Toeside Back Roll with Shaun Murray
When walking, its human nature to lean in the direction that we want to travel. This can really mess with your toeside edge if you give in to the natural inclination to crouch forward and lean toward the wake during your approach. Remember, the only thing you have to lean against is the rope. If you lean against the rope while pointing the nose of the board at the wake in a tall, hips-forward, twisted position, you will have enough leverage for this load-and-release base invert.
With that said, there are a few steps to get you prepped for the wake-to-wake version. Sometimes, it can be a challenge just to get yourself upside down. “Many students I’ve coached have a hard time getting their feet out from underneath them — no matter how much they want it,” Shaun Murray says. “I’ve used a one-handed, one-wake, short-rope and slow-speed to get them … inverted.”
For this drill, pump up and down the wake in a tall, one-handed edging position with a rhythm of three consecutive pumps to feel the right lift from the wake. On the third pump, load it up by edging all the way through the wake and allow the board to carry you up into the flip in a tall, hips-forward edging position.
“Do your absolute best while trying any new trick — especially these — to keep your eyes in the game,” Murray says. “Knowing where to look can help you continue to move in the proper direction of your trick rather than stalling it out.”
Taking it wake to wake requires a long coast with a late edge and little extra patience at the wake. “I remember thinking that the best attempts for me were when I kept cutting all the way to the top, especially if I pushed my hips into my back arm — which was still on the handle until the peak of the flip,” Murray says.
Keep looking through the flip until you spot the landing. Murray recalls his experience landing his first toeside back roll: “I was so pumped when I first landed it because I saw the landing so clearly and knew I could do it again.”
