How to Try a Tantrum on a Kicker – by Clio Mouchel

Shall we try it together?

The way I’m going to teach how to do a tantrum will be step by step which make it hopefully easier to follow. I used this method myself and it worked for me.

A couple of points before going for it…

Even if the technique is not very complicated you must have already spent some time at the cable park and being able to hit a kicker properly by having a nice approach and know how to maintain good speed and good height during a simple jump.

The important thing for this trick is to get good speed while you rotate and stay in the same orientation during the rotation. So first of all it is necessary to learn how to backflip from a pontoon or the side of a pool before trying it with the board on the kicker.

1. Position yourself

First of all face the water backward with the half of your feet on the side, arm straight forward in front of you.

2. Bend your knees

Bend your knees (around 90°) while putting your arms next to your legs.

3. Push on your feet

Push on your feet toward the sky and backward at the same time while throwing your arms and your head backward as well. Your action needs to be explosive.

4. Spot the water

Try to spot the water and keep your legs bent and compacted to your chest. Like every trick it is your head which will do most of the work. Spot your landing and the water.

5. Straight your legs

When you almost finished the rotation straight your legs to enter into the water.

Once you master this you will just have to apply it on the kicker with your board on your feet and a handle in your hand.

Let’s hit the kicker now!

Now you are able to do a backflip from the pontoon it’s time to hit the kicker.

1. Start cutting the water to move towards the kicker

Start cutting the water to move towards the kicker (if you approach toe-side I would advice you to keep the handle close to your hips as much as you can). Try this trick on a bigger kicker than usual to give you enough time to do the full rotation. Your approach needs to be quick and committed to get enough speed before to hitting the kicker.

2. Put your board flat on the water

Just before the kicker, put your board flat on the water and remove your back hand.

3. Bend your legs and push on your feet

Slide on the kicker with your two legs bent and push on your feet as you leave the kicker. Don’t forget to throw your head backward at the same time, exactly as you would normally do on the pontoon.

4. Stay compact

Keep your legs close to your chest and bent then spot your landing.

5. Prepare for landing

Prepare for the landing and don’t forget to absorb the landing by bending your knees.

(In the video I replace my back hand on the handle during the back rotation. This is allow me to do an extra rotation 180 which makes a tantrum to revert. This step is not necessary and you can just stay in the same axe and do a normal tantrum).

Common Mistakes

• If you fall on your back it is because you stopped your rotation and most of the time it is because you stopped looking for the water with your head. In this case go back to the previous step and work on your backflip from the pontoon.

If you turn but you don’t have enough time to complete your rotation:

• Keep your body tense and try to throw your rotation more aggressively while keeping your legs close to your chest. The more compact you are, the faster you will rotate.
• Push with your legs stronger when your reach the top of the kicker.
• Work on your approach to the kicker, your cut needs to be sharper and put your board flat on the water later to be sure to get enough speed before you hit the kicker.

Extra tips

• For your first attempts from the pontoon don’t forget to push backward to avoid to hitting the pontoon with your head.
• On the kicker wait until you reach the top of the kicker before starting your rotation to avoid hitting your head on the kicker as well.
• If you feel that everything goes wrong in the air, better to let go of the handle to avoid any injuries during the landing

Now your turn and don’t forget have confidence in yourself even if you keep falling over and over. Good luck!

Written by Clio Mouchel

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Published on: 19th September 2016