How to Kickflip: Breaking Down the Technique

The kickflip sits at the heart of modern skateboarding. It’s the trick that separates casual skaters from those who’ve put in the hours, and it’s probably the move you’ve been dreaming about landing since you first stepped on a board. For UK skaters, whether you’re practising at your local park in Manchester or on the South Bank in London, mastering the kickflip opens up an entirely new world of possibilities.

This isn’t just another trick—it’s a fundamental building block that’ll shape how you approach skateboarding going forward. But here’s the thing: kickflips are notoriously tricky to learn, and they’ll test your patience more than almost any other basic trick. Let’s break down exactly what you need to know to land your first one.

What Actually Happens During a Kickflip

Before we get into the mechanics, it helps to understand what’s physically happening when you kickflip. Your board rotates 360 degrees along its lengthwise axis whilst you’re in the air. The deck spins beneath you, completes a full rotation, and you catch it with your feet before landing back on the ground.

The rotation comes from your front foot flicking the edge of the nose as you pop the tail with your back foot. It’s a coordinated movement that requires precise timing, proper foot placement, and a good understanding of how your board responds to different pressures and angles.

Most beginners make the mistake of thinking the kickflip is all about the flick. Whilst the flick is crucial, it’s actually the pop, the jump, and your body position that determine whether you’ll land it or watch your board spiral away from you.

Prerequisites: What You Need Before Attempting Kickflips

Let’s be honest—you shouldn’t be trying kickflips on day one. There are several foundational skills you need to have down first, and trying to skip these steps will only frustrate you and slow your progress.

Comfortable Ollies

You need to be able to ollie consistently and with decent height. Not just stationary ollies either—you should be comfortable ollying whilst moving at a reasonable speed. If your ollies are sketchy or you’re still thinking through each step, you’re not ready for kickflips yet. Spend more time on your ollies until they feel natural and automatic.

Board Control

You should feel genuinely comfortable on your board. This means being able to push smoothly, turn confidently, and ride over small obstacles without losing your balance. The better your overall board control, the easier you’ll find it to commit to the kickflip motion.

Pop Shove-Its

Whilst not absolutely essential, having pop shove-its in your repertoire helps tremendously. They teach you how to make your board rotate beneath you whilst staying above it—a concept that directly translates to kickflips. If you can land pop shove-its consistently, you’re in a much better position to tackle kickflips.

The Right Setup for Learning

Where and how you practise makes a real difference, especially when you’re learning something as technical as kickflips.

Surface Matters

Find smooth, flat ground. Car parks are brilliant for this, as are tennis courts if you can access them. Many UK skate parks have smooth flat sections perfect for learning flip tricks. Rough tarmac or uneven surfaces will make everything harder and increase your chances of injury when you inevitably bail.

Stationary vs Moving

There’s debate about whether to learn kickflips stationary or whilst moving. Here’s the truth: learning them stationary is easier initially because you can focus purely on the technique without worrying about rolling away. However, kickflips whilst moving feel completely different, and you’ll eventually need to relearn certain aspects.

My recommendation? Start stationary to understand the basic motion, but transition to moving as quickly as possible—even if it’s just a slow roll. Moving kickflips are what you’ll actually use, and they’re significantly more satisfying to land.

Your Board Setup

Your board setup affects how easily you’ll learn kickflips. Lighter boards flip faster and are generally easier for learning. If you’re riding a heavy cruiser or a board with massive wheels, you’re making things unnecessarily difficult.

Standard street skating setups work best: a deck between 7.75″ and 8.25″ wide, with wheels around 52-54mm. Tighter trucks can help initially because they’re more stable, but don’t crank them down so tight that you can’t turn.

Foot Placement: Getting It Right

Foot placement is absolutely critical for kickflips, and getting it wrong is the number one reason beginners struggle.

Back Foot

Your back foot goes on the tail, similar to an ollie position. The ball of your foot should be centred on the tail, giving you maximum pop. Some skaters prefer having their toes hanging off slightly, whilst others keep their foot more centred—experiment to find what feels natural for you.

Front Foot

This is where kickflips differ significantly from ollies. Your front foot needs to be positioned at a slight angle, roughly 45 degrees, with your toes closer to the heel edge of the board. The ball of your foot should be just below the front bolts.

