Frontside
Encyclopedia
Frontside and backside are surfing
, skateboarding
, snowboarding
and aggressive inline skating
terms that are used to describe how a person approaches an obstacle or performs a certain trick. In Aggressive Skating, frontside and backside are types of grinds.
The names frontside and backside originate from surfing where they mean the direction the surfer is facing while surfing a wave
. If the surfer is facing the wave, he or she is surfing frontside, otherwise he or she is surfing backside. The terms forehand and backhand are synonyms for frontside and backside but they are only used in surfing.
The only exception is when going fakie, a trick is considered frontside if it is done with the same motion that would be frontside if the person was facing forward to start.
For grinds, it's a lot easier, if you can see the rail/ledge in front of you as you approach it, this means you will be doing a Frontside grind, and if the rail/ledge is behind you, this means you will be doing a backside grind. This comes from when surfers would surf waves, if they could see the wave, they were surfing frontside, but if the wave was behind them they were surfing backside.
The only exception to this is on banana bunny grinds, in which the terms are reversed.
In the air, backside means that you turn the front of your body into the rotation first and frontside means you turn your back into the rotation first. For example, a left foot forward (or regular) rider would rotate counterclockwise to throw a frontside 360 and clockwise to throw a backside 360.
, frontside and backside are used to describe the way the skater's feet are positioned when grinding on an object. For example, if a skater jumps on to grind a ledge with both feet landing on the h-blocks (the grindable area in the middle of the frame), with the toes facing the ledge, the skater is doing a frontside grind. Their whole body will be facing the object.
A backside is much the same, although when the skater jumps on, they will be landing with their back to the object, and with their heels facing the ledge.
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
, skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
, snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
and aggressive inline skating
Aggressive inline skating
Aggressive inline skating is a form of inline skating, performed on specially designed inline skates with focus on sliding stances known as grinds with a focus on new tricks, stunts and personal style. Participants refer to the activity as "'rollerblading'", "blading", "skating" or "rolling"...
terms that are used to describe how a person approaches an obstacle or performs a certain trick. In Aggressive Skating, frontside and backside are types of grinds.
The names frontside and backside originate from surfing where they mean the direction the surfer is facing while surfing a wave
Ocean surface wave
In fluid dynamics, wind waves or, more precisely, wind-generated waves are surface waves that occur on the free surface of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and canals or even on small puddles and ponds. They usually result from the wind blowing over a vast enough stretch of fluid surface. Waves in the...
. If the surfer is facing the wave, he or she is surfing frontside, otherwise he or she is surfing backside. The terms forehand and backhand are synonyms for frontside and backside but they are only used in surfing.
Skateboarding
For performing rotational tricks on flat, like 180 kickflips, Frontside means that for the first 90-180 degrees of the rotation, you can see whats in front of you in the direction that your traveling. So a frontside 180 Ollie done in regular would be rotated towards the heels or anti-clockwise (clockwise for goofy skaters). Therefore a regular Backside 180 would be rotated to your toes or clockwise (anti-clockwise for goofy skaters), this is because you can not see what is in front of you for the first 90-180 degrees, only what was behind you as you are going into the trick blind.The only exception is when going fakie, a trick is considered frontside if it is done with the same motion that would be frontside if the person was facing forward to start.
For grinds, it's a lot easier, if you can see the rail/ledge in front of you as you approach it, this means you will be doing a Frontside grind, and if the rail/ledge is behind you, this means you will be doing a backside grind. This comes from when surfers would surf waves, if they could see the wave, they were surfing frontside, but if the wave was behind them they were surfing backside.
The only exception to this is on banana bunny grinds, in which the terms are reversed.
Snowboarding
In snowboarding, frontside and backside are referred to exactly like skateboarding when performing tricks. When turning in the snow, a backside turn in analogous to a toeside turn, and a frontside turn is analogous to a heelside turn.In the air, backside means that you turn the front of your body into the rotation first and frontside means you turn your back into the rotation first. For example, a left foot forward (or regular) rider would rotate counterclockwise to throw a frontside 360 and clockwise to throw a backside 360.
Aggressive Inline Skating
In Aggressive Inline SkatingAggressive inline skating
Aggressive inline skating is a form of inline skating, performed on specially designed inline skates with focus on sliding stances known as grinds with a focus on new tricks, stunts and personal style. Participants refer to the activity as "'rollerblading'", "blading", "skating" or "rolling"...
, frontside and backside are used to describe the way the skater's feet are positioned when grinding on an object. For example, if a skater jumps on to grind a ledge with both feet landing on the h-blocks (the grindable area in the middle of the frame), with the toes facing the ledge, the skater is doing a frontside grind. Their whole body will be facing the object.
A backside is much the same, although when the skater jumps on, they will be landing with their back to the object, and with their heels facing the ledge.