GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND TECHNIQUES |
Includes explanations of techniques used in surf style skateboarding
Su: Surfing
Sk: Skating
Ski: borrowed from skiing but applies here.
All: All "standing in motion" sports ie; skiing, ice skating, snow boarding, etc.
- Angulation
- Anticipation
- Arching
- Backpedaling
- Backside
- Bottom turn
- Check
- Cross stance
- Counter anticipation or winding up
- Counter leaning
- Counter rotation
- Counter weighting
- Crossover
- Cross stepping
- Cutback
- Drop
- Drop position
- Drop knee stance
- Fade
- Fakey
- Fall line
- Frontside
- Half shuffle
- Hand jive
- Layback
- Leaning
- Linking
- Narrow stance
- Nose ride
- Nose wheelie
- Parallel stance
- Reverse stance
- Rotation
- Space walk
- Stringer
- Switch stance
- Tail slide
- Top turn
- Trim
- Trimming
- Twist
- Wide stance
- Wheelie
All. The angle of the turning edge relative to the surface. Getting more rail to dig in means greater angulation.
All. In anticipation the upper body anticipates the next turn while the lower body completes the last.
Su, Sk. Arch turns started in the 60s or earlier. They are very smooth and traditional in appearance. The body arches to put weight on a rail. The arch can make the board lean or counter lean. The most basic arches from traditional longboarding are the frontside "soul arch" turn, a counter lean turn, and the arching drop knee cutback, a lean turn.
Su, Sk. Cross stepping or walking backwards is called backpedaling. The front foot is crossed behind the back foot. The new front is then uncrossed backwards to continue.
Su, Sk. Also called heelside. Your back and heels face uphill when turning.
Su, Sk. In surfing, the turn done at the bottom of the wall of the wave. The bottom turn leads back up the wave. In surf style skating, bottom turns start downhill and turn back uphill.
All. To twist against a turn to complete it and to control rotation. A way to stop rotation. It is a form of counter rotation, and can be a windup for the next turn at the same time it is the end of the first. It has the effect of completing the turn, since your checking shoulders push your hips farther into the turn.
Su, Sk. Riding with your back foot crossed over your front foot. Small turns are possible. A transition stance, since any uncrossing will lead to a stronger position.
All. Another form of anticipation uses counter rotation to wind up a turn. Similar to checking.
All. Counter leaning is a way of putting your weight on the opposite rail from the turning edge. Basically, your upper body leans away from the turn. In this way you can drive your weight down on the turning rail without tipping over.
All. When you counter rotate, you push your shoulders in the opposite direction of a turn. This has the effect of pushing your hips around into the turn, or simply balancing the turn while your lean does most of the work.
All. To balance using two areas of the body opposite from eachother on a balance point. The simplest counter weight is the one every kid does when balancing, to extend both arms to each side.
Ski. The act where your body changes leans in between two turns. If you're leaning into both turns, you will feel a lot of cross over. If you go from a counter lean to a lean you will feel no crossover whatsoever.
Su, Sk. The basic step of longboard footwork. Also called walking. It is simply walking up and back on your board to set up turns, trimming, and tricks. Your feet remain diagonal to the board for stability.
Su, Sk. In surfing, a maneuver to turn back toward the curl. A u turn or reversal of direction. Usually followed by another turn back in the direction the wave is breaking.
Su. The first peaking section of a wave, where the surfer stands up and takes the initial drop. To be followed by a bottom turn or other maneuver.
Su, Sk. A stance crouching on the middle of the board or slightly back or forward. Weight on the front foot, back foot usually on the inside edge. Back knee dropped down low. A stable stance for dropping down a hill without much turning.
Su, Sk. The back foot is reached all the way onto the tip of the tail and placed on the toe. The back knee drops down toward the board. The front knee is also usually bent.
Su, Sk. A pre turn that sets up a big turn. In surfing, a veering toward the curl in the drop. To be followed by a bottom turn away from the curl. In skating, a veering toward the side of the road before a bottom turn to the middle.
Sk. A switch stance that is forced because of a change of direction, like a 180 that continues down hill, or because you roll backwards without changing stance. Reaching the nose can be fakey if you plan on doing a nose turn. Your front foot will have to be your pivot foot.
Ski. An imaginary line running straight downhill in the path in front of you. In skiing you usually cut back and forth across the fall line to control speed.
Su, Sk. Also called toeside. Your front and toes face uphill when turning.
Su, Sk. The shuffle is a repositioning on the board. Moving one foot a bit is called a half shuffle.
Su, Sk. Hand gestures used in noseriding to give a "cool" look. Hand jive can be subtle and powerful, as with Wingnut, or animated, as with Miki Dora. Miki Dora is perhaps the inventor of hand jive.
Su, Sk. An extreme heelside lean. Your knees bend deeply and your knees and thighs point out over your frontside rail to balance your extreme lean over your heelside rail. You can grab an outside rail or drag a hand for stability. In surfing, used in cutbacks.
All. Leaning into a turn is one way to put a board onto a rail and develop a turning surface. It is very intuitive. Even a beginner can feel how to lean into a turn. Leaning can be hard to recover from if you tip over too far.
All. When one turn follows another immediately, that's linking. The end of one turn is actually the beginning of the next.
Su, Sk. Your feet shoulder width apart or less. Used when smoothness or coolness is more desirable. Can mean feet together, facing sideways, not parallel stance.
Su, Sk. In surfing, standing on the nose in the curl of the wave. In skating, sometimes means a nose wheelie.
Sk. Tipping the board forward while balanced on the nose.
Su, Sk. Both feet together, facing forward. Used most often to trim from the middle of the board or to hang ten. A variation is used in a hang heels.
Su, Sk. Your front foot is crossed behind your back foot, dropped onto the tail, and used to turn the board. A reverse turn is performed in reverse stance.
All. When you throw your arm and shoulder into a turn, that's rotation. You can wind up and release and swing your shoulder into a turn, like a baseball swing has a windup and swing.
Sk. An old school skateboard trick where you do a wheelie and sort of sweep the board back and forth as you're wheelie-ing.
Su, Sk. The center lengthwise line of a board. Usually a strip a quarter inch wide or so made of wood. It is a good reference for where to put your feet to be centered on the board.
Su, Sk. Opposite of your normal stance. You face to the opposite side, your back foot and front foot are reversed. Usually difficult because you need to learn to pivot on the other foot.
Su, Sk. Weighting the front foot and pushing with the back foot until the tail slides.
Su. In surfing a turn at the top of the wave. Can follow a bottom turn. Extreme top turn is an "off the lip."
Su. The optimum position of a surfboard for maximum speed. Also "in trim."
Su, Sk. Adjusting a board to get maximum speed and a good line on a wave. In skating, trimming follows a line downhill.
All. To twist your body into a turn to initiate it. You can think of your front hand pulling you into a turn.
Su, Sk. Feet a bit more than shoulder width apart. Used in bottom turns, hard carving turns, or trimming in critical sections where stability is key.
Sk.To tip the board back and balance on the rear wheels. One of the original old school tricks.
