What this trick is
A rock to fakie is a transition trick where you ride up to the coping, put the middle of your board over it (overhanging the front wheels), then lift the front wheels back over the coping and roll back down the ramp fakie. It’s one of the fundamental coping tricks for mini ramps and quarter pipes.
Before you try it
You should already feel comfortable with:
Riding and pumping transition — you need enough speed to reach the coping without forcing the trick.
Riding fakie — especially being comfortable rolling backwards down a transition
As a beginner, start with a small, mellow mini ramp with shallow coping rather than a tall or steep quarter pipe.
How to do it
In your usual stance, pump the transition a few times to get used to the ramp. When ready, ride straight up the transition with enough speed to comfortably reach the coping. Keep your knees bent and your shoulders square with the board.
Just before the front wheels reach the coping, lift the front truck until you are comfortably over it. Then press your front foot forward so the middle of the deck rocks onto the coping. At first you may just want to tap the coping with the deck rather than commit to a full rock. Your front truck should be past the coping while your back truck remains on the transition side.
Once you've rocked over the coping, shift your weight back toward the transition and lift the front truck back over the coping. This part is crucial: actively lift the front truck rather than simply letting the board roll backwards. Once it's clear, let the board drop into the transition and bend your knees as you roll away fakie.
Learn more here!
Video by GRANTIHERO
Helpful tip!
When initiating the rock, relive a bit of weight from the tail and get ready to re-apply it as you come back in.
Common mistakes
Hanging up on the coping — This usually happens on the way back in. You'll feel the front truck catch and the board suddenly stop. The fix is to deliberately lift the front truck over the coping by shifting your weight onto the tail before rolling back in.
Not getting far enough over the coping — If your front truck barely clears it, the board can feel stuck or unstable. Get enough speed to comfortably put the middle of the board on the coping, rather than trying to scrape the truck over it.
Getting too far over the coping! - The better you get at this the further up the comping you can go, but being further up can feel scarier for beginners, and make you feel unbalanced before coming back in fakie. At first, start by clearing the coping with your trucks by a couple of inches, and build confidence from there until you can comfortably get a rock in the middle of the deck!
How to know you've got it
A confident and definite rock/see-saw motion pivoting around the centre of your deck. Rock to fakie becomes more of a set up trick than the main event!