How to do a kickflip on a Skateboard (Video and Images)

The kickflip is the most famous skateboard trick that exists; this is probably because of kickflip challenges and trends on the internet, but there is another reason that makes this a great trick.

Learning the kickflip is a gateway to learning many other tricks; the varial-kickflip, for example, combines a pop shuvit and a kickflip. It is a trick that is exciting to learn and the beginning of learning more technical tricks. The kickflip is a basic trick with a flip, don't think of it as something unachievable.

Some people can learn to kickflip properly in hours, but some people need weeks. The only thing that is important is that you stay consistent until you learn it so that you don't waste your time. The trick is driven by muscle memory, so you can definitely learn as long as you don't give up.

What is a Kickflip

A kickflip is a trick where you ollie and rotate the board like a barrel roll with your front foot. It is like an ollie with an extra step; you need to learn how to make the board rotate while being in control and catch it in the air.

The hardest part about the kickflip is learning how to use your front foot to make the board flip; this motion will quickly become muscle memory once you know how to do it, but you need to be patient since it is tricky to understand. Let's take a look at how to do a kickflip.

How to Kickflip on a Skateboard

You must know how to ollie before attempting to learn kickflips; the kickflip is based on the ollie, so you need to land good ollies consistently if you want to kickflip.

You can try to learn kickflip first as a fun challenge, but you can probably learn both kickflip and ollie faster if you do it in the right order.

Foot position

The foot position is almost the same as the ollie, but the front foot is a little different. Your front foot is placed below the hardware and is angled back; this makes the board flip when you flick the front foot of the board. This is only a rough description, you might like to have your feet a little more or less angled, but you need to test this out by yourself.

Your back foot has the same position as an ollie stance, keep your toes by the edge and middle of your tail to prepare for popping.

Direction of Body

You face straight forward when you do an ollie, but you should be slightly more to the side while doing a kickflip. It becomes easier to flick your front foot correctly if you have the right direction.

Bodyweight and focus

Your focus you be your obstacle; look at the top of the object you try to kickflip on, look at where you are going to land if you are kickflipping down something, and focus on the nose of the board if you kickflip on flat ground.

Your body weight should be right behind your front foot, which is the center of the board. You should also try to stay over the center as you perform the trick if you might slip off the board when landing if you falter from the center.

Kickflip Movement

This will cover how to kickflip while skating regular; it is the same for goofy but mirrored.

Bend Down: You need to bend down to prepare for the pop and pop as you would with a regular ollie. You will need to lift your arms up to make better room for the kicking motion as well; lifting your arms comes naturally, but remember this in case you film yourself and notice that you don't do it.

Grinding: You need to grind up as you do with an ollie but with your toes since your foot is angled; this comes naturally as long as you have the right foot position and form. Grind your foot straight upwards and get ready for the flick.

Flicking: You will need to flick the board when your foot is close to the edge of the board and flick out at an angle around 11 o'clock, but you can experiment with it to find out what works best for you. When you use a lot of power, it will be harder to control, so start small and work your way up to find the right balance. You will feel much more stable and get better kickflips if you don't do unnecessary movements. An excellent way to find out if you are doing unnecessary movements is to record yourself and look for movements that look forced.

Timing: It is the same timing on the movements as an ollie, so try to keep that in mind while practicing. I will feel different since you are flicking, but it is basically the same movement.

Landing kickflips

If you have done the steps correctly, your board will spin under your feet. Follow the rotation as the board flips and get ready to catch it in the air.

Landing on it without catching it in the air is possible, but this relies more on luck. Learn to catch it in the air to land it consistently.

You catch it with both feet but reach it quicker with the back foot. It should be easy to land after you catch it as long as you don't rotate by accident.

How to practice kickflips

I recommend practicing while moving since this will prepare you to use the trick while skating, but it's ok to do it while standing still if it feels too sketchy.

Find flat ground clear of gravel or other debris that can make you fall. It should be a large enough area for you to get in the correct stance without rushing yourself.

Record yourself in slow-motion with your phone to find out what you do right and wrong. You will be able to improve much faster if you can observe your movements.

You can also hold onto a railing while practicing the movement, it will be a lot easier to pop and you are less likely to fall and hurt yourself. It is a great way to get comfortable doing the trick in a safe environment.

Safety Gear

It is easy to hurt yourself while trying new tricks, so make sure that you are properly protected while riding. It is most important that you use a helmet, but I also recommend using wrist guards; you often land on your wrists when falling, and they can get easily damaged, so take extra care of them.

Conclusion

You should be confident with your ollies before you attempt to learn how to kickflip. It is possible to learn how to kickflip first but it is much more efficient to learn it in the right order. Learning the kickflip is the start of learning more advanced flip tricks

Getting the stances and body position down before practicing makes the movement come naturally, saving you a lot of time and making your training easier. Remember to flick your foot off at the end to make the board properly flip.

The movement and timing are basically the same as when you ollie so keep that in mind while you practice. Remember to use safety equipment while practicing to stay safe; falling while trying something new is much more common.

Try to learn the pop shove it if you haven't already before learning to kickflip; it will give you more confidence when you know more tricks. There are many skateboarding tricks that you can learn before the kickflip, so you don't need to rush it.