How to Do a Kickflip on a Skateboard

The basic kickflip--turning over the board while doing an ollie--is an essential skill for any self-respecting rider. If you can't learn how to do this, you should start looking into another hobby because your street cred among skaters will be horrid. That's not to say it's easy to learn, but you still need to know how to pull it off.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Skateboard Pads
• Skateboard Wheels
• Skateboards
• Skateboard Trucks
• Skateboarding Shoes
• Skate Rails
• Skateboard Parts
• Skateboard Helmets
• Skateboard Decks

1. Set your feet up like you would for an ollie.

2. Place the ball of your front foot toward the middle of the board and slightly below the front bolts.

3. Hit your tail as you would for an ollie, but instead of dragging your front foot up the board, drag it toward the side of the board with a flicking motion. The faster the flick, the faster the flip. It's all in the ankle.

4. Stay over the board as you are jumping and the board is flipping (it's important not to push down on the board once you're up so that it can continue to rise).

5. Let the board hit your back foot once it has flipped completely. This is called catching the flip. Your front foot should not be far behind in getting back on the board, but the back foot usually catches it first. This allows you to control the trick on the way down.

6. Land with your feet as close to the bolts as possible.

7. Do another one.

Tips & Warnings

• The harder you flick, the faster the flip will be, and the higher the trick will go.
• Skateboarding is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death. We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment before attempting this activity.

Who Can Help:

• Tired of Being Tired? Fight Fatigue and Try FRS for FREE!

[emoskater]

on 6/22/2009 make a video

[skateordie576]

on 6/16/2009 every time i try a kickflip i flip it and it flies away from me and im not sure what im doin wrong. Can anybody help?

[darkseid]

on 12/29/2008 if ur just pulling back its not gonna come under u,if u slide the flick off back wardsit will come under u

[sk8terboy95]

on 9/8/2008 hey i am doing everything right but only 1 of my feet are landin on it wat am i doin wrong

[Quinster10]

on 12/28/2007 When I do a kickflip, I can get it pretty high and nice and slow. I make sure my shoulders line up with the board, but when I kickflip the flip goes good about half-way through...but when I'm getting ready to land it, it does somewhere from a 30 to 90 degree turn...kinda like half a pop-shuv....anybody know whats going wrong? O ya and its the same for my heelflip