5 Ways to Make Your Tricks Better Without Learning a New One

The Tweak

This is the fundamental starting point for making a trick stylish and should be mastered before attempting to grab. In order to tweak you need to push one of your legs straight in any direction.

Given the options you have you can tweak in many different ways, but what this shows is control over your trick. You need a little height and you need to be calm and controlled. Don’t forget to stop tweaking when it is time to land.

The Grab

Of course we all know what a grab is but there is a difference between a stylish grab and a quick stab at touching the board. Master the tweak first and you will be able to firstly bring your board to you.

Once you have have this mastered you should try grabbing the opposite side of the board to the hand you are using, or just play and find a grab that works for you and don’t forget to tweak your grabs for extra style.

Try and get photos or video so you can see what you actually look like and think of ways to improve and try new grabs.

The Double Grab

Dork tricks as they has become recently known thanks to Sensi Graves, Brandon Scheid and friends and this video. The objective is to clearly grab the board at least twice. So one grab, then another with a different hand or part of the board.

This style is primarily based around being hooked in, so can be tried by all levels of kiters and also encourages you to try landing blind.

Go Big and Go Slow

This may sound contradictory, but in fact a big slow execution of an easy trick can often look much more stylish that a hurried more complex trick.

Using kickers or waves can help you hear and the objective is smooth control. Breathe, break your trick down into parts, and measure the parts out through the trick.

Stomp it like you own it

This may sound a big macho or too much like showing off, but trust us, landing your trick and riding away with confidence (not a look of surprise or wildly waving your arms in the air and checking to see if anyone else saw it) will let people know you mean business and that is your trick.

This can be achieved with a little pop back to heel-side (if you landed toe-side) or a little pop and tweak/grab off the water. The master of this is Craig Cunningham (the rather dashing other half of Colleen Carroll) and you can see this has influenced Colleen’s landings too.

So, what are you waiting for. Get out there and own your tricks. ..and if you still need some more motivation, have a look at Colleen Carroll’s video for some inspiration.

Published on: 14th September 2015