Backroll, Lead shoulder question (2nd attempt)

huevo · Newbie Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 11 City: shreveport

Ok, I already posted this question once and with over 40 people have viewed it and not one responce. I didn't think it was that hard a question.

On all descriptions on the proper way to execute a heelside backroll they say to look over your lead shoulder to initate the rotation. Would someone please this part of the trick in greater detail to me cause thats pretty vauge.

Which direction do you look over your shoulder, front, back, side??? Surely you have to do more than that to initate a rotation. Do you swing your hips and board at the same time, if so which direction?

How does looking over your shoulder make you rotate???

Please help.

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

the question is tricky because there are 2 "lead" shoulders.

there's the shoulder that is in front of your body - not the one you want.

there's the shoulder that is the first one to hit the wake - that's the one you want.

simply look over the shoulder that is first to hit the wake. there's only one way to look over your shoulder, so i'm not sure where your confusion is there. if it helps, look up and over.

looking over your shoulder helps you rotate because your body follows your head. any trick you do you will always follow your head. your head follows your eyes. simple.

Nooga678 · Posted: May 28, 2008 3:18 am Post subject:

Regular stance - look over your left shoulder.
Goofy stance - look over your right shoulder.

They probably are refering to the lead shoulder as the one connected to the lead arm which refers to the arm on the same side as your forward foot.

Good Luck

flounderbout · Outlaw Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 224 City: London

I guess the reason people didn't respond is because there are about 12,000 backroll attempt threads on here - I'm not trying to be arsy - just saying it is worth doing a search and looking through some of them. Lots of them have video to help out.

The rotation for a BR is surprisingly easy - it really is just a question of looking over your lead shoulder (I don't understand how there can be any confusion over what the 'lead' shoulder is - the one at the front in the direction of travel - as Nooga says "the one connected to the lead arm" Laughing

) . But this results in your hips rotating, which is where the rotation really comes from.

Try this just to give you an idea of it.

Sit in a chair (preferably) a rotating office chair. Hold your hands out in front gripping an imaginary handle. Imagine the boat in front of you, and the wake away to your left (assuming you are regular).
Now look high up the wall directly behind you over your left shoulder (again, assuming you are regular). Feel your side stretch and your hips try and swing?

That is what creates the rotation.

You can do the same thing standing up.

It is also worth rythmically going from the "looking forward" position to the "looking over your shoulder behind you" position, and you will start to feel the way the rotation works.

When you get it to the water, just remember that same swing.

Try and think of it as a HS jump, not as an invert. I know that seems weird, but given that (I assume) it is your first invert, and on the basis of your post, you are probably going to worry about the rotation. Don't. Worry about your pop. If you pop right, the rotation is easy. If you think about "throwing" it aggressively, then you'll lose your pop and you'll try and throw it off the wake.

I think the hardest thing about BR's is leaving them late enough, and not throwing them as you go up the wake. If you see a video of your riding, you should not be able to tell even as you go up the wake whether you are about to do a HSw2w or a BR. You see loads of footage of people leaning right back even at the bottom of the wake (I did this for ages) in anticipation. If you do that, you can't get pop.

If you have jumped normally off the wake, and only then initiated with your head, you will feel that you have left it way too late, you are going to crash horribly, and you ought to bail out. That is the first one you'll land on your board. After that the more you look for your landing, the easier it gets. Cool

flounderbout · Outlaw Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 224 City: London

jt09,

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

regular footed - as you approach the wake heelside your right shoulder is in front of your body.

but yeah....i guess i could have gone w/ the left and right version, huh? Laughing

flounderbout · Outlaw Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 224 City: London

I see where you are coming from! I had this great image of your disclocated shoulder somewhere where your ribs should be!!

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

funy, that image doesn't seem so "great" to me! Laughing

flounderbout · Outlaw Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 224 City: London

Great that you would be going for backrolls with it like that though Laughing

huevo · Newbie Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 11 City: shreveport

Thanks to all, especially flounderbout, great explanation.

flounderbout · Outlaw Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 224 City: London

No dram - good luck out there, and keep at it.
Just to add some variety, why not try throwing some TS inverts too. Crows are easier in my book, but give some TS fronts a go and see what works for you.
I spent ages trying to nail down HS inverts and was surprised how quick the TS stuff came when I got round to them - then I wished I had got onto them earlier. Flamed fronts hurt less than flamed BR's too IMO Neutral

LFADAM · Posted: Jun 07, 2008 1:34 pm Post subject:

flounderbout, One word for frontroll and crow falls. Fireballs. Embarassed