Tic-tac and kickturns on flat
Ready when: Push, roll, turn and stop (b4) done.
What you are learning
The kickturn: pressing the tail so the front wheels lift a little, turning the board with the hips, and putting the wheels back down. Small kickturns left and right (a tic-tac) move the board forward without pushing, and the same turn is used later in ramps.
Words on this card Deck, Kickturn, Tic-tac
- Deck
- The board; its front end and its back end, both curved up.
- Kickturn
- Pressing the tail down so the front wheels lift, and turning on the back wheels.
- Tic-tac
- Small kickturns left and right to move forward without pushing.
Show it first for the one teaching
- Stand still on the board with the back foot on the tail.
- Press the tail so the front wheels lift just off the ground; turn the hips; put the wheels down.
- Do small lifts left, right, left, right: the board moves forward.
Your part while they practise
Stand to the side; count.
Step by step
- Back foot on the tail; press so the nose lifts a little.
- Turn the board with the hips; put the wheels down: a kickturn.
- Alternate left and right to move forward without pushing: a tic-tac.
- Tight circles by repeated lifts.
How much: 20 tic-tacs 10 min a session 3 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Figure eights
Ride figure eights round the four cones; use only kickturns for the harder version.
Who plays: the skater against their own best time; you time.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Start at one cone
- Ride a full figure eight round the four cones
- Time it; 3 tries
- Fair play
- A grown-up must use kickturns only.
- Points
- 2 points for each figure eight finished; 1 more point for a time faster than your best.
- Fouls
- That try does not count
- A foot down on the ground
- Cutting inside a cone
- Stepping off
- Winning
- Beat your best.
- 2 points for 1 star
- 5 points for 2 stars
- 8 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
At walking speed.
A full circle on kickturns.
What you will see, and what to say
- the board stops
Small lifts, keep rolling
Little and often. - the nose lifts high
Just a little lift
A few centimetres.
Self-check
5 tic-tacs in a row and a kickturn each way.
Stop and get a coach when
Repeated falls.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains steering on the back truck, the base for ramp turns.
awiseathlete.com/sports/skateboarding/skateboarding-b6