Layback Grind

also known as: Layback Frontside Grind

grind parkvert difficulty 5/10

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roll yaw pitch body

Shown for a regular-footed rider. Teal ring + arrow = the rider's facing direction; teal band = the tail; a dot is where a hand holds the board - bright yellow for the front hand, amber for the back one, which is the whole difference between a mute and an indy. Board and rider rotate independently - each follows its own component. Drag to orbit.

How it works

A 1970s pool classic: grinding the back truck frontside along the coping while the trailing hand plants on the coping or deck behind, torso laid back over the ramp with hips extended. The planted hand turns the rider into a two-point structure - truck and palm - so weight that would overwhelm a one-truck grind is shared with the arm, letting the board carve on through the grind while the legs push it ahead of the body. Standing back up requires pushing off the hand exactly as the truck comes off the coping.

Step by step

  1. Carve frontside up the transition with speed, angling along the coping.
  2. As the back truck reaches the coping, reach your trailing hand back and plant it on the coping behind you.
  3. Lay your torso back over the transition, hips open, while the back truck grinds.
  4. Let the front truck float above the coping line, legs extended, pushing the board along.
  5. As momentum fades, push hard off the planted hand to bring your chest back over the board.
  6. Lift off the coping, re-enter the transition, and ride down.

Body mechanics

Front footExtended forward, keeping the front truck floating and the board tracking the coping.
Back footPresses the grinding truck into the coping and drives the board forward.
ShouldersRotate open and lay back toward the ramp; the trailing shoulder loads over the planted arm.
ArmsTrailing arm bears real weight on the coping; leading arm reaches forward for balance and the stand-up.
GazeAlong the coping past the front foot; on the push-up, refocus down the transition.