u/Gh0st-Cvt

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I commute into SF from lake Merritt. This bridge I cross has drainage channels in it that are about the width of a train track. Normally its filled with debris so i dont even think about rolling over it. About 3 weeks ago I was skating to bart and I guess they had just cleared the channel. I hit it going like 18 mph and just crumpled into the fetal position trying to protect my laptop and camera, which were fine but the position i fell in really fucked up my rib on my right side (i think i just fell too balled up and it like crunched my ribs together.)

Today i was feeling alright and ive been wanting to prep these curbs because i think the backdrop is rad. First attempt after getting it prepped i fucking eat it straight into the pole. Ofc the first thing to make contact were my ribs...

I see a lot of comments asking about slappies. Its not really about running into the curb as fast as possible as much as its about staying light on your toes as youre hitting the curb and sort of "hopping" or "bucking" yourself onto the curb. If you watch a slowed video of a slappy, the majority of people actually end up having their backfoot leave the board momentarily which allows the trucks to bounce up the curb and you catch it with your toes a split second after. Youre almost shoving the board into and up the curb with one foot.

The carve in part isnt that important imo, its more about just hitting the curb at a 45 degree angle (for crooks and feebles, 50s are more straight on.) Speed definitely helps with the slide, but you can get onto a curb pretty slow, its more about weight shift.

Foot position is pretty important when your first learning. Learning crooks is easier with your feet on both kicks so really wide, 50s are easier in a narrower position with your feet over the bolts. Once you learn the motion you can play with positions. For crooks have your front foot in the position where youd pinch your wheel, if youre lazy about it youll probably just end up doing a noseslide.

You also want to stay almost comically low, almost as low as if you were going to setup to do a flip trick onto the curb. The reason this helps is because you need to get yourself up the curb so the combination of starting low and then trying to be lightfooted and sort of deweighting and "hopping" off your toes ends up standing you up on the curb. The same is true of 50s, you just kind of hop off both toes.

By hop i dont mean popping your tail or doing a hippy jump and actually jumping off your deck, i just mean getting your weight off the deck enough to allow space for the trucks to actually climb up the curb. Think about it from a physics perspective, if you had a bowling ball on the board and pushed it fast into a curb, it doesnt matter how fast you push it, its just going to crash into it. Youd have to get the weight off the deck momentarily to allow it to climb or buck up the curb. Think about it like this. If you stand next to a curb while standing on your deck and stand on your tippy toes, your heels are most likely above the curb. Thats how it works, your not jumping, just creating enough space for your foot and truck to get on top of the curb.

If you can combine approach angle, foot position, and staying low as you approach the curb and staying lightfooted when you "hop/buck" youll get it.

The first clip is me doing one on a perfect block in Tokyo. The second clip is Bubba Jackson, who is significantly better at them than I am. Hes also standing in full nollie position which allows you to do tricks out of the slide. Your back foot placement isnt as important so much as the buck. In both clips you can see the back foot leave the board momentarily as it bounces up to your back foot.

Like all of skateboarding its less about brute force and more about being light on your toes and controlling your weight well.