Layback Slide
also known as: Layback Tailslide
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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
The surf-rooted 1970s lip move: a frontside tailslide along the coping or a bank's lip with the trailing hand planted behind on the surface, torso laid back between hand and board. The planted palm carries a large share of body weight, turning the slide into a two-point bridge - board sliding ahead, hand anchoring behind - while the hips hang between them; the further the layback, the more the hand steers balance. Recovery is a push off the palm timed with the nose swinging back over the lip to drop in.
Step by step
- Carve frontside up the bank or transition with good speed.
- Swing the tail onto the lip or coping ahead of you, setting a frontside tailslide.
- Plant your trailing palm on the surface behind your hips and lay your torso back.
- Slide tail-and-hand together, hips bridged between the two contacts, front leg extended.
- Push off the palm as the slide slows, bringing your chest back over the board.
- Swing the nose back over the lip, weight down the slope, and ride away.
Body mechanics
| Front foot | Extended on the front bolts keeping the nose up and the board tracking the lip. |
|---|---|
| Back foot | Loads the tail against the lip - the sliding foot of the bridge. |
| Shoulders | Rotate open and tilt back as the trailing shoulder stacks over the planted arm. |
| Arms | Trailing arm is a genuine support leg; leading arm reaches forward as counterweight. |
| Gaze | Forward along the lip at the board's path, not down at the planted hand. |