This angled position is crucial because it sets up the flicking motion. If your foot is too straight (like an ollie), you won’t be able to flick properly. If it’s too angled, you’ll struggle to get the right trajectory.

Your front foot shouldn’t be too far forward or too far back. Just below the bolts is the sweet spot—close enough to the pocket (the curved part of the nose) to get a good flick, but not so far forward that you lose control.

The Motion: Step by Step

Now for the actual technique. I’m going to break this down into distinct phases, but remember that in practice, these all flow together into one smooth motion.

The Pop

Everything starts with a solid pop. Snap the tail down hard with your back foot, just like you would for an ollie. This is what gets your board into the air and creates the space for the flip to happen.

A common mistake is popping too softly because you’re focused on the flick. Don’t do this. You need a proper, aggressive pop. Without good pop, your board won’t get enough height, and you’ll struggle to complete the rotation before you need to land.

The Jump

As you pop, jump straight up. This is crucial: you need to jump UP, not forward or backward. Many beginners lean back instinctively, which causes the board to shoot out in front of them. Others lean forward, landing on the board before it’s completed its rotation.

Think about jumping to give your board space to flip beneath you. You’re not trying to flip the board with your feet whilst standing on it—you’re flipping it, then catching it in the air.

The Flick

Here’s where the magic happens. As your board rises from the pop, your front foot slides up towards the nose, just like in an ollie. But instead of levelling the board out, you’re going to flick your foot off the edge of the nose.

The flicking motion comes from your ankle, not your whole leg. Think about it like kicking a football with the side of your foot—it’s a quick, snappy movement. Your foot slides up at an angle, catches the pocket of the nose, and flicks off towards the heel side of the board.

The direction and strength of your flick determine how the board rotates. Flick too hard, and it’ll over-rotate or fly away from you. Flick too soft, and it won’t complete the rotation. Finding that sweet spot takes practice.

Staying Above the Board

Whilst your board is flipping, you need to stay centred above it. This is where many beginners fail. They flick the board, then watch it flip away whilst they land on the ground.

Keep your shoulders level and your weight centred. Don’t twist your upper body or lean in any direction. Your board should flip directly beneath you, not off to the side or in front of you.

The Catch

As the board completes its rotation, you need to catch it with your feet. Most people catch with their back foot first, then bring their front foot down. This gives you more control and makes it easier to land bolts (with both feet over the bolts, which is the cleanest way to land).

Don’t try to catch the board too early. Let it complete the full rotation. Catching it mid-flip is a common mistake that results in the board not being level when you land, causing you to slip out.

The Landing

Bend your knees as you land to absorb the impact. Keep your weight centred and be ready to roll away. Your first few landed kickflips probably won’t be pretty—you might land with your feet in weird positions or have to step off immediately. That’s fine. Landing it at all is the first goal; landing it clean comes later.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

Everyone struggles with specific aspects of kickflips. Here are the most common issues and what to do about them.

The Board Flips Away From You

This is probably the most common problem. Your board flips beautifully, completes the rotation, but it’s three feet in front of you or behind you.

The fix: You’re leaning. Check your shoulders—they should stay level and square. Also, make sure you’re jumping straight up, not forward or backward. Film yourself if possible; you’ll often see the lean that you can’t feel.

The Board Rockets Forward

Your board shoots out in front of you like a missile as soon as you pop.

The fix: You’re leaning back and probably popping with your toes rather than the ball of your foot. Focus on keeping your weight centred and popping straight down. Also, make sure you’re jumping up, not away from the board.

Not Enough Rotation

The board starts to flip but doesn’t complete the full 360 degrees.

The fix: You need a stronger, quicker flick. Make sure you’re really snapping your ankle and catching the pocket of the nose. Also, check that your front foot is angled enough—if it’s too straight, you won’t get enough flick.

Too Much Rotation

The board over-rotates, sometimes doing a rotation and a half.

The fix: You’re flicking too hard or too late. Try a gentler flick, and make sure you’re flicking as soon as your foot reaches the pocket, not after the board has already risen significantly.

Primo Landings

You land with the board on its side, wheels facing outward.

