How to do a Backside 180 Shuv on the Lakesurf Balance Board

Your first attempt at a backside 180 shuvit can be pretty intimidating. However, there's a super easy and safe way to learn this trick in the comfort of your own home! Just grab your Lakesurf Balance Board and follow along! Don't have the Lakesurf board? Check it out here.

First, a bit about terminology. "Backside" means the board will spin in the backside direction, which for a regular rider, is clockwise as you look down on the board. For a goofy rider, it would be counter-clockwise. By "Shuv" we mean "Shove-it," also typically spelled "shuvit," shuv it," "shuv-it," or "shove it." the shortened terms "Shuv" and "Shove" are the most common. Basically any way that you can think of spelling it is an acceptable way of spelling. Grammar and spelling don't always apply to board riders. The "shove" is what you do with your back foot to start the board spinning: you shove the tail of the board backwards with your back foot. The "180" is how many degrees your board spins. So this trick is jumping off the board, spinning the board 180 degrees underneath you in the backside direction while your body does not spin, then landing back on the board and riding away. Most of you will be saying "thanks, Captain Obvious" at about this point, but for those who are just starting out or who know what the trick is but not why it's called that, you're welcome!

The best way to learn this trick is to break it down into smaller steps, practice each small step individually, then bring them all together. We have Wakesurfing World Champ Sean Silveira leading you through below:

Step 1: Getting your feet off the board

The first step is learning to get your feet off the board. You can't do a shuv with your feet stuck on the board, so off we go. This step is literally just jumping off of your board and landing on the floor. This lets you get used to your feet leaving the board without having to worry about landing back on it. First, you're going to just stand on your balance board with equal weight on both feet. Then you'll jump backwards over your heel side edge, and land on the floor so that your board is in front of you. Be sure to keep your feet shoulder-width apart the whole time. Also be sure to jump flat-footed. If you jump off of your toes, (the way homo sapiens naturally want to jump,) then you'll just be pushing the toe edge of your board down since your weight will no longer be along the centerline of your board. On the water, this adds drag and makes the board carve when you don't want it to. So jump off of the balls of your feet and your heels at the same time. Do this until you can do it without thinking about it - whether it takes you one try or one hundred!

Step 2: Landing on the board

Now that you can get your feet off the board, let's work on getting them back on the board. You're going to jump up like you did in the previous step, then land back on the board. In this step, you won't be jumping backwards, however. You're going to jump straight up, with each foot ending up in the exact same spot after you land. Start small! For your first jump, don't even worry about getting any air. Just get your body "light" by halfway jumping on the board, your feet still touching the whole time. Once you're comfortable going through the jumping motion, start to jump so that your feet go just barely off of the board. Remember to go straight up and down, jump flat-footed, and keep your stance shoulder-width apart the whole time. Once you're comfortable with tiny jumps, jump a little bit higher, and repeat until you are consistently jumping several inches off of the board and landing on it again.

Step 3: Spinning the board

Next is learning to spin the board with your feet as you jump up. For this step, we are going to return to Step 1 where you jump off of the board and land on the floor, but you're going to spin the board backside as you jump. This way you can focus on spinning the board to get that feeling down without having to worry about land back on it just yet. When you jump back over your heel edge, be sure to jump kind of far away from the board so that it doesn't whack you in the ankles after you land - if all goes as planned, it will be spinning! (Note: you won't die if the spinning board hits your feet. It's not that bad. But also not that pleasant, so just give yourself a bit of space.) To initiate the spin, you want to flick the tail of your board backwards with your foot as you jump up. It mostly happens with your back foot, though you can push your front foot forwards a little bit as well. You'll jump as you did in Step 1, but at the top of your jump before your feet leave the board, you'll flick that back foot backwards, and bend your back knee quite a bit as you do so. Then land on the floor so that the board is spinning in front of you. (Note that it won't stop at 180 degrees, since you aren't landing on it to stop its rotation yet - it will just keep spinning. This is OK.) As with the previous two steps, jump with your feet shoulder-width apart and land with them shoulder-width apart. Focus on flicking your back foot and NOT moving your hips. This step will take some reps to get down, but you'll get it! Once you can consistently spin the board with your feet while jumping off of it, you're ready to move to the next step.

Step 4: Putting it all together for the whole 180 Shuv

You can jump off the board. You can land back on the board. You can keep your stance shoulder-width apart. You can spin the board with your feet as you jump up. You have all of the skills now! You just need to put them all together! The hardest part with this step is not getting freaked out by landing on a board that is spinning. The only advice here is to trust the previous 3 steps! If you land on it and it hasn't spun exactly 180 degrees, No big deal. You'll still land on it and you'll stop its rotation once you do. You'll just have to dial in how hard to kick your back foot, and when to plant your feet by practicing it a bunch of times. As in Step 2, you want to jump straight up and down so that you land balanced on the board. Be sure to bend your knees so that you can wait in the air until the board is 180 degrees around before you straighten your legs and plant your feet - this lets you fine tune how much time you're hanging in the air while the board is spinning. Just watch the board spin, and plant your feet when the 180 spin is complete.

We can't wait for you to take it to the water! Be sure to pick up both a Lakesurf Phone Holder, download the Lakesurf Balance Board app, of course, pick up a Wakesurf Balance Board. These 3 products together will give you an awesome wakesurf simulation experience right in front of you TV. In addition to wakesurf simulation, games, data tracking and staying fit, our app has over 40 guided tutorials led by Sean Silveira, so be sure to try it out!