360 Jump + Grapevine + Back Open Gazelle
A new movement joins the series: the grapevine, from freestyle, between a 360 jump and a back open Gazelle exit — plus the concept that threads it all: flow.
Coming soon
The video for this move is in production. Meanwhile, the full theory is below.
Available on September 7 at 8:00 AM CST.
Fourth episode of Combos of the Week — and the first to introduce a new movement. Until now we had worked with the core elements of the Wizard style plus the 180 as a utility movement; today the grapevine comes in, straight from freestyle — as a reference, in slalom you can find it as mabrouk. The combo: a 360 jump landing directly into the grapevine and exiting in a back open Gazelle.
The grapevine isn't an ornament: it serves to introduce style, to work as a connection between movements and much more — front cross, transition, back cross, transition, threaded cyclically. I recommend practicing it on its own. And if you don't master your 360 jump yet, the combo doesn't wait for you: you can swap it for a fakie 180 straight into the grapevine — the same entry, as a progression.
The episode's concept is flow: how to generate a constant flow from start to finish across the whole combo. The episode's answer: by making the time between the start and the end of each part of each movement smaller. The example lives in the 360's landing — you don't land already crossed (that would be another trick), you keep absorbing while the body is already predisposing itself to the front cross that opens the grapevine.
Before skating it, the shadow of the full combo: 360, predisposition to the front cross, grapevine, preparation of the backwards open gazelle and an exit in a clean roll out keeping the momentum. The episode's findings and concepts accumulate in the Combos of the Week course.
Steps
- Check the prerequisites: the 360 jump (with its progression from the 180) and the back open Gazelle comfortable separately. The grapevine is the episode's new movement: practice it on its own before putting it into the combo.
- Exercise 1 — Consecutive 360 jumps: look for consistency, to get an idea of how comfortable you already are with the landing and with controlling the direction of your jump.
- Exercise 2 — Cyclic grapevine: slowly and progressively, mark your front cross, transition, back cross, transition — threading it constantly in flow, for as long as you can hold it and as far as your space allows.
- Exercise 3 — 180 into grapevine: from fakie position, a 180 jump straight into the grapevine. It's the progression if you don't feel comfortable with the 360 yet.
- Exercise 4 — 360 into grapevine: prepare the landing thinking about the front cross, without landing already crossed — you keep absorbing, but your body is already predisposing itself to the next movement.
- Exercise 5 — Back cross into back open Gazelle: from the grapevine's back cross, prepare the backwards open gazelle and exit the movement.
- Join everything: 360, predisposition to the front cross, grapevine, preparation of the gazelle and an exit in a clean roll out, keeping the momentum and the flow of the whole combo.
Common mistakes
- Landing the 360 already crossed: that's another trick — a jump landed in a cross. Here you keep absorbing while the body predisposes itself to the front cross.
- Treating each movement as a trick with its own start and end: flow is built by making the time between the start and the end of each part of each movement smaller.
- Blocking the combo behind the 360: if the jump isn't there yet, the fakie 180 straight into the grapevine is the same entry as a progression — don't stop practicing the rest.
- Putting the grapevine into the combo without threading it first: cyclic first, slow and progressive — front cross, transition, back cross — until you can hold it in flow.
In one sentence
A 360 jump that lands predisposing itself to the front cross, a grapevine threaded in flow and an exit in back open Gazelle into a clean roll out. The new movement comes from freestyle; the episode's concept is flow: making the time between the start and the end of each part of the combo smaller.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the grapevine?
- A movement that comes from freestyle — as a reference, in slalom you can find it as mabrouk: front cross, transition, back cross, threaded cyclically. It serves to introduce style and to connect movements with each other, and that's why it joins the series.
- Do I need the 360 for this combo?
- Not to get started: you can swap it for a fakie 180 straight into the grapevine — the same entry, as a progression. The 360 comes in when your consecutive jumps already feel consistent.
- What is flow?
- The episode's concept: a constant flow from the start to the end of the combo. It is achieved by making the time between the start and the end of each part of each movement smaller — every landing or transition already predisposes itself to what follows.
Sources
The nomenclature of families and variations follows the official source. The drills, progressions and teaching concepts around it are ARCO's own elaboration, created to communicate the ideas.
