A fakie simply means riding backwards.
This is a very important riding skill when learning certain kinds of tricks that require landing or starting backwards.
You should be at least able to handle fakie riding, or it can be dangerous to try some tricks, especially air tricks.
Mastering this riding skill brings you a much wider variety of tricks and more flexibility.


How to Fakie:


There aren't certain steps for fakie riding, however, there are several things you want to keep in mind:



First, you should not think of it as riding backwards, as it will only develop a fright and make your riding awkward.



Stand still on flat ground with a fakie stance, and remember how you use your body when riding with regular stance. You should be able to control the speed.


Here, remind yourself to maintain your center of gravity at the same point as regular riding.


As soon as you are comfortable with riding fakie style, you can now start with the regular style and switch to fakie. It's best if you can ride fakie well enough that nobody can tell the difference from regular riding.



Settings:


The settings of bindings help you progress in riding fakie. Three types of settings are explained below.


Regular Stance





This is the most common setting of bindings for freeriding. It is stable in the direction that you are heading and switching an edge from the front to the back is smooth.
However, with this angle, it may not help very much to ride fakie and perform tricks since the feeling of riding regular and fakie differ a lot.



Side-way Stance





This setting makes it easier to maneuver the board. Although it looks like it is easy to press on the edge and curve sharply, you have to keep one of the edges pressed, otherwise you can trip easily (especially when going slow or switching the edges).
The stance is desirable for fakie riding in a way that you can feel exactly the same when riding both ways. But again, some people might not like it since it is easy to lose balance and trip.



Duck Stance





This setting is usually for freestyle riding. People can tell immediately if you have this stance because it looks very unique. It is good for halfpipes and also lifting the board and bending it. It uses the same logic, when you carry heavy items, you tend to be duck footed.
This stance is also good for riding fakie. It is just that the stance requires a bit of over action when switching the edges.