Tips by David Ngiam
Video : Fahkrudin Yasin
Photo : David Ngiam
A 50-50 Slide is probably one of the first slides you should attempt if you are learning to slide for the first time.
Its pretty a straight forward slide where you approach the rail straight on and the nose of the board remains pointing in the direction you are travelling.
To start, its probably best to attempt this slide on a wider rail such as a tabletop as there is less surface area in contact with the sliding surface laterally if you slide on skinnier rails.
Approach the rail straight on with your board flat. As you approach the rail, you want to be in a bit of a half squat posture with your handle held low and in, like you were about to pop an ollie (without actually popping).
As you ride up the rail, just lock in that posture and continue riding through the rail like you would if you were to ride on the water surface without edging.
It is important to keep your board flat and your weight centered over the board. Leaning too far back or forward over your edge will cause you to slip out.
If you are not getting the full pull across the whole rail, approach the rail a little more aggressively by edging in towards the rail a little later, but its important that at the last 3-4 feet before the rail, you should ease off your edge and ride up the rail flat.
Once you are comfortable with 50-50 slides, you can also try leaning your weight forward over the nose of your board with the tail slightly raised for a Nose Press slide.