Backside Big Spin

Backside 180 + Backside Shuvit

This trick is a key, it has connections with many other tricks

Medium

Prerequisites

Backside shuvit

Backside 180

Position

Quick start

Wind up as you bend on your knees

Push down on your tail until you touch the ground

Turn your head, arms and shoulders

Scoop hard and long on the ground

Release the snap and lift up your front foot

Catch with your front foot and land switch

Sensation

Apply some pressure on your toes with your weight on your back foot, from start to end

Interactive skateboard diagram for learning Backside Big Spin

Tips

Put your front foot in the middle of the board and angle it toward the nose

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Put your back foot in the middle of the tail and angle it toward the nose as well

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Put your back foot in the outer pocket if you prefer, but do not let your toes hang off

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Bend your back knee toward the nose, close to front knee, slightly frontside

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Keep your weight on your toes as you bend down

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Wind up your knees from the nose to the tail, from the frontside to the backside, as you start popping

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Open your back arm to help your body twist and give your trick a direction

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Turn your head to look at your back foot and turn your shoulders backside as well

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Put all your weight on your back foot from the moment the tail touches the ground

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Push straight down on your tail and wait just a bit

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Delay the scoop from the pop, it is important to produce a 'straight-angle-shape' and not scoop diagonally

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Then scoop with the shape of a 'comma', not perpendicular to your board as you would for a shuvit

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Scoop hard and long on the ground, as though you were drawing a quarter-circle on it

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Release the spin when you are facing the direction you are coming from

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Lift your front foot and make sure it does not touch the board. The entire rotation comes from the back foot

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Stand upright after letting the spin go, as you will likely lean forward

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Lift your back foot as well to leave room for the board to fully rotate

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Spread your legs slightly in the air to avoid landing with your feet too close to each other

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Keep your front foot above your board the whole time, and bring it back if it goes off. Use it to catch the board

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Do not be afraid to let the board go a bit vertically, but do not let it flip

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Be ready to land in switch and pivot if you need to adjust your rotation

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Mistakes

'My board goes far from me'

'You are missing the pop, which ends up being a pivot. Take the time to push down and make sure your tail touches the ground'

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'I land behind my board'

'You are slightly pushing the board forward, which is a natural behaviour for this trick. Just jumping a bit forward will fix this issue'

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'I land in front of my board'

'You are leaning forward too much. Stand upright as you pop, when your tail is about to touch the ground, or when you are about to release the spin'

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'The board flips'

'Don't hang off your back toes if you are doing so. You are either using your front foot without noticing, or scooping diagonally. Lift your front foot straight up, and push down before moving backward with your back foot'

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'I slip out when I land'

'You might be landing with your feet too close to each other. Focus on spreading your legs while in the air, before landing. You also might not be ready to roll switch after landing. Do not lean toward the nose, keep your weight on you back foot'

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'I miss some board rotation'

'You are not pushing hard enough on the ground. Once the tail fully touches down, push harder and longer than you might think before letting the board go.'

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'I miss some body rotation'

'You are not winding up enough. Focus on bending your back knee toward your front knee and feel the power it generates. Also, remember that you will land switch, your shoulders must turn 180 degrees'

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'I often need a pivot at the end'

'You are commiting too much with your shoulders. Either try to follow a more preise direction, or turn slightly less so that your natural over-rotation actually completes the fully 180 degrees without exceeding it'

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Helpers

Nollie backside pivot practice

You might need to nollie backside pivot when landing your big spins to control the board. Better learn it now

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Fakie big spin practice

The fakie big spin is one of the easiest skateboarding tricks. Warm up by doing a few to get your mind set on the rotation you need. You don't have to pop it

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2-step big spin practice

Try breaking the big spin into two motions: first, a backside no-pop shuvit that lands on the nose, then a nollie backside pivot. You can add the pop if you feel comfortable with it. Gradually reduce the delay between those two motions as much as you can, until they blend into a single, seamless trick

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Back foot backside 180 practice

Practicing the backside 180 using only your back foot is a great exercice because it forces you not to pop, making you scratch the tail on the ground, as you would for a backside big spin. Practice the wind-up effect, producing energy from your knees. Remember not to slide your front foot as you would for a standard backside 180

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360 backside shuvit practice

The scoop of the 360 backside shuvit is basically the same as the big spin one. Give it a few tries helps feel this new scoop, and train preventing the board from flipping

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Specific module

You can practice the backside big spin on bank ramps or pyramid transfers, as the board rotation in both cases is less than 360 degrees, requiring less effort and technique to success

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Variations

The way you scoop is very similar to a 360 shuvit

Transition

You can do big spins with a no-pop shuvit and a pivot, but this looks ugly, is less controllable, and is not a real big spin