Kicker Tantrum
A tantrum is a heelside backflip. Off the wake it's a tricky trick because you have to "trip" your edge to get inverted; off a kicker it's much friendlier — the ramp does the popping for you, and your only job is to commit to the throw. It's most riders' first invert.
Approach the kicker exactly like a straight air: progressive heelside edge, board flat at the lip, handle locked to the front hip. The whole trick is in what happens at the very top of the ramp. As your back foot leaves the lip, throw your head and shoulders back like you're trying to look at the sky behind you, and keep going. The rotation comes from the head and shoulders — not the legs. Knees stay tucked toward your chest. If you let them drop, you stall halfway and land flat on your back.
The single biggest mistake is throwing early. If you start the backflip before you're off the kicker, you kill your launch and under-rotate badly. Pop first, throw second — same separation as a kicker 180. Don't try to spot the water on the way up either; you can't see it. Look back over your trailing shoulder and the landing will appear late, as you come around.
Handle stays at the hip the entire rotation. There's no handle pass — you land regular, same hand on the bar, just upside down for half a second in between.
Key tips
- Have straight airs off this kicker fully dialed — the approach and pop are identical
- Progressive heelside edge in, board flat at the lip
- Throw the head and shoulders back as the back foot leaves the kicker, not before
- Keep the knees tucked toward your chest through the rotation
- Handle stays glued to the front hip — no handle pass
- Spot the landing late, over your trailing shoulder
- Commit fully or don't go. Half-throws under-rotate and land on the back
- If you're consistently landing on your stomach, you're throwing too early