Quick and Easy Kickflip Tutorial

What this video teaches

Note: this video teaches the kickflip in isolation, but its flick-mechanics breakdown (thinking of the motion as a forward flick through the toe rather than a sideways kick) is directly transferable to the flip half of the combined trick. Skate IQ frames the flick as three adjustable pieces (jump height, front-foot lift, and back-foot push) that can be combined to produce a softer or higher flip.

Key tips

• 1Place your front foot below the front bolts and your back foot on the tail toward the toe side
• 2Open your front hip slightly toward your direction of travel so you can pick a spot on the nose to flick through
• 3Plant your big toe on the board and flick up through the nose, thinking of it as a forward kick rather than a sideways one
• 4Drill a half flip first: jump, lift the nose, and barely roll the board over while staying floated above it, rather than trying to flip it all the way immediately
• 5To flip higher, lift your front foot further up and to the inside before the flick, which gives the nose more air time
• 6To add power and speed to the flick, push your back foot backward through the pop so the nose closes the distance to your front foot faster
• 7Combine the three variables (jump height, front-foot lift, back-foot push) to dial in a higher floaty flip or a softer low flip
• 8Don't fixate on a single correct foot position or flip height, since the same trick can be built many different ways

Summarized from the video transcript.