In a similar vein to Tyler Chorlton’s previous Relentless Energy Pro Tip, the Miller flip, here’s Tyler showing us how to do backside 360 hand drags off the knuckle of a jump – a trick that you may not even have considered doing before! As Tyler explains these are all about getting the speed and the amount of hand-drag balanced and if you build up to them, shouldn’t be too hard to master. Obviously, make sure that you already have backside 360’s on lock before trying these. So watch the video, take some mental notes and give them a go next time you’re out shredding.
1. Kicker landings are the perfect place to learn these, though a steep rollover on the piste would also work. Ride up to it with a good amount of speed.
2. As you get close to the knuckle, snap hard off your tail, turning your shoulders to face back up hill. You’re basically initiating a backside 360 without the aid of a transition, so you’ll need to give it some welly. Drop your head as you do so to get yourself inverted.
3. Let your board fly into the air with momentum, rather than simply kicking it up lamely. The faster you do this trick, the easier this bit will become, but start slowly and put a lot of effort into it first.
4. To stop yourself crashing, stretch your hands out to make contact with the ground. They should only touch momentarily, because you don’t want to interrupt the flow of this trick.
5. Push off the ground, and let the momentum of your spin carry you over the knuckle. As you do so, this is the bit where you’re going to get even more air – not because you’re going faster, but because the ground is falling away.
6. All of the spin you initiated at the beginning is still here, so allow the board and your body to gently spin around 360. You’ll still likely be corked, but by pushing off your hands you can help correct this.
7. There’s nothing you can do as you float towards the ground except spot your landing – since you’re spinning backside, you should see it in plenty of time.
8. Land heavily on the tail so any underspin can be corrected as you set the rest of the board down, then ride away straight.
9. As Gordon Ramsey would say: Backside knuckle drag. Done.
