Falling down is an unavoidable hazard for any skateboarder. Learning to fall properly can save you a trip to the emergency room and an embarrassing YouTube cameo. In this post, I will teach you how to bail safely; and in style.
The cause of most wipeouts falls into one of two categories: losing your balance while the board is rolling on the ground, and losing your balance and composure while you are in the air.
At minimal speeds, a technique called pacing-out is an effective way to bail. Pacing-out is instinctive; jump off the board and land on your feet. When you feel yourself losing control and begin to jump away from the board, it's important to land running at the same pace you were rolling at.
Pacing-out isn't effective when you can't move your feet at the same rate of speed you're riding at. As your speed and trick difficulty increases, you can tuck-and-roll to avoid injury. The tuck-and-roll maneuver involves the rider falling on their shoulder or upper back, tucking their elbows and covering their head, and rolling forward with the force of the fall. With practice, your somersault will look graceful and effortless.
You can practice the tuck-and-roll by standing on your board, and executing the maneuver onto grass or carpet.When executing a tuck-and-roll, it's important to keep your elbows in close to your body. It's instinctive to stick out your arms to break your fall. Fight your instincts, or you may be wearing a cast for six weeks.
More advanced-level skaters will need to learn how to perform a kick-out bail. A kick-out is when a skater loses control of the board in the air, and has to kick the board out of their landing path. Once you kick-out the board from under your feet, transition into a pace-out or tuck-and-roll maneuver.
Falling down never feels good or looks pretty. Minimize injury to your body, and your ego, by learning to how to properly bail.
