Learn the axle stall: prerequisites, five stages from approaching the coping to a kickturn back into the ramp, typical mistakes and why you practise falling.
In the axle stall you put both trucks on the coping at the same time, hold still for a moment and kickturn back into the ramp. You learn it in five stages, and the honest answer is: it demands timing more than courage, because the coping does not forgive hesitation.
The axle stall is the first place where you hang over the edge. It is the prerequisite for the frontside air and the blunt to fakie, because here you learn the position from which everything else starts later.
Pros fall too: a video analysis of competitions (Vans Park Pro League, Street League, Dew Tour) showed high rates of falls, but also the ability of athletes to control falls and limit head impacts; under 5 percent of competitors wore helmets [1]. Falling is part of it. So is practising falling.
How long it takes is experience: the first axle stall on a small ramp often clicks after a few sessions, and it becomes secure with repetitions.
Pump to the coping, touch it with the front wheels and come back down without a stall. Distance feel only. Milestone: 10 clean touches with a controlled ride back.
Ride up with a bit more speed, put both trucks on the coping and roll away immediately. Milestone: 6 of 10 times both trucks on the coping, without stepping off.
Put both trucks on the coping and hold one second, weight slightly into the ramp, gaze into the ramp. Milestone: 5 of 10 times one second without stepping off.
From the stall you push the shoulder into the ramp and turn the board back. You roll forwards into the ramp. Milestone: 5 of 10 times cleanly back into the ramp.
Combine pumping, axle stall and kickturn into a line. Milestone: 3 clean lines in a row.
Film check: Film yourself from the side at the ramp and check whether the hips stay behind the trucks and the gaze goes into the ramp. Count the duration of the stall in the clip: one second is this guide's goal. If you lean the hips towards the coping, the board slips off later, and you see it in the clip earlier than in the feeling.
Session structure (experience): Warm up with ten touches on the coping, then practise holding, the kickturn back only after that. Plan at most three sets of five attempts and wear the protection from the first to the last ride, not just on the hard ones.
At the coping your weight hangs over an edge, and the direction of the fall is the flat bottom of the ramp. In the US trauma registry (24,903 patients with skateboard injuries), helmet use was only 5.7 and 5.4 percent, and wearing a helmet and skateparks were protective against severe traumatic brain injury [2]. In an Australian analysis of 5,026 injuries, 62 percent of head injuries were traumatic brain injuries and concussions [3].
Wrist and forearm make up more than 50 percent of injuries, from falling onto the outstretched arm [4]. Skateboard GB recommends pads and wrist guards for learning [5]. Fatigue counts as a risk factor [6]. Practise only on a small ramp, never on vert or large sets. The guide explains and motivates, it does not replace supervised training.
Practise getting out before getting in: ride to the coping without hanging up and turn back immediately. If you make every ride knowing you can leave at any time, the stall becomes calmer. Film yourself from the side: if your hips stay behind the trucks, you sit right.
An axle stall is a trick where you put both trucks at the same time on the coping of a ramp, stand still briefly and kickturn back into the ramp. It is the prerequisite for the frontside air and the blunt to fakie.
In five stages: approach and touch, both trucks without holding, hold one second, kickturn back, in the line. Prerequisites are rock to fakie and dropping in. Start on a small ramp with protection.
So low that you are securely up right away: about hip height. It only gets higher when the stall works. There is no study on this; it is practice knowledge.
Take weight into the ramp, roll off or kneeslide down the transition. You learn the emergency exit concept beforehand, with knee pads.
Rock to fakie first. It is the easier entry to the coping, and the axle stall requires it because you bring both trucks onto the edge. As a guide in this article: rock to fakie, 8 of 10 clean, before you practise the axle stall.
Learning the Lipslide: Boardslide with the Back Truck Over the Edge