Tips by David Ngiam
Video : Charlene Tan
Photo : Guy Tanaka

This trick is an extension of the surface 180. To start of, seperate the trick into two parts. If you have already tried the surface 180 before, well, that’s exactly what the first half of the trick is. The tricky part is in the second half.

For the second half, be sure you’re comfortable riding in the fakie position. If you’re not, spend some time riding fakie and surf around a little bit until you’re more comfortable and that your weight is even over your board (there is a natural tendency for first timers to lean away from the boat excessively in the fakie position. Remember, if your board is set up fairly neutral, your stance should be the same whether you are in the fakie position or not. Once you’r riding fakie comfortably, its time to try the next 180.

Like the first 180, the next 180 should be executed without hesitation. You will need the momentum to spin you around. Concentrate on shifting your weight over onto your toes as you spin while, at the same time, pull the handle with both hands to the small of your back. Keep your chin up and avoid looking down at your board. The most common mistake is there is a natural tendency to bend over at waist as your other hand reaches for the handle pass. When this happens, you’ll end up placing more weight on your heel edge, catching the water and making you fall flat on your back. So you really want to try to keep your posture fairly upright, maintaining your toe edge. After you have pulled your handle into the small of your back, quickly reach around with your front hand for the handles pass. Don’t take too long to reach around because once the line tightens up, your handle arm will get stretch out making it difficult to reach for the handle pass.

Once you can execute the second 180 with relative ease, it then becomes a matter of practice and timing to put the two 180s together. The main difference is now you pull the handle towards your back in the first 180 so that you can smoothly reach over for the handle pass for the second 180 to make the 360 seamless. The tricky part of this trick is remembering to change edges between the 180s, but with practice, you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.

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