A surface 360 is a full rotation done on the water rather than in the air. It looks simple next to a kicker trick, but it's one of the most useful things you can learn at this stage: it teaches you the handle pass. Once passing the handle behind your back feels automatic on the water, 360s off kickers and rails get a whole lot less scary.

You can spin it either way. The frontside 360 starts by pulling the handle to your rear hip and reaching behind your back, and the backside 360 starts by letting go with your rear hand and leading with your head over your rear shoulder. Both are worth learning, and both build on your surface BS180 and switch riding.

How to do it

The single thing that decides whether this works is your edges. You are not allowed to catch a front or back edge mid-rotation, so the rule is simple: toes slightly up when you're facing forward, heels slightly up when you're facing backward. Slightly is the key word - more on that below.

For the frontside 360, pull the handle across to your rear hip and ride out a frontside 180 on the water with your toes lifted so you don't hang a front edge. Drop your front hand, look over your new rear shoulder, and reach behind your back with your other hand to catch the handle. Keep your heels a touch up now that you're facing backward, then let the rotation carry you the rest of the way around until your front foot is leading again.

For the backside 360, let go with your rear hand first and start the spin by looking over your rear shoulder. Pull the handle down to your hip and reach around with your rear hand to grab it as you come around. Heels up while you're riding switch, then toes up as you swing back to facing forward, and put the handle back in your front hand as your front foot comes around.

Watch more here:

Video by JB ONeill

Key tips

• Toes slightly up when facing forward, heels slightly up when facing backward
• Slightly is the word. Cranking the edge way up creates drag and makes the handle pass much harder
• Ride fairly flat on the water. A flat board spins easier than a leaned one
• Lead the rotation with your head, not your shoulders. Holding your head forward while trying to reach for the handle is what stalls most attempts
• Keep the handle low and close to your hip through the pass
• Frontside starts by pulling the handle to your rear hip, backside starts by letting go with your rear hand
• Learn both directions. The handle pass here is the same one you'll need for kicker 360s