How to Switch and Fakie Ride on a Snowboard

Snowboarding, the winter sport ever popular with extreme and adventurous young athletes, offers endless opportunities for boarders to challenge themselves with new tricks and variations. One of the most common variations for any trick is performing a trick switch, or fakie, meaning with the opposite foot forward.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Ride fakie by riding with your opposite foot forward. If you normally ride with your right foot forward, riding fakie simply means you ride with your left foot forward. Practice riding fakie before you try any tricks switch.

2. Perform tricks switch by starting the trick with the opposite foot forward, so if you would normally start a trick with your right foot forward, start with your left foot forward.

3. Adapt to unexpected obstacles by doing tricks either regular or switch depending on what most suits your environment. Simple ollies are a good way to start working switch.

4. Refer to the trick itself as "switch" when performed backwards from normal, and refer to your form coming off of the trick as "fakie" if you're still in fakie position. Some switch tricks end in a regular position, not fakie.

5. Perform tricks switch to impress a crowd and earn more points in competition, as any standard trick performed fakie is automatically more challenging and earns more points.

6. Use fakie to perform certain halfpipe tricks that start from or incorporate fakie, like the poptart, Caballerial, half cab and Elgeurial, which all use fakie either to start or complete the trick.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't attempt tricks fakie unless you're able to perform them safely from a regular riding position. Snowboarding tricks can be dangerous and result in injury if not performed properly or if you crash, so practice small and build up to larger tricks when learning tricks from fakie.

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