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| Crazy stalefish grab sit down slide. |
Sliding, a technique used by
skaters that is initiated by breaking wheel traction and at the same time maintaining
control over the board then re-initiating traction to efficiently reduce speed when entering tight corners or for emergency braking. Well, others do it for
maximum style and steez depending on the situation.
Almost, if not all skaters
probably know or heard about this term. It is an essential skill to have if you
plan to advance your game. The euphoria of being in a
slide is unlike any other, the feeling of being out of control and at the same
time being in control. A moment that is comparable to drifting but instead you
act as the steering wheel and brakes. Hearing those wheels screech like they’re
begging for mercy is so addictive, that it makes you do it over and over again.
Of course how could we forget those thane lines? Yeah, it’s like van Gogh
stroking the canvass with his paintbrush, in our case the pavement is our
canvass and the board is our paintbrush, talk about urban art.
There are different kinds of
slides that have their specific purposes. Standie, pendulum, and pre-drift are
some examples to name a few. Standies
are pretty common, and probably the easiest to learn, well not that easy, but
if you’re a natural it should probably be a piece of skin or cake, my bad. A
standie is initiated by the feet assisted by the torso and the arms. The most
basic standie is the 180 slide which is a half rotation that switches you to
the opposite stance.
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| Me performing a standie (I know it looks awful). |
The pendulum or
pendy, as it is commonly called, is mostly used for an emergency stop because
it eats up a lot of speed and urethane (beware of flat spots).
Here is a link to video of a pendy tutorial:
Pendys make use
of the hands to provide a stable support while sliding thus giving you more
control and it also helps in slowing down the board effectively. It is executed
by bending and leaning back, putting all weight behind then kicking out with
the toe or heel, depending on the slide, then swinging back like a clock
pendulum to the original stance, hence the name pendulum. One example of using
the pendy is during instances when you encounter an oncoming vehicle on a very
narrow road. Initiating a pendy rather than jumping off the board is much
safer; unless you have very little road left to execute the slide or you feel
that the vehicle has no plan to stop then you should probably bail out in a
safe manner (poor board). And lastly the pre-drift,
probably takes a lot of practice but it is an effective way to shave off just
the right amount of speed when cornering while still maintaining enough speed
to exit the corner efficiently. It is used by professional downhill skaters in
racing spots that have very tight corners like Angie’s Curves and Catalina.
Pre-drifting has the same concept as pendulum but with more control by kicking
the rear end out and bringing it back as soon as you achieve the right amount
of speed. This technique is not only effective but also very steezy.
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| Patrick Switzer pre-drifting like a boss |
So for those who think that
sliding is are just some flashy moves just to get your attention, think again.
It’s definitely an important skill to learn because it could spell the
difference between a close call and a total bail out, a small graze and a
broken bone, but sliding is second priority. Having complete gear; helmet,
gloves, and pads are priority number one to all skaters, sure it would probably
burn a hole in your pocket but it’s a pocket whole worth burning rather than on
hospital bills. So practice, but practice safe within your limits and get extra
steezy! Cheers!
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