# what is the correct way to take on a kicker in the terrain park?



## illmaticnyc (Feb 18, 2009)

i hit it 50% of the time. i try really hard to do the same technique i was using when i hit it well but i still mess it up.

am i doing this wrong?

on approach i make sure i am not on edge. go flat. kick off the kicker, try hard to keep my weight level across board. as soon as i am off the kicker i lean forward to straighten my board.when landing i try to land on tail first. keep head straight. shoulders parallel to toe side edge. 

am i doing it wrong? i ate it hard twice this past weekend. one time just totally landed on my butt. not sure what happened. 2nd time i landed and twisted my lead knee. sprained my LCL and now out of commission.

thanks guys.


----------



## fattrav (Feb 21, 2009)

Maybe you could use the search feature of this forum. Youtube probably has some videos on it too.


----------



## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

How long have you been doing kickers? I just started hitting them this season, so it's pretty fresh in my mind. It's not automatic by any means, and even if you think you're hitting it with proper form, you're probably not. It took me at least a couple of days of hitting a small (10 ft?) kicker before I could be reasonably confident that I was gonna come down board-first, and I wasn't going to try a 20-footer until, thank you very much!


----------



## itzzzberny (Mar 6, 2011)

you could try and ride them out to start getting comfortable. then just add a little jump. just make sure you have enough speed to clear the knuckle. maybe your thinking way too much off the jumps. also keep your body centered over the board, bend your knees and not at the waist. try bringing your knees up and throw an indy grab to stay nice calm and compact in the air. just don't try to actively reach down to grab the board, it should pop up to your hand. remember grab without looking down for the board, if you miss the grab, its ok. just focus on your landing area and stomp down.


----------



## Jakey (Mar 17, 2011)

Clench your bum cheeks, close your eyes and think of fluffy animals.


----------



## BliND KiNK (Feb 22, 2010)

I think you're over-thinking this... instead of trying to ollie or jump off of it... just ride off of it...

practice ollies or pops some more.. then try to do it on the kicker... there you go. yahtzee..


----------



## sook (Oct 25, 2009)

Try to angle to board so it parallel to the angle of the landing. You get in the habit of coming in tail heavy you're going to break your shit eventually. 

From your description, it sounds like you are trying to do the right thing, but when you're just starting out, its hard to have that body awareness. Your body may be in a completely different position that what you think it is. Think of how many people that bend over to make the grab but swear they are sucking their legs in. Get a video.


----------



## DropShop (Mar 21, 2011)

Jakey said:


> Clench your bum cheeks, close your eyes and think of fluffy animals.


*cracks up* that generally works for me.


----------



## jyuen (Dec 16, 2007)

don't over think it... don't speed check too much... just ride of the jump and let the jump "throw" you. make sure you don't open up your body. people who are new two jumps have a tendency of opening up their body and fancing down the hill. if you do that, you're board will fly out in front of you and you will eat shit. yeah don't over think.. if all you want is some sweet air time and to stomp some nice grabs... just ride straight into the jump. 

you only have to think about coming in at an angle, going off flat, creating a platform... blah blah blah when you start attempting 3's or flips. 

most jumps are designed so that you don't really have to speed check or pop off anyways. but every once in a while, especially if the park hasn't been groomed for a while, and the jump has been really carved out, you'll run into a wtf, why is this jump sending me straight in the air and why am i staring at the chairlifts... omg i'm gonna eat shit... i really hope i can level out my board.. type moments for a jump that's supposed to be a small 10 footer o.0....


----------



## semajgnik (Feb 28, 2011)

you probably have the same problem as i do, i tend to take off still crouching. the kick catches me off guard at times. try to work on extending right where the lip of the kicker is.


----------



## cadencesdad (Nov 18, 2008)

Like mentioned earlier....I would say no need to pop off the lip just yet. Let the jump do the work for you. Then once your used to that then add some snap off the lip.


----------

