Reef Layer 2
Walk Chains
W alk to tip ride with stalls
Layer 1 Parts
Toe drag
Cross step
Cross stc
Leads
Wgt transfer
Half shuffle
Nose drag
Non Google Sponsors
This Chain is a walk to the tip of the nose with stalls. There are many details in the routine. You may want to refer to the side bar and go through some or all of the Layer 1 Parts.
Walk preparation stall
Many times before a walk there is some sort of preparation or intro. This could be many things. A push, a turn from the tail, a tail stall wheelie, a toe drag stall, a drop knee turn, are some of the possiblities. In this chain sequence, the walk starts with a toe drag stall. The stall cuts the speed down the hill so the walk can be very controlled.
I start the walk by toe dragging as I cross step. The cross step rhythm is the same as normal. My foot is hung off the rail but some weight is still carried on it. The side of my toe is dragged on the ground. The board is kept level while the dragging toe slows it down.
Cross stance drag
While still toe dragging, my right foot crosses past my left. The drag foot is turned out a bit. The sole of my foot faces slightly forward, making a clean slide. If too much pressure or too steep an angle is used, the sole of the foot will grab or "chatter", grabbing and releasing suddenly and repeatedly. The drag can be fine tuned by rocking left to right using pressure from both feet.
Instep lead
This is a detail to make for smoother cross steps with less chance of error. The instep or inside edge of my foot leads the cross step. The instep is tilted up a little so the outside edge of my shoe sole will brush along the board and land first, then the instep and front edge will come down. This subtle brushing of the rearmost part of the foot keeps some contact with the board and makes for a surer step. This kind of thing is barely visible if you didn't know about it, but it makes a difference in walking on a moving board.
Cross stance
Now the right foot is flattened out on the board. I am now riding in a solid cross stance. The stance is held for a moment. There is no rushing through this step.
Knee lead
Here's another cross step detail visible in this photo sequence. I start the next step, which is an uncrossing step, by leading my left knee forward, keeping the ball of the foot planted. The heel lifts as the knee comes forward. The knee lead helps me maintain contact with the board as much as possible during the step.
Nose approach and lowering
I place the left foot on the tip, slightly to the left to make room for the other foot coming up. You can see the board tilt a little to the left. There is some swerving here.
As I swing my left shin forward, I lower my weight over my right leg. I bend the right knee more. This keeps the weight back to balance the nose ride.
Tip ride
The third step is not a cross step, but a half shuffle. I slide my right foot up next to my left to gain a parallel stance on the tip. The knees are pressed together and bent. The weight is held back. I perch on the nose as if sitting in a chair. The board feels loose again, like in a tail stance, only it's a different looseness. The tail now wants to swing behind and some balancing is required to control the tip ride.
Nose drag stall
After the tip ride I move my right foot off the deck and turn it into the heel first toe drag position. My heel is supported on the rail and my toe drags on the ground to stall off more speed.
The possibility of chatter and grabbing is greater at the nose, so my foot is turned out quite a bit. The more the sole faces forward, the cleaner the drag and the more area of "shoe leather" that can be used as a brake. I turn my foot way out to get it heel first and don't pivot my skating foot. If this is uncomfortable for you, pivot your skating foot so you are facing more sideways with the object being to get your drag foot heel pointing first and getting a nice smooth, comfortable toe drag at the nose.
The stalls give this ride a pace that varies as it goes down the hill. The pace of this whole chain felt like I slowed down at the top, picked up speed during the walk, and slowed down again at the end. I didn't get rattled by the speed increasing during the walk and tip ride because I knew I could slow down from the nose stance.
This Chain is taken from a larger project in Waves.
