Skateboarding is cool and all, but it’s sure not easy to learn. To improve your chances of succeeding at learning new tricks quickly, let us hook you up with a little tutorial. This week, the 360 flip!
Read carefully and remember that after the technique, the number one secret to skateboarding is practice!
Learn your kickflips and shuvits:
Even if several people learn their 360 flips without necessarily knowing how to do a shove it, it is still essential to know how to do a kickflip before the 360 flip. Or at least to understand it.
To understand how to kickflip, we invite you to take a look at our latest Trick Tips article. If you know how to kickflip already, keep reading.
Foot placement :
Place your front foot in the kickflip position, at a 45 degree angle, a little under the front screws of your board.
For your back foot, place it in