The fix: This usually means you’re catching the board too early or your flick isn’t quite right. Let the board complete its full rotation before you try to catch it. Also, make sure you’re flicking off the edge of the nose, not straight up.

Can’t Commit

You can make the board flip perfectly, but you can’t bring yourself to put your feet back on it.

The fix: This is mental, not technical. Start by just putting one foot back on the board, even if you don’t land it. Then try putting both feet on, even if you fall off immediately. Gradually work up to actually landing it. Practising over grass can help build confidence, though the board won’t flip as well.

Drills and Practice Techniques

Here are some specific drills that’ll help you nail down different aspects of the kickflip.

Flick Practice

Stand with your front foot on the board in the kickflip position. Without popping, just practise flicking the board so it flips whilst the tail stays on the ground. This helps you understand the flicking motion without worrying about all the other elements.

One-Foot Kickflips

Pop and flick the board, but only put your back foot back on to land. This helps you focus on the pop and flick without worrying about catching with both feet. Once you’re comfortable with this, the full kickflip becomes much less intimidating.

Slow-Motion Practice

Do everything in slow motion—pop slowly, flick slowly, jump slowly. This helps you understand each phase of the trick and identify where you’re going wrong. Obviously, you won’t actually land it in slow motion, but it’s brilliant for building muscle memory.

Repetition

There’s no substitute for just doing it over and over. Set yourself a target—say, 50 attempts per session. Don’t worry about landing them all; just focus on consistent attempts. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes.

The Mental Game

Kickflips are as much mental as they are physical. You’ll have sessions where everything clicks and sessions where you can’t land a single one. This is completely normal.

Don’t get discouraged if progress is slow. Some people land their first kickflip within a few days; others take months. Neither is better or worse—everyone learns at their own pace. What matters is consistent practice and not giving up when it gets frustrating.

Film yourself regularly. You often can’t feel what you’re doing wrong, but you can see it on video. Compare your attempts to tutorial videos or footage of skaters you admire. Look for differences in body position, foot placement, and timing.

Take breaks when you’re getting frustrated. Sometimes stepping away for a few days actually helps—your brain processes the movement patterns whilst you’re resting, and you’ll often come back stronger.

After You Land Your First One

Landing your first kickflip is an incredible feeling, but don’t expect to suddenly be able to do them consistently. Your first landed kickflip is just the beginning.

Now you need to work on consistency. Try to land them multiple times in a session. Then work on landing them whilst moving at different speeds. Then try them over obstacles, off kerbs, down stairs.

Once you’ve got kickflips down, they become a foundation for countless other tricks. Varial flips, hardflips, kickflip variations—they all build on the basic kickflip technique you’ve learned.

UK-Specific Considerations

Learning kickflips in the UK comes with its own challenges. Our weather isn’t always cooperative, and finding good spots can be tricky depending on where you live.

Indoor skate parks are brilliant for consistent practice, especially during winter. Places like The House of Vans in London, Unit 23 in Glasgow, or The Asylum in Nottingham offer year-round skating regardless of weather. Many cities have indoor facilities—they’re worth the admission price when you’re trying to learn something technical like kickflips.

If you’re practising outdoors, check the weather forecast. Wet ground is dangerous and will damage your board. Even if it hasn’t rained recently, early morning dew can make surfaces slippery. Midday to early evening is usually best for outdoor practice.

UK skate communities are generally supportive and welcoming. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice at your local park. Most experienced skaters remember how hard kickflips were to learn and are happy to offer tips or spot problems in your technique.

Final Thoughts

Learning to kickflip is a journey, not a destination. It’ll test your patience, bruise your shins, and probably make you want to quit at least once. But when you finally land that first one—when everything clicks and you roll away clean—it’s one of the best feelings in skateboarding.

Focus on the fundamentals: solid pop, proper foot placement, staying above your board, and committing to the catch. Film yourself, analyse what’s going wrong, and adjust. Be patient with yourself and celebrate small progress.

Most importantly, enjoy the process. Every attempt, whether you land it or not, is making you a better skater. The hours you spend learning kickflips will improve your board control, your pop, your balance, and your overall skating ability.

Now get out there and start practising. Your first kickflip is waiting for you.