How To: Frontside Flip

What this video teaches

VLSkate delivers one of the most thorough breakdowns of the combined kickflip frontside 180, explaining that the board actually performs a backflip-like rotation up into the front foot before the flick completes it, rather than a standard kickflip motion happening simultaneously with the pop. The video separates the trick into pop, flick, body rotation, and landing, with a specific drill for isolating the backflip-style pop before adding the frontside spin or the flick.

Key tips

• 1Set your front foot in the center of the board angled about 45 degrees, similar to a kickflip, adjusting the angle if the board isn't flipping all the way around
• 2Position your back foot near the edge of the tail with the ball of your foot centered and toes angled slightly toward the toe side, which helps the board flip upward and turn 180 at once
• 3Practice the pop in isolation first: pop the tail, don't flick, and just lift your front foot straight up so the board naturally does a backflip-style rotation up to meet your foot
• 4Flick only after the board greets your front foot, not simultaneously with the pop like a standard kickflip, and don't flick too hard or it flies away from you
• 5Turn your shoulders and open them up the same way you would for a frontside 180, roughly 90 degrees by the time you're still popping off the ground, so your hips follow the rotation
• 6Expect the board to travel out in front of you rather than staying underneath you once you add speed, and be ready to jump forward and stay on top of it
• 7Land one foot first while you're still building consistency, to get comfortable before fully committing both feet
• 8Recognize that flicking faster and more deliberately produces a kickflip-style look while waiting longer for the backflip rotation produces a hardflip-style look, both are valid depending on your preference

Summarized from the video transcript.