beginner // transitions
Rock to Fakie
Also known as Rock Fakie
Roll up a ramp, rock the nose over the coping, then push back and ride away fakie. The gateway to ramp skating.
The Rock to Fakie is a beginner Transitions trick. Most skaters land their first one within 1-3 weeks of consistent practice.
Spec
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Complexity
- Learn time
- 1-3 weeksⓘ
- Category
- Transitions
- Stance
- regular
Your progress
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What the tutorials teach
All three coaches describe the same core sequence: approach with enough speed that the front truck passes over the coping while the back truck stays on the transition, press the front of the board down onto the deck, lean back, and let gravity pull you in before pressing the tail so the front wheels clear the coping and you roll away backwards. Foot position is consistent across the videos, with the back foot far back on the tail and the front foot over the front bolts for a wide, controlling stance. Everyone identifies the same failure mode on the exit: setting the front truck down too early hangs it on the coping, which is the fall that hurts. They differ in emphasis. Tom's Tutorials is by far the most technical, adding coping choice, an angled front foot, matching your body lean to the transition angle, staring at the coping on the approach, and holding a 45 degree stall with the front leg extended and back knee bent. Gerard Amento focuses almost entirely on commitment, arguing that the trick is mostly psychological because riding away fakie is unfamiliar, and recommends starting with the wheels barely over the coping and building up. Skatedeluxe is the shortest and just gives the mechanical sequence. Tom and Gerard also disagree slightly on how far to rock: Tom suggests aiming for the middle of the board, while Gerard suggests starting with the smallest possible lift and working up.
- Back foot far back on the tail, front foot over the front bolts for a wide, controlling stance; Tom also angles the front foot rather than keeping it straight
- Press the tail only slightly to set the front wheels over the coping, keeping weight on the front foot so the nose does not shoot up
- Do not put the front truck down too early on the way back in; that is what hangs you up on the coping and causes the worst falls
- Get used to rolling up and back down the transition backwards before attempting the rock, since the fakie exit is the unfamiliar part
- Match your body lean to the angle of the transition instead of standing straight up, and look at the coping on the approach because the board follows your eyes
- Commit with both feet on the board; if you can pump up to the coping you can ride back down, and bailing halfway is more dangerous than going for it
Synthesized from the top video tutorials. Watch them
Steps
- 1
Pump up the ramp
Roll up with enough speed to get the nose above the coping. You don't need to clear it — just reach coping height.
- Force
- ●●○○○
- Direction
- up
- Weight
- centered
TipMedium speed is better than slow. - 2
Rock the nose over
As the front trucks reach the coping, let your front foot press gently to push the nose over.
- Force
- ●●○○○
- Direction
- forward
- Weight
- front
TipDon't force it — the board should naturally want to rock over with enough speed. - 3
Balance on the coping
The board should be balanced with the coping under the deck between the trucks.
- Force
- ●○○○○
- Direction
- back
- Weight
- centered
TipYour weight should be very slightly toward the ramp side. - 4
Push back fakie
Shift your weight back toward the ramp and let the board pivot back over the coping.
- Force
- ●●○○○
- Direction
- back
- Weight
- back
TipA small push with your front foot helps initiate the return. - 5
Roll away fakie
As the board comes back over the coping, ride down the ramp fakie.
- Force
- ●●○○○
- Direction
- down
- Weight
- centered
TipKeep your knees bent as you roll down.
Common mistakes
Board sticking
- What
- The board rocks over but gets stuck.
- Why
- Coping not waxed, or too much weight over the nose.
- Fix
- Wax the coping. Keep your weight slightly ramp-side.
Shooting over the top
- What
- Too much speed and you fly past the coping.
- Why
- Approaching with too much speed.
- Fix
- Back off your speed. You only need enough to reach the coping with control.
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Community clips
How other skaters land the Rock to Fakie. Hype the ones you rate — the most hyped becomes this trick’s cover in the catalog.
Why this works
The mechanics behind the trick
- Board
- The board pivots over the coping using it as a fulcrum. The tail-side trucks lift and the nose hangs over the other side during the rock.
- Feet
- Your front foot controls the rocking motion. Pressing it lifts the tail over the coping; relaxing it lets the board pivot back.
- Weight
- Shift forward to go over the coping, then shift back to come back fakie. It's a see-saw motion over the coping.
Frequently asked
- How long does it take to learn a Rock to Fakie?
- Most skaters land their first rock to fakie within 1-3 weeks of consistent practice, once you can kickturn consistently.
- What should I learn before the Rock to Fakie?
- The rock to fakie builds on Kickturn. Get that consistent first, since the rock to fakie reuses the same pop, balance, or flick.
- Is the Rock to Fakie hard to learn?
- The rock to fakie is a beginner trick. It gets much easier once you can already kickturn.
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