How to Kickflip ·

TR7 Skate Trick Tips - HOW TO KICKFLIP


When learning skateboarding, it is very easy to try and skip all the basics and go for moves such as kickflips before you have good Ollies.

So before reading on, make sure you have a solid ollie! For our second blog entry, we will be working on kickflips, as asked for by many!

HOW TO KICKFLIP

The reason you have to master ollie before moving onto kickflips is because, like the ollie, it is all about the timing of both of your legs working together.

We will begin with the foot positioning, as before because when doing tricks like this, your foot positioning can make a lot of difference!! Everybody does tricks slightly differently so there is no ¨right or wrong way¨ of doing this but give this foot positioning a try to see if it helps you get closer! :- 

WATCH THE VIDEO & READ BELOW 

 

 

PART 1

Your back foot should be the same as the ollie, on the tail but with your toes in the middle of the tail and your heel completely hanging off (the reason for this is that you have more control when jumping from your toes than you do jumping with a flat foot) Your front foot has to make the board do the flip so its important to get this one in place! Put your front foot between the front bolts and the middle of the board (more or less). Some people find it easier to flip the board when they start with their feet closer together, leaving loads of space on the board to flick your front foot up and its a great way to start getting them but if you want to pop and catch the flip, you want to start moving you foot up the board to make it flip slower and level out (much like the ollie)

 

PART 2

Once you are happy that you have your feet in the right position, you want to push down with your back foot, getting the tail to bounce off the floor and whilst that is happening your front foot needs to be flicking up the board. When you flick your front foot up the board, make sure that it is your toes doing the work and you are flicking up towards the nose but also off the side of the board (the flick of the front foot is what makes the board flip over) The first stage of learning a kickflip is learning how to make the board flip, so if you are new to this, work on just getting it to flip before worrying about trying to land back on it. Ideally you want to be able to flip it consistently and land it with one foot (preferably the back foot).
If you are doing this easily and just need to get that other foot on, read on!

 

PART 3

The key to getting back on it is jumping. I know it sounds like obvious advice but when people learn this one, they tend to put so much focus and effort into flipping the board that their feet are back on the floor before the board. For this reason, we recommend that you jump straight up, lift your knees up high and try and stay above the board, if its your front foot that isn’t landing on your board, focus solely on that one foot and likewise if it is your back foot.
Kickflips take most people a few weeks of trying constantly but everyone learns at different paces, so take your time and don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work straight away, it is worth the effort, everybody remembers their first kickflip!
So remember even if its just 5 minutes a day, all of that time will add up and you will get the hang of it very quickly.
Here is Joss Bellamy, our flow team rider giving some extra demonstrations:
Practice is key so don’t give up!
Send us your progress or tag us on insta! @tr7skatepark
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