Walk-the-dog is a freestyle fundamental that can be hard to learn at first. The board will shoot out from under you. Clean 180 rotations seem insurmountable. Your legs cramp up after one too many attempts.
Before the frustration sets in, consider working simultaneously on k-walks.
K-walks are attributed to Tara Kaylor:
Tara Kaylor, a 1970s freestyler from California, is who it is named after, according to Bob Staton. Bob was a longtime skateboarder who is now deceased but he tried hard to promote freestyle from 2001 until his death. He shared that bit of history with me once.
Terry Synnott, Mode Skateboards
Kaylor isn’t as well remembered as some of her contemporaries. Thankfully, there is a post about her and her freestyle skateboarding career written by Womxn Skate History. There’s no video footage, but it does reference photos and text from National Skateboard Review, Skateworld Journal, etc.
To some, k-walks may seem pointless. ‘You’re not really achieving or doing anything,’ Tony Gale once argued. ‘I’ve seen some people do it where they’re basically moving sideways, and “maybe” there’s an argument for that, but most of the time it’s a stationary tap-tap-tap which doesn’t move or link to anything else.’
And yes, he is correct from a contest judge’s point of view. Doing too many k-walks at competition is on par with too many pogos or shuffling your feet around on your board. It is the freestyle equivalent of too many ‘ums’ during public speaking.
However, not every trick is learnt with the aim of showcasing it in a contest run. K-walks deserve your time and effort because they help you safely explore the balance adjustments needed for walk-the-dogs. Not many other pieces of footwork use the same stance and require the lifting of the front heel in the same fashion. So give k-walks a go, your doggies will thank you for it.
Board prerequisites
This trick will work on both popsicle and freestyle decks. However, groms and smaller riders might find something with a shorter wheelbase easier to manoeuvre.
Rider prerequisites
You don’t have to have mastered walk-the-dogs to give k-walks a try. However, a basic understanding of walk-the-dog mechanics will make it easier for you to comprehend k-walks.
You will also need to be comfortable pushing and being able to tic tac with your feet closer together than what’s usually required. So make sure you’re solid with these, and if not, work on these skills first.
Being able to do multiple single-legged calf raises on a cushion or foam block without losing balance is another must. If you can’t, add these to your off-board training until you can comfortably do more than 30 in a row.
Breakdown of the trick
Set up in the same way you would for walk-the-dog:
- ball of the front foot should be in the centre of the board
- toes of the front foot should be pointing towards the nose of the board
- the chest/torso should be facing the nose
Once in position, your front foot stays like this for the entire k-walk.
Your back foot then moves to the pocket of the tail kick. Press down on the kick to do a small backside tic tac. As you tic tac, lift the heel of your front foot a little to allow the board to move underneath.
Your back foot then moves to the pocket of the nose kick and presses down to do a small ‘frontside’ tic tac. That tic tac will feel awkward since your front foot and your chest will still be pointing towards the nose. Don’t forget to lift the heel of your front foot with this tic tac also.
Congratulations, you are now doing a k-walk.
Awesome, I’ll give these a go!