3) Popping lighter so I don't slam my tail onto the ledge - still get a solid pop so my tail actually leaves the ground but gently placing it on the ledge so stick way less
4) Being less reliant on the "slotting / pushing" technique - I skate smooth ledges with loads of wax so less need to push through the inertia, also less slamming my tail on the ledge (see point 3)
Taller ledges still need a few attempts to get used to the height, but I'm not spending 30 minutes fruitlessly rolling up and not popping at all.
Had a personal breakthrough today. What made em work today is I pretended I was doing them switch so I set up my feet and body that way - foot instead of pointed to the side, I had it perpendicular to the board And hips squared off. If my explanation makes nonsense just watch people doing them switch.
Any videos of skaters doing a solid switch one to illustrate?
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I'm just talking about the stance and body posture. I feel more tension than compared to how I used to do it like with my front foot angled.
https://youtu.be/EYdvtw2Cs1w
I do the push style naturally. Once I get on the ledge my tail isnt even completely pressed flat on top, the board is dipped down slightly but it still catched and slides. Works with the push. I go slow so barely slide.
The large post with tips is really good. I remember winter or spring trying to push harder since the sit on top and slide method wasn't happening for me.
Edit: switched a felipe gustavo clip with chima
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Before doing anything I prepare by standing flat on the ground no board, then jumping up and keeping my shoulders straight but disconnecting my hips and turning them 90 degrees. Like a just dance move or bowling as someone else said. It looks stupid but it helps my mind isolate my hips from shoulders. That isolation is the key.
Rolling up I come at the ledge w a bit of an angle. I focus on Ollie to 50-50 so my body is completely over the ledge. Right before I land in the 50 I quickly do that hip disconnect just dance thing, and it lands in the slide perfectly if done right. I stopped slipping out when I started to expect to land in the slide, which came from lots of attempts and consistency. I also try not ollie too hard so the board doesn’t fly away or go too high above the ledge.
I always had gross bs tails, mist weren’t even legit. And I lost them for along time. But since I got this advice I’ve gotten them back so good.
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I finally learned this trick in my 40s, though I've been trying them off and on since my 20s. I'm still not consistent with them but I can land them now every once in a while. The main thing that helped me was not trying to see in front of me as I'm sliding but just fully committing to locking in to the trick blind, if that makes sense. Before I would usually end up in a suski, or missing the ledge when I tried to see where I'm going or looking at the ledge as I'm sliding. Locking in without looking forward might not work for everyone but that's how I do them. Now I usually get the tail squarely on most of the time even when I don't land them.
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I finally learned this trick in my 40s, though I've been trying them off and on since my 20s. I'm still not consistent with them but I can land them now every once in a while. The main thing that helped me was not trying to see in front of me as I'm sliding but just fully committing to locking in to the trick blind, if that makes sense. Before I would usually end up in a suski, or missing the ledge when I tried to see where I'm going or looking at the ledge as I'm sliding. Locking in without looking forward might not work for everyone but that's how I do them. Now I usually get the tail squarely on most of the time even when I don't land them.
+1, they're always a work in progress and there will be first try days and 30th try days. Enjoy them while you can, congrats.
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I finally learned this trick in my 40s, though I've been trying them off and on since my 20s. I'm still not consistent with them but I can land them now every once in a while. The main thing that helped me was not trying to see in front of me as I'm sliding but just fully committing to locking in to the trick blind, if that makes sense. Before I would usually end up in a suski, or missing the ledge when I tried to see where I'm going or looking at the ledge as I'm sliding. Locking in without looking forward might not work for everyone but that's how I do them. Now I usually get the tail squarely on most of the time even when I don't land them.
+1, they're always a work in progress and there will be first try days and 30th try days. Enjoy them while you can, congrats.
Thanks. It took a few years of trying them all the time to finally get them. They were probably the main trick I wanted to learn in my lifetime because I love the way they look. I definitely know what you mean about them being a work in progress - some days I get them in a few tries and others I will try them for an hour before landing one.
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I finally learned this trick in my 40s, though I've been trying them off and on since my 20s. I'm still not consistent with them but I can land them now every once in a while. The main thing that helped me was not trying to see in front of me as I'm sliding but just fully committing to locking in to the trick blind, if that makes sense. Before I would usually end up in a suski, or missing the ledge when I tried to see where I'm going or looking at the ledge as I'm sliding. Locking in without looking forward might not work for everyone but that's how I do them. Now I usually get the tail squarely on most of the time even when I don't land them.
+1, they're always a work in progress and there will be first try days and 30th try days. Enjoy them while you can, congrats.
Thanks. It took a few years of trying them all the time to finally get them. They were probably the main trick I wanted to learn in my lifetime because I love the way they look. I definitely know what you mean about them being a work in progress - some days I get them in a few tries and others I will try them for an hour before landing one.
I was looking back at my Insta posts and they are all BS Tailslide vids, this trick has been 3 years in the works. I'm finally getting more comfortable holding a longer slide to come our regular and even shove out if I'm feeling frisky.
The next 3 year battle is BS Smith or BS Lipslide....
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I finally learned this trick in my 40s, though I've been trying them off and on since my 20s. I'm still not consistent with them but I can land them now every once in a while. The main thing that helped me was not trying to see in front of me as I'm sliding but just fully committing to locking in to the trick blind, if that makes sense. Before I would usually end up in a suski, or missing the ledge when I tried to see where I'm going or looking at the ledge as I'm sliding. Locking in without looking forward might not work for everyone but that's how I do them. Now I usually get the tail squarely on most of the time even when I don't land them.
+1, they're always a work in progress and there will be first try days and 30th try days. Enjoy them while you can, congrats.
Thanks. It took a few years of trying them all the time to finally get them. They were probably the main trick I wanted to learn in my lifetime because I love the way they look. I definitely know what you mean about them being a work in progress - some days I get them in a few tries and others I will try them for an hour before landing one.
I was looking back at my Insta posts and they are all BS Tailslide vids, this trick has been 3 years in the works. I'm finally getting more comfortable holding a longer slide to come our regular and even shove out if I'm feeling frisky.
The next 3 year battle is BS Smith or BS Lipslide....
I definitely wanna learn those too
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I finally learned this trick in my 40s, though I've been trying them off and on since my 20s. I'm still not consistent with them but I can land them now every once in a while. The main thing that helped me was not trying to see in front of me as I'm sliding but just fully committing to locking in to the trick blind, if that makes sense. Before I would usually end up in a suski, or missing the ledge when I tried to see where I'm going or looking at the ledge as I'm sliding. Locking in without looking forward might not work for everyone but that's how I do them. Now I usually get the tail squarely on most of the time even when I don't land them.
Where do you look if you’re not looking at the ledge? I’ve heard to watch your back foot, which I tried and it helped me at least make contact with the ledge but I slipped off immediately.
I too am in my 40s and have been trying to figure this trick out for a couple of years now. It feels unlearnable.
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I finally learned this trick in my 40s, though I've been trying them off and on since my 20s. I'm still not consistent with them but I can land them now every once in a while. The main thing that helped me was not trying to see in front of me as I'm sliding but just fully committing to locking in to the trick blind, if that makes sense. Before I would usually end up in a suski, or missing the ledge when I tried to see where I'm going or looking at the ledge as I'm sliding. Locking in without looking forward might not work for everyone but that's how I do them. Now I usually get the tail squarely on most of the time even when I don't land them.
Where do you look if you’re not looking at the ledge? I’ve heard to watch your back foot, which I tried and it helped me at least make contact with the ledge but I slipped off immediately.
I too am in my 40s and have been trying to figure this trick out for a couple of years now. It feels unlearnable.
I eye the corner of the ledge as I approach, and after I've ollied and rotated, I look down at my back foot. One thing that helps a lot is learning how to back tail stall on curbs and rotate off, approaching at a bit of an angle, if you don't already have those down.
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I recently did a lot of illegal bs 5050s to bs tails in order to get the slide a lot better.
Worked fine and I hope nobody ever saw me
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why is it so hard to commit to bs 5-0s? usually for me it was bs 5-0, trust my back foot enough, then try bs tails. Does anyone have any tips to commiting to just stomping the tail for a slide??
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Just wanna say the extra step of learning bs suski first was a major breakthrough for me. Now if i fuck up the suski, I'm doing a nice bs tail and vice versa
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i love doing this trick! here are some of the things I think of when doing this trick.
When learning, I focused on ollieing into a back 5050/5-0, but then try to turn it into a back tail as close as I could replicate it until it worked out. Helps get the tail on there, as I would try to jump right into it and wouldn't even get onto the ledge. If you keep getting into lip, pop a little further away. Do not hesitate on this trick, it can slip out if you're not careful. Full commit and you got that! 8)
When sliding, I found that if you "look over your shoulder" you will go back to reg. I put that in quotes because I don't believe I actually look over my shoulder, I feel like my shoulders are positioned frontside in a way that will help me turn out to regular. However, if you just look straight down, you will go to fakie. Bend yo knees when sliding, that could help with holding it.
Dismount comes naturally, most of the time when I do this trick going to reg, my wheels stick to the ledge and I fall out that way.
Good luck future back tailers!
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This seems like the best place to ask
When doing a backside tailslide in transition, do you think it is a legit back tail if instead of popping the board onto your tail, you quickly kinda pivot onto it? Or is that a lame way to do it
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This seems like the best place to ask
When doing a backside tailslide in transition, do you think it is a legit back tail if instead of popping the board onto your tail, you quickly kinda pivot onto it? Or is that a lame way to do it
I've always just pivoted into them. Pop or not it doesn't take away from the trick
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This seems like the best place to ask
When doing a backside tailslide in transition, do you think it is a legit back tail if instead of popping the board onto your tail, you quickly kinda pivot onto it? Or is that a lame way to do it
I think they look kinda gross like that but if you can get them to slide still then more power to ya. I'd rather do them like that and slide them than only be able to do the scoopy-pop thing into a stall. The trick scares me thinking ima stick and fall on my head backwards.
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my hack for anybody wondering for any tail slide that has a tendency to stick is to pre-wax your tail (do the entire tail, not just the area near the baseplate) + the baseplate area
also, in your mind, always envision all the weight is on your back foot - your body will actuate this thought and itll force the slide to happen, no matter how sticky the ledge is
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we all know tail slide problems is a balls issue...
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i am just learning this trick nollie slappy version to start. that is how i will dial the slide in. once i get my slide down really good i am gonna practice ollieing in at basically zero speed so i have the position absolutely dialed when i land. then put it all together. i have done back tails before but i cant do them like 4-5 feet like i want to like fs tails. that is my goal.
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I finally relearned them, posted one in the Post You Skating thread.
Here's a recap of what helped and didn't help (for me):
What didn't help:
- I relearned them on a curb, didn't have to try them on a higher curb/ledge
- I didn't have to get my back 50s down, or learn back 5-0s either. That's just me
- I didn't have to adjust the angle I approached them at too much
What did help:
- Warming up with fast b/s 180s on flat
- Warming up with b/s slappies
- I kept my arms out and worked on keeping them in the standard position for back tails
- Consciously remembered to go totally blind before I ollie onto the curb, turning my head
- The key (for me): I took Ben Degros' advice and approached a barely waxed curb slowly, and practiced ollieing into a back tail stall first. This really helped. I was able to figure out the angle, going blind, and I took my time in getting comfortable ollieing and stalling first. Highly recommend taking this baby step
- After doing stalls for a few days, I waxed up the curb and slowly started to approach it a bit faster. Took my time, got comfortable with sliding backwards a centimetre at a time
- EDIT - one more thing, like @silhouette was saying in another thread, I had to want it 100%. And I did - I eventually fully accepted the fact that I could possibly slam and prepared myself mentally. And @layzieyez sharing insight into the art of Bushido helped me situate myself in the right mindset to focus on success and not dwell on failure
Hope this helped a bit for anyone learning them.
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make sure the ledge is waxed a bit more than normal
curve into it at about a 10 degree angle (this helps keep you in a longer slide)
if you hit your wheel on the way in, it doesnt count
want to come out forward? keep looking over your right shoulder when sliding
fakie? look at your back foot
45 and still busting these out regularly
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This is a topic Ive pondered starting "Name a trick and the one thing you focus on when attempting it". For me, there is always 1 thing the trick boils down to, and if I focus on it, I have a good success rate. It's not a "trick tip" which tend to focus on foot position, angles, and steps to follow. Trick tips, much like wheel shape or wheelbase, dont matter a lot for me - its all about this one thing, and learning new tricks is about discovering this thing, whatever it is.
For back tails, which Ive long struggled with, I think Ive boiled it down to the following:
think about a back 50 but rotate hips at the last second.
I look forward to testing this out in future sessions.
For reference, the one thing I focus on with back 50s is:
keep your back parallel to the ledge before popping
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I can bs tail ledges now, but is there some special secret to doing them on quick bank to ledges? There's not really a way to get parallel with the ledge on the one I'm skating
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I go through phases with BS Tailslides, some days they just click and others it's a 30 try battle for a tiny scratcher of a slide.
Check out Tom Asta's series if you haven't already, goes into some nuance onto weight distribution and angle of approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o60dwXu_i40
He starts talking about tailslides around 14 min. For a long time I tried going really parallel to the ledge and I would either slip out or my tail would hit the ledge on the way up. Tried the slight angle plus slight swerve in helpful in getting the lock, didn't get a long slide but I felt a lot more control to come out regular instead of just flopping out fakie.
His 2nd part of the series on FS Crook is interesting too, going to try and re-learn those again this week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6VM-u6HbME