Longboards Manila

By Guest Blogger Inez

In sports, a tuck is defined as a bodily position in which the knees are bent and the thighs are drawn close to the chest.  Oftentimes, the athlete’s hands are clasped around her shins.  Sometimes, the hands are positioned comfortably on one’s behind.  The purpose of tucking is to make someone as small and as aerodynamic as possible.  The better the tuck, the less wind resistance and the faster the resulting speed.

For longboard racers, mastering a tuck is a necessary skill.  Not saying that a fantastic tuck is all one needs to be a champion.  Of course, there are other things as well, such as a good, stable board and aerodynamic leathers (and helmets).  But a good tuck can definitely help improve your chances of crossing that finish line and blowing away the competition. 

There are many kinds of tucks, as Rafe, Lasse, Martin, Gerard, Ric-Ric, Denise, and Coy demonstrate from last week's thriller at Whiskey HIll 4, Colinas Verdes.  The key to finding the best one is trying them all and deciding which one works for you.  The guys at Lush recommend the following basic tuck: 

From a normal riding position, pivot your back foot so that your toes are facing forwards down the board. Bend your knees and sink your weight down so that your back knee tucks in behind your front knee. Keep your weight fully over the front of the board, this will make it more stable. Try and get your chest as close to your front knee as you can, then tuck your arms in behind you. Keep your hands wrapped around behind you out of the way. To avoid straining your neck too much, keep your head down and look up with your eyes. Stay relaxed to avoid the wobbles. 

Justin Metcalf posted an excellent summary of three basic tucks on the Silverfish forum:

American tuck is very common in California and the West Coast. Essentially the rider stands mostly upright with the knee of their rear leg tucked into the crotch of the knee of their front leg. Knees are slightly bent and body is bent over so that the back is straight (parallel to the road). Arms swept back with hands usually resting on your butt. 

The American tuck is good for long runs when you need a lot of stamina and don't want to go for a brazilian tuck. There are a lot of people that use this tuck.

European style is very similar to the American style but the rider is closer to the board. The knee on the back leg is usually pressed against the back calf or achilles tendon on the front leg. The front leg is bent at or about a 90* angle and the chest is resting on the front thigh. Weight is centered between the two legs and the back is generally not perfectly parallel to the ground. Arms are swept back similar to the American tuck. 

The European tuck is generally considered to be the fastest tuck but is also the hardest tuck to hold for long periods of time.

The Brazilian tuck takes the Euro tuck one step further by resting your back knee on the board. The front leg is bent similar to the Euro tuck but the rider is in body position similar to if they were kneeling in front of someone or praying. Hands are usually in a praying position in front of the face with elbows tucked in close at the sides. 

The Brazilian tuck is great on long runs when you need lots of stamina or on incredibly fast runs when you feel the need for slightly more stability. It's fast and hard to draft but not quite as agile as the other tucks and some races do not allow riders to rest a knee on the board.

If none of these tucks suit you, feel free to modify or make your own.  It’s not as if there’s a rule that requires a rider to maintain a particular kind of tuck.  Go ahead and be inventive!  Just remember that there are a few things you might want to keep in mind while perfecting that tuck: