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C ross Steps and Walking

Cross stepping broken down

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Walking on a moving board is more than simply walking as you would on a sidewalk. Technique must be developed that makes the steps flow while maintaining balance. The most important concept is maintaining foot contact with the board as much as possible. The steps must be articulated, unhurried and deliberate.

Walking can be done on any longboard, but it really gets fun and practical on a longboard of 48 inches and up. Most of the walks on these pages show a 54 inch flat "plank" longboard, which allows two big steps to the nose or four small steps to the nose. It helps if the board is fairly heavy. Soft wheels are nice but not necessary. In the following sequence the board has hard wheels. I prefer a board with very little flex, but walking over a flexing board can be done well. There are many details of board setups on the gear page.

Two step walk

The most essential walk is two steps from the tail to the nose.

Half shuffle

Having picked up some speed earlier, I ride in a tail stance. The stance is a bit too wide for the walk I want to do. I will half shuffle my front foot back a bit. This is a subtle and useful thing I do to set up walks. The way I mark off my boards with grip tape is useful for seeing foot positions. Notice my front foot is on the third oval of tape on the heel side.

The shuffle is a repositioning on the board. You side step up the board, one foot at a time. Side step, together, side.

Moving one foot a bit I call a half shuffle. While two shuffles are inefficient and usually undesirable, a half shuffle sets up weight changes and cross steps. It's also used to make space on a shorter skateboard.

In the shot, I shuffle my front foot back, and now it's on the second oval of tape. I also turn my foot slightly, pointing it more toward the nose, preparing to step. Shifting my front foot back narrows my stance and makes a bit more room up front. The whole feel of riding changes from this little move. It takes a little practice to balance and steer, because the board is very loose in the tail stance. It's worth it, because walks always look much better if done from all the way back on the tail.

Half shuffles set up turns and cross steps. You'll see them used often in my routines, as a subtle adjustment. A turn or cross step of some sort will follow the half shuffle. For example, from a middle stance, you can half shuffle your front foot to your back, taking a side by side stance, briefly. Then your back foot will half shuffle onto the tail to start the turn from a narrow stance.

Shuffling is usually considered uncool by the traditional longboard surf crowd. They want to use cross stepping for speed and smoothness when moving up and down the board. I try to stick to this code when I'm doing traditional style. It's hard to avoid putting two half shuffles together into a tail turn such as described above, but I try to limit them to one during walk sequences.

Cross step

I take a slow, smooth cross step, trying not to affect the glide of the rolling board.

I set my foot down in the cross stance, leaving some room at the nose for another step. The next step will be an uncross step, with my left foot.

I step onto the nose and wind up in a nose stance, front toe close to the nose and back foot just behind the truck.

Four step walk

On the 54 inch board, the two step to the nose walk is done with normal sized steps. A four step walk can be done with small, squeezed steps.

Narrow cross stance

The routine started from a narrow tail stance, not shown. The first step shown here is a cross step. This narrow cross stance is much tighter than in the two step. The feet are diagonal, parallel to eachother, and quite close. It may take some practice to be able to ride in this stance.

Uncross step

An uncross step follows a cross step or cross stance and goes to regular stance. Step two is a small uncross step to a narrow middle stance. I keep my knees bent. This allows me to swing the next step forward without lifting it off the board.

Small cross step to nose

I take another cross step. To keep the step small, I dig my right heel back as it crosses, parking it close to the back foot. I would call this a cross stance on the nose, the front third of the board. I am approaching the tip.

I uncross and step my left foot onto the tip in a hang five. The last step is not weighted. The foot hangs off the tip but the weight is all on the ball of the back foot which is right over the front truck.

I bend down low with my seat back, as if seated. I'm trying to keep my weight back and low. I don't want to nose wheelie here, I want to keep my speed up in a smooth ride.

Backpedalling, or walking backwards

At the end of a nose ride, it's time to get off the nose and go back to the tail to set up a turn or the next maneuver. You don't want to shuffle backwards, you must walk backwards. This is the way to keep the most control.

Many skaters and surfers complain that walking backwards is harder than walking forwards. Some techniques can be used to make it so you know where your feet are going even though you're not looking back. For example, there is a pacing off going on that tells you exactly where you are on your board. You know without looking down that four small paces will put you on the tail, with your back foot on the tail tip, in the tail stance.

Four step backpedal

The following sequence demonstrates four backpedal steps from nose to tail.

I start in the narrow nose stance. My weight is fully on my back foot. The front foot can be crossed back.

This picture shows the first cross step back, left behind right. I have picked up my front foot and have begun to uncross it into the next step.

I step backwards by probing my right foot back until the toe hits its landing spot. Then I press the ball of the foot down and last the heel.

Kicking backpedal step

Here I take a very tight cross step, kicking my left toe around my right foot. This is done to save space and get into a tail stance that will not be too narrow, but just right.

Now I'm in a tail stance and can easily perform a kick turn to end the ride.

Cross step beginning tips

This section is for those who are just starting to walk on moving boards. If the board is shooting out from under your feet, this is what you should be reading. For those who can cross step already, you can skip it. You might read anyway to learn a few exercises to smooth out your walking.

Cracks and handrails

If you haven't cross stepped, or have tried and failed, you must start your practice in a very controlled situation. One way is to put your board somewhere where it can't move, like on the grass, or on a sidewalk with the wheels held by a deep crack. Another way is to hold onto a rail or fence while you're practicing.

Hokey pokey: cross step feint

Taking a partial cross step is one way to begin. It's a feint, putting the cross foot forward then back without actually stepping on it. This will assume you're regular foot. Start with a middle stance, less than shoulder width. Put all your weight on your front foot. Hold onto a handrail and take a step, right foot crossing the left. Put a little weight on the crossed foot, but before you can weight it fully, cross it back and put it back where it was, on the back trucks. That's a hokey pokey step, like the nursery rhyme "ya put your right foot in, ya take your right foot out." Hokey pokey your back foot a few times while you're holding the rail. Now try it while rolling slowly.

Role playing

I think the reason cross stepping is so hard at first is the legs have to learn new roles. The back foot has to learn to be the front foot, which is kind of a power foot or planted foot in the cross stance. The front foot has to learn to be the back foot, which is the steering and the pivot foot. These roles are very different than the normal role of the feet. Cross stepping and cross stance has a lot in common with riding switch foot, or fakey.

Backpedal hokey pokey

The backpedal hokey pokey is like the hokey pokey exercise, only it moves backwards.

Start with a middle stance or as in the picture, a narrow middle stance.

Cross the left foot from the front position to the back position, placing it on the ball of the foot. If you have to, put the board on a crack or on the grass where it can't roll and practice this a few times.

Then the left foot is swung forward and replaced on the middle of the board, in a side by side stance. Do this a couple of times in a row to get the hang of backpedaling.

Arms help the legs

Hold your arms way out. Your arms have a "stance" much the same as your legs. A wide arm stance will help when the legs are working on something tough. On these pages you can see me hold my arms very wide sometimes. Other times they are relaxed at my sides. The going must be gettin' easy at those times.