The Science of Gaining Height in Pop Shove-It

This time, we'll do a case study based on a video sent by one of my subscribers. He crouches down, swings his arms to jump forward, and pops the tail—it often doesn't hit the ground, and even if it does, the board ends up landing in front of him. There's the same cause behind them.

Among many ways to Pop Shove-it, the simplest method is to apply force diagonally downward. This force slams the tail down into the ground, and the rebound from that impact lifts the board into the air. It also has a horizontal component, which causes the board to spin. At the same time, as the board's center of mass swings out forward, the board moves toward the toeside. Given all this, it might seem intuitive that you should just kick the tail to spin the board and jump forward — but there's a pitfall.

In both cases, we pop at the same time, but his board moves toward the toeside, while mine stays under my body.

Ideally, when the tail hits the ground, you want the board to pop upward and the front foot catches it, keeping it under your body.

However, if you try to jump forward consciously, the energy that the back foot exerts will be more horizontal, weakening the vertical pop. As a result, the board swings out more instead of popping upward. By the time the front foot catches it, it has already gone too far.

Let's compare these cases. When popped vertically, the board pops up higher and hits the front foot. But when popped more horizontally, the board shoots out to the side more strongly, and even if the front foot hits the board, it's not like catching; it's more like touching, and it can't stop the board from shooting out to the side even more.

In my case, as soon as my front foot hits my board, it guides it down, preventing it from shooting out to the side. But in his case, because his board's momentum is too big, his front foot can't stop it from overshooting to the side. So, whether the board doesn't pop or it doesn't stay under your body, the root cause is the same: you are not popping vertically.

So, while you need to improve your pop, it's not just popping with the leg. The key is to integrate popping and jumping. When you jump, your body acts like a spring. As you crouch and extend your body, your feet push down on the ground, and your body launches upward.

Now, what happens if your center of gravity is on the toeside? Instead of jumping straight upward, your center of mass is pushed diagonally forward. In the process of jumping like so, you'll be pushing the ground diagonally downward. By jumping this way, you can generate the force required to spin the board without consciously kicking the tail backward.

Kicking the tail on purpose is not always evil. It's just one more thing that you have to manage. Considering you can't avoid jumping no matter what, and jumping generates a diagonally downward force, which also spins the board, why not use it? It's one less thing to worry about.

And please be careful—there's a big difference between this and consciously jumping forward. While trying to jump forward increases unnecessary horizontal momentum, it is understandable that you want to do as you know that the board naturally lands on the toe side. But what you need to pop the board higher and stop it from overshooting is a vertical force, and you can generate it by jumping straight up. Landing on the toe side is a result of jumping straight up with your center of gravity on the toe side, not of jumping forward consciously.

Let's return to the case study. The key point is to start the jumping motion immediately after crouching. As you can see, he seems to be crouching for too long. If I simulate his motion using the motion analyzer, it becomes more obvious. His movement is a lot more gradual.

When you crouch, your body tends to become unstable, and it's easy to hesitate before jumping. However, the spring-like energy generated in your body during the crouch gradually dissipates over time. If you wait until that energy is gone, you'll need to expend additional effort to generate the force needed to jump.

1. When the board doesn't pop or stay underneath your body, it's because you are pushing the tail to the side too strongly.
2. To fix this, you need to apply a vertical force to the board. Imagine your body as a spring. Once you crouch, release the energy without a pause. Just like a spring extends as a whole, your entire body should also extend in one coordinated motion.
3. It's better to spread your arms to the sides rather than swinging them forward to maximize the extending motion of your body and to avoid sending your body too far forward.
4. If you are interested, please try Whythetrick's motion analyzer. You can track your motion and compare it with others using the split-screen function.