Author Topic: Backside Airs  (Read 1635 times)

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baustin

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Backside Airs
« on: December 30, 2020, 08:08:54 AM »
Let me preface by saying I really don’t consider myself much of a transition skater, but I do occasionally dabble with bigger transitions at parks if the mood is right. I’m comfortable dropping in and scraping the coping on 7-12ft walls and I’ve even pulled some mediocre tricks, but the one thing I’ve always wanted to have up my sleeve is a nice backside air (the ones where you grab the heel side of your board near the nose but not exactly a nosegrab). Are they really that hard to learn or am I making a bigger deal out of them in my head than necessary? When I see people do them it seems so simple, but when I start trying to do it I completely wimp out or can’t get the grab stably to be confident enough to commit. Let’s say I’m starting from zero, how should I go about learning the classic bs air?

j....soy.....

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Re: Backside Airs
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2020, 08:55:07 AM »
Somewhere zero and 10% is where I last left off on this trick trying to do them on a 14.5 vert ramp. 

I'd nosegrab kickturn and then start pulling them off the wall.  Scoopy like....

Frank and Fred

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Re: Backside Airs
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2020, 09:04:42 AM »
They come and go for me. You want proper vert not something that almost goes to vert. I do the old nose grab backside grinds and edgers and that's good practice but when you air you have to go straight up. I have a bad habit of starting to turn before I bounce off the coping. My back foot often flaps also, which is terrifying. A slight alley oop might help promote glue-foot. You know when you've done a good one as it feels pretty effortless. I had one afternoon where I was able to do them pretty well on concrete without pads... not sure what happened... must have been the transition that just worked for my timing... I'd like to spend some time on a decent (not huge) wooden vert ramp with knee pads to get them dialed in again. When I was skating vert regularly all the old dogs encouraged 'ghost-airs' or just going for it and faking a few to get the feel for them before you are ready to commit. Knee pads on wood helped make this a lot less risky.

baustin

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Re: Backside Airs
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2020, 12:32:30 PM »
They come and go for me. You want proper vert not something that almost goes to vert. I do the old nose grab backside grinds and edgers and that's good practice but when you air you have to go straight up. I have a bad habit of starting to turn before I bounce off the coping. My back foot often flaps also, which is terrifying. A slight alley oop might help promote glue-foot. You know when you've done a good one as it feels pretty effortless. I had one afternoon where I was able to do them pretty well on concrete without pads... not sure what happened... must have been the transition that just worked for my timing... I'd like to spend some time on a decent (not huge) wooden vert ramp with knee pads to get them dialed in again. When I was skating vert regularly all the old dogs encouraged 'ghost-airs' or just going for it and faking a few to get the feel for them before you are ready to commit. Knee pads on wood helped make this a lot less risky.

I definitely think I make the same mistake of turning before bonking off the coping. The back foot coming off is probably a symptom of that, I’ve experienced it too when I’ve tried it. I guess I should borrow some knee pads and try to hit it straight on like you said. As someone who barely hits big transition, I don’t have pads or experience with knee slides so I’m probably killing myself trying to learn them padless and running out of every bail.

Frank and Fred

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Re: Backside Airs
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2020, 01:37:56 PM »
Knee slides open up a whole new world.... as long as you do them on a surface that actually slides...

Mbrimson88

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Re: Backside Airs
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2021, 04:52:33 AM »
A vert pro that I know said the secret is learning backside ollies first, then backside airs will come very easily as you know how to land already.

Also it is not so much you ollie on vert or bigger ramps but more just roll up faster than you would to kickturn lifting the front of your board and let your back wheels bonk off the coping, but it is good to learn to do backside ollies on anything first, even just banks or mellow transitions and work your way up the ramp from lower down.

Another guy I know learned them really well over hips and could tweak them out and everything, but still was not so good on straight walls, but that is another option, similar to flyouts that kids do with all manner of tweaks.

I talk too much about skateboards.  Sorry.

dr.prestige

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Re: Backside Airs
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2021, 03:23:09 PM »
This is a dream trick for me. How do you guys feel about grabbing behind the foot (melon or method or whatever) as opposed to in front of the foot? Also, how can you assure yourself you won't clip on re-entry?

Op, you ok man? Being real here, you doin alright?

Mbrimson88

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Re: Backside Airs
« Reply #7 on: March 09, 2021, 06:05:06 PM »
This is a dream trick for me. How do you guys feel about grabbing behind the foot (melon or method or whatever) as opposed to in front of the foot? Also, how can you assure yourself you won't clip on re-entry?

Difference between early grab and normal grab, no matter where you grab, but if you are tweaking it out (melon, method, etc) behind the foot holds the board to your feet much more than in front (or nose grab).

Normal vert ramps with big coping "bonk" the wheels and bring you out more, but vert ramps with minimal vert or minimal coping are harder for those guys to air on and are much more likely to hang up, so you have to almost ollie out of the ramp in those cases.

This is a guy I have seen skate a whole lot at the indoor park before covid, and he is maybe the best young Aussie skater, so worth watching some of his clips and seeing how he does things.

Luke Russell


https://www.instagram.com/p/CKkJw4VFHav/


And this is just plain crazy, lein 540


https://www.instagram.com/p/CBPu-5rlxlI/
I talk too much about skateboards.  Sorry.