Tail Stop Shuffle

also known as: Tailstop Shuffle

freestyle freestyle difficulty 3/10

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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

Balancing in a tailstop on one foot, then hopping and swapping which foot is standing on the board - repeated, it is a shuffle rather than a single move. It is the balance drill the whole footwork vocabulary rests on: the switchblade names it as a prerequisite, and the standard advice for anyone struggling with switchblades is to go back and practise shuffle variations until the tailstop stops being precarious. NOTE ON THE MODEL: swapping feet is the entire trick and the schema has no way to say that - `stance.footing` describes the trick, not a change made during it - so the components here are a one-footed tailstop and the simulation will show that position rather than the shuffle. Recorded deliberately, since the trick is real and referenced by others.

Step by step

  1. Roll forward slowly and drop into a tailstop with the tail on the ground.
  2. Take the weight onto one foot and find the balance with the board stopped.
  3. Hop off that foot, keeping the tail down.
  4. Land with the other foot on the board and rebalance.
  5. Repeat to shuffle, or step off to finish.

Body mechanics

Front footAlternates between carrying the balance and being the one in the air.
Back footThe same - the two swap roles on every hop, which is the trick.
ShouldersStacked directly over the board; leaning either way loses the tailstop.
ArmsOut and active, since a one-footed tailstop has very little margin.
GazeDown at the deck to spot the landing foot each time.