Reef Layer 2
Walk Chains
K icks
Layer 1 Parts
Four step walk
Middle stc
Nose wheelie
Two step walk
Tail stc
Back cross step
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Walk and kick combinations
The kick you most commonly see in longboard surfing is called a kick five. The kick five is performed by modern longboard surfers who follow the traditional style like Kevin Conelly, Jimmy Gamboa, and Wingnut. It's an extension of the basic tip rides like the hang five and hang ten, the idea being if a hang five is mastered, then a kick off the nose is even more hotdoggy. The kick variations on this chains page involve walking into a kick or walking out of a kick.
One Two Three Four Kick Five
This kick five has a couple of twists that make it more challenging and interesting. If you leave out the variations, you will still have a nice kick five, and it'll be easier.
The first twist is that I give the kick a rhythmic accent, making it an end to the flow of four steps. The kick should follow four smooth cross steps, so the fifth step is a kick in the same rhythm. Hence the name, 1-2-3-4 kick five.
The second twist is that the kick doesn't come right back down on the board, it hangs off, pulling the nose down and balancing a wheelie.
First I take three cross steps, keeping them fairly close together. The steps must all proceed at the same rhythm. This is the One step.
Two. It's an uncross step. Keep the steps small and close together to fit them onto the board length.
Three is a cross. The steps must all proceed at the same rhythm. Stuttering, stumbling, or favoring one foot over another for balance will ruin the flow of the whole trick.
Four, with the left foot, goes right on the tip, at the balance point where the board will tip forward. On this board it's not quite a hang five.
I kick my right leg up, bringing the tail up a bit. The kick is knee to waist high or so, like kicking a ball.
The kick along with the straightening of the leg on the tip levers the heavy board into a nose wheelie.
I land the nose wheelie by dropping my weight down and back, staying on one leg and leaving my foot extended in a hang whole foot.
This shot shows you the diagonal position that I use to balance this nose trick. There is a diagonal line all the way down my back through the leg to the pivot point on the board. It's stable, and it's pretty easy to adjust your weight back and forth. I call this a chair position because it looks and feels like you're in a reclining chair. I keep all my weight on the left leg which is bent. I keep my weight centered just behind the front truck, remaining in a seated position.
You can come down off the nose wheelie in a straighter standing position. I like the chair because if I were instead straight up or pitched forward, it'd be much harder to recover if I tipped the board too far forward.The chair position gives you some margin for error, but you might find that the seated position is hard to hold and takes strength.
The diagonal stance brings up an interesting point about technique. I've said before that sometimes you do something technically very difficult, and it makes a trick physically easier. In this case I'm doing something physically difficult and it doesn't make the trick easier, but it raises the percentage that I make it. You look at a trick and analyze it, and try to figure out whether you want to make it easier on your body by mastering the technique, or whether it's better to strain a bit to lessen the chance of error. Maybe this is a complex idea, but you can use it in a lot of circumstances.
Hand Kick Five
This is a different walk into a kick. The whole thing is a lot bigger, faster, and force is used. First of all, the walk rhythm is done with two big slow steps instead of four small quick steps. The kick itself will be as high as possible.
The rhythm of the three moves goes cross, step, kick. I take two big cross steps, starting from the tail. Shown here is the first cross step. This step has to be slow and can't be rushed. The board has to cruise and not get pushed forward, back, or offspeed.
I land the second step with the left foot right on the front trucks. This is the most stable part of the board and is a good platform for a high kick. I don't pause at all, it has to be a flowing step, step, kick.
The right foot is on the rail of the board and back, ready to be swung up in a kick. I bend and crouch. Unlike the first kick five, a lot of force will be brought into this kick.
The kick goes up, as high as possible. My left foot goes up on tip toe for extra height and stretch. The left hand goes up (or out to the side) for balance.
I call it a hand kick because I like to hold my right hand up as a target for my toe. About waist high is good, but if you kick chest or head high so much the better. I styled this like a jazz dance kick or a martial arts kick and tried to keep my knee real straight and my toe pointed. Some warmup stretching is advised before you start kicking.
I recover from the kick by bending the leg as it comes down and holding my balance on one leg. The left foot comes down off tip toe and is solidly planted on the front truck.
These hand kicks are where the big board really shines, because it holds a good speed, doesn't get thrown off by sudden movement, and there's plenty of room for those steps before a kick. I try to do this stuff on my 46 inch street board and it doesn't have the right feel. This is 54 territory.
Hand heel kick to back cross step
This is a variation on the hand kick. Instead of kicking my toe up off the nose I kick my heel up off the tail. Also, instead of walking into the kick, I walk out of the kick, or kick first and walk after.
I start in the narrow tail stance, with my weight on my front foot, which is pointed at an angle forward and right. This will be a solid platform to stand on. My back hand is extended at about waist high. The hand will be the target for the heel kick.
I bring my back foot up in a kick, heel first. I kick the side of my foot into my hand. The front arm is held out to balance the kick, which would otherwise throw me off.
After the kick, I balance on my front leg. At this point in the chain, you can replace the back foot on the tail.
This sequence is from the Cruise Power project where all footwork is done with advanced variations. It shows a variation that is quite difficult. Instead of just replacing my kick foot where it started, I'm going to replace it in a back cross step. I cross my right foot behind my left and bring it forward up the board. My left foot stays in the same position.
In order to make the back cross step, I turn my shoulders clockwise to face almost to the tail. The landing of the back step is the most critical part. It's real easy to miss the board and step off to the side.
I place my right toe on the left rail of the board behind my planted foot. This forces my left leg to be turned out. If this is uncomfortable, pivot your shoe clockwise slightly. It's easier to balance the less you pivot. I place my right foot behind me, but closer to the nose. Thus I've taken a back cross step up the board.
Before doing this with a back step, you should practice the hand kick into a regular cross step, and obviously you should practice it with a simple replacement on the tail.
Hand heel kick works well on the nose. It could kick off a return walk to tail. It could be a variation on hang heels or hang one heel.
This chain is taken from a longer routine in Cruise Power.
