Frontside/Backside question on box/rail
So since I’m pretty much an anti rail anti street guy I’m still confused with trick names on rails/boxes. So if you do a boardslide and you’re facing the rail (chest facing downhill), is that a backside or frontside? I’ve heard conflicting answers. Some say it’s backside (I have no idea why) others say it’s frontside.
Its weird but as far as I know when its boxes and rails it is the opposite to when you’re spinning rotations.
if your chest is ‘open’ and facing down the hill then that is backside
If your chest is ‘closed’ and trying to face back up the hill then that is frontside.
no idea why really but that is how I understand it.
Yeah, I think it stems from Surfing where if your taking off on a wave with your back facing the face (Mountain Slope on Snow), then you’re esentially riding Backside!!!!!
So since I’m pretty much an anti rail anti street guy I’m still confused with trick names on rails/boxes. So if you do a boardslide and you’re facing the rail (chest facing downhill), is that a backside or frontside? I’ve heard conflicting answers. Some say it’s backside (I have no idea why) others say it’s frontside.
It’s not about how you slide down the rail, it’s how you approach the rail.
If you are regular:
For a frontside boardslide, you come in from the left side of the rail, thus the rail is in front of you (your chest faces the rail on approach), hence “frontside” boardslide. Yes, even though it’s called a frontside boardslide, you actually slide backwards down the rail.
Using the same reasoning, for a backside boardslide, you approach from the right side of the rail, your back is facing the rail on approach, hence “backside” boardslide. You will however be sliding forwards on the rail.
You might say, but surely you could approach from the left (front facing the rail), and still slide forwards down the rail. Yes, but this is now called a frontside lipslide. If you approach with your back facing the rail and slide backwards down the rail, this is now called a backside lipslide.
If the tail of the board crosses over the rail, you know it’s a lipslide. For this reason, a lipslide is considered a harder trick than a boardslide.
Does that all make sense?
Well there ya go, hey!!!!!
So how does the terminology apply for Frontside/Backside Rotations off a Jump????? You’re approaching the Jump from neither side, but more from a straight approach, more or less!!!!!
No wonder it gets some conflicting arguments!!!!!
Frontside and backside for spins off jumps is only determined by the direction of the rotation.
For regular, frontside is anti-clockwise and backside is clockwise. This terminology comes from the direction your body is facing and travelling after the first 90 degrees of rotation.
For regular, switch frontide or “cab” is clockwise and switch backside is anti-clockwise.
Maybe when it came to rail/box approach, Forehand & Backhand would have been better terminology?????
Just to differentiate the approach from the rotation?????
Disagree. It’s really not difficult once you understand how it all works. 
All the terminology we use for rails came from skateboarding.
Well, I’ll just stick to my “Freestyle” Riding then!!!!!
* Summoning the Spirit of Chucky!!!!!
That makes a lot of sense Jeremy. Thanks. What about boxes though, you approach a box straight on instead of from the side, do frontside/backside apply the same as rails here?
In skating, when you ollie up over the rail then onto it (so like straight on a box) you call it ollie over to lipslide. But dont really know how to transfer this to boarding. I’d still call it the same as if you were coming from either side
That makes a lot of sense Jeremy. Thanks. What about boxes though, you approach a box straight on instead of from the side, do frontside/backside apply the same as rails here?
I call it the same. Technically, even for boxes you should still be coming in slightly on an edge and/or slight angle for boarslides, even if the approach is almost dead straight. For the sake of consistency, I always call it the same as I do for rails.
If you really are coming in 100% straight, flat base, ride on straight, then slide it into a boardslide, that would technically be a 50-50 to boardslide.
If you really are coming in 100% straight, flat base, ride on straight, then slide it into a boardslide, that would technically be a 50-50 to boardslide.
everything you’ve said besides this seems right. if you get on the box then change to boardslide mid way though then yea, but if you’re jumping straight onto board/lip slide i think its just one of those grey areas that we’ve put into the “meh, i dont care” basket 
I was referring to riding on straight (no ollie) and shuffling into a boardslide, which is what most snowboarders would when learning to boardslide on a ride-on box. I would call that a 50-50 to boardslide.
If there is a gap, and you ollie the gap straight into a boardslide, I would call it an ollie to boardslide. I guess it’s not technically a boardslide or a lipslide (it’s something in the middle), so I would just call it a boardslide using the same terminology in my first post, i.e. if you are sliding frontwards down the rail, I would call it an ollie to backside boardslide. I’m not sure if this is 100% correct but it seems the most logical to me.
I’m not sure if this is 100% correct but it seems the most logical to me.
It’s really not difficult once you understand how it all works!!!!!
Exactly. 