Boneless

All three coaches agree on the same core sequence: grab the board with the back hand in an indy-style frontside grab, plant the front foot on the ground, spring upward off that planted leg while the back foot stays with the board, and get the front foot back on before landing bolts with bent knees. Where they differ is terrain and emphasis. Skatepark Lessons is the most granular for flat ground, adding the front-foot heel wiggle, the tail swipe out and away from the body, and pulling the board tight with the grab hand at the peak of the air. Tony Hawk and Mike Vallely strip it back to the historical basics and insist the single biggest mistake is not bending far enough to actually grab and lift the board. Ronnie Sandoval takes it to the coping, where the timing of aiming the front foot matters more than anything else and the target is to land back under the coping rather than out flat. On grab position, Skatepark Lessons wants the hand near the front wheels for balance while Sandoval frames it as grabbing behind the knee. Both agree the grab is what controls the board through the whole trick.

• →Learn the whole motion on flat ground first, standing still if needed, before taking it to a bank, quarter pipe or coping
• →Bend all the way down and actually grab and lift the board; not bending far enough is the most common reason the trick never starts
• →Set the front foot so the heel hangs off the edge, lean weight onto the grab hand, and let the foot slide off rather than lifting it
• →Swipe the tail out and away from your body with the back leg as you spring off the front foot; it builds momentum and makes the motion flow
• →Use the grab hand to pull the board tight to your feet at the highest point, then land over the bolts with knees bent
• →On transition, aim the front foot at the coping early and land back under the coping; rushing the timing makes the foot slip straight over it

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