The Frontside Rock 'n' Roll is a fairly hard move typically done on transitions or ditches. I'm not totally sure who was the first do to this on vert -- maybe Eddie Elguera in about 1979.
Mike Niemann does this move really well. In this tip, he's doing it on a stack of parking blocks at EZ-7, in Houston. I'll try to not only point out what he's doing, but the little things that make him good at this move. The style points.
Mike heads up the wall and is getting his feet in position for the trick. You can see that he's standing on the balls of his feet.
As he approaches the stack of parking blocks at the top of the wall, he raises the nose, lifting the front wheels over the blocks, and he stays centered over the board. Again -- look at the rear foot.
In frames 3 and 4, Mike commits and goes fully into the rock. He pushes the nose down until the board is flat -- he doesn't just barely tap the board on the block. He gets all up in there.
Check out frame 4. Look at the body positioning and rear foot. If you are doing the move right, this is what it will look like. His center of balance right above the rear truck. That, along with his foot placement, will allow him to come of the block with style, the way it should be done.
In frames 5 and 6 its time to come out of the move. Mike raises the nose, allowing the rear wheels to again touch the wall. When they do, he raises the nose high to allow the front wheels to clear the block. At the same time, he begins to pivot frontside.
By being on the balls of his feet, Mike is able to pivot the board by moving it right underneath him, kind of the way you make it pivot under you in a Walk the Dog.
In frames 7 and 8, Mike finishes swinging the board around and touches the front wheels down.
This move is all about precise foot control of the board and flow. On transition it is essentiall the same -- still all about that rear foot positioning. Thanks for the tip, Mike.