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Grapevine, Nose 180, to Walk-the-Dog
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Grapevine walk and slalom pattern
The grapevine is a cross step pattern that mixes forward and back cross steps. As the steps are taken, the board is turned by foot pressure. The board makes an s turn pattern during the grapevine.
Toeside reverse turn
The first step in the grapevine walk is a toeside reverse turn. From a narrow stance I cross my front foot behind the back foot, one backpedal step. I place my toe on the tail as in a drop knee turn, shifting my weight back. The toe goes way across onto the frontside rail. This tail and rail pressure causes a sharp turn. It is a drop knee turn with the legs crossed and fairly close together.
Next the back foot is uncrossed and placed back in the side by side, close together position. I prepare for the back cross step by rotating my hips clockwise so my back begins to face the nose.
The back cross step
I cross my foot behind the other and up the board. The front foot stays in its original position so both feet end up quite turned out. The hard part is finding the right spot on the board with the foot crossing behind. The foot must land on the rail so it turns. This turn is slightly to the left. Since the last turn was a reverse turn right, this routine carves an s shaped path.
From the back cross, I uncross and once again the feet are placed side by side. There is now a shoulder turning momentum to counterclockwise, as the cross step is unwound.
I take a normal cross step, ending up in cross stance, hanging five. This step continues that shoulder turning momentum, and now I'm facing completely forward. My foot is now crossed forward, and now is weighting the right rail. While my shoulders are turning left, the board turns back to the right, continuing the slalom motion of the whole grapevine routine.
From this position instead of backpedaling, I will pivot into a switch stance. A cross stance at the nose leads very naturally into a pivot a half turn to the left, counterclockwise. In old school terms, it's a half spinner. This will put me on the nose in switch stance.
Easy switch nose stance
This turn is going to have to be a strong move since the board is moving down hill and yet must rotate 180 degrees and keep rolling. Easy switch nose stance is the strongest way to do it.
I think of easy switch stance as a switch stance that is a natural result of a maneuver, or if switch is the easy way. Hard switch stance is opposite of what's easy. In the nose 180, switch is the easy way.
With the right foot on the nose, my normal pivot foot is in position to do a pivoting kick turn. The front foot, unlike in a hang five, is fully weighted.
Remember that the 54 inch Classic is a big, heavy board, and doing a 180 at speed is no dainty maneuver. I crouch down low to develop spring for the 180. I wind up my shoulders clockwise, keeping arms firm, stretched out and hands down low. Hands are important. Note the hands are not floppy, they are firm but not tense. My head faces downhill, aiding the windup. When I release the spin, my head will lead the trick.
Backside nose 180 turn
The nose 180 is a kick turn that is pivoted from the nose. The board stays in motion the whole time, moving down the hill.
Since the nose isn't far from the front wheels, there isn't much leverage up there. I initiate the nose kick turn by pressing down on the front ball of the foot and throwing my arms hard counter clockwise. My back foot kicks backward to swing the board. It's like doing a backhand kick turn going backwards. Most of the swinging of the board is done with the upper body. I look back uphill in the direction of the windup.
Those of you who have read some of my words about not looking down, this is a pretty good support of that advice. Not only am I not looking down, I'm not even looking where I'm going. Skateboarders stare so hard at the board or their target, I'm convinced that's why they miss half their attempts. I care about consistency and balance, not seeing the board or the target. In turning a heavy board, you need to have your head at least balanced and not down, and it will surely help to have the head lead the rotation, and not lag back "spotting". Keep your head steady in place while you turn. The world may blur for a second, but you won't miss a thing if you land right. If you try to "spot" like some skaters do, you may fall hard, and then you'll definitely miss something.
When I land the board 180 degrees around it will be going downhill, tail first. The heavy board is as hard to stop rotating as it is to start. The way I control the landing is to keep my shoulders squarely backwards, resisting any further shoulder rotation to clockwise, as that might over rotate the turn.
My shoulders are brought back nearly 180 degrees to forward. This full twisting of the upper body is what allows the big board to be brought around easily. Try to develop a twist that can give you 180 degrees without forcing a lot of over rotation. Always go for control if you can, and learn to control force when you use it.
I recover balance by keeping knees bent and arms outstretched. I lean downhill to keep control as the board regains its momentum rolling tailfirst downhill.
Walk-the-dog
Walk and backwards tail kick turn
This trick is based on the walk-the-dog trick, an old trick from the 60s. The walk-the-dog on a shortboard or an old freestyle board is pretty easy. On a heavy thirteen pound board it actually takes some good turning power and technique to pull it off smoothly. So maybe it's a walk the Great Dane.
This trick continues the nose 180. At this point you are going downhill tail first and you need a way of getting the nose pointed in the right direction. The walk-the-dog is the way to do that. It's a walk to the tail and 180 turn. The old school walk-the-dog was done with no cross steps or one step in between. This has three steps, and they're done switch stance!
After the nose 180 I'm once again in regular stance, but I change to switch. I do this by turning my front foot out so it points to the left, then taking a step and placing it forward turned in (to the left), rotating a half spinner into switch stance. This is not easy switch. It's the hard way. You have to learn to cross step switch. But it sets up the next 180 with the pivot foot at the nose.
Now in switch stance, I cross step up two steps to the tail, which is temporarily the nose. I walk with my feet turned to the left.
On the last step, my right foot is on the tail, my left foot back a bit. The switch footwork puts my pivot foot on the nose (tail).
Of course you could walk up regular foot and pivot at the nose again, but this is a nice challenge and smooth. I'm ready for the next nose kick turn. This one is easier, since not only is my front foot my normal pivot foot, but it's on the tail instead of the nose.
This turn is a clockwise or toeside 180 tail first kickturn. It's like a kickturn but since you're moving downhill the turn doesn't carve, it just pivots a hard 180 and so has to come around without a hitch.
I weight my front foot, bend low, and wind up my shoulders counterclockwise.
I throw my shoulders clockwise into the turn, and swing the board down the hill. When I land I'm pointing down the hill and on the tail in a normal stance.
The landing of a 180 kickturn while moving in a straight line produces a hard impact which must be caught with the knees bent. You can see my upper body lean over from the recoil. It could have been a smoother landing. My shoulders check counterclockwise to balance and stop the rotation.
Notice on this mistake I'm driven forward hard, but still avoid looking down. My vision is pretty level and my head is slightly down. And this is on a flub. Many skateboarders keep their heads lower than this all the time. It will make a world of difference if you glance at the tip of the board only, keep your head up, and try to control the board with your feet, not your eyes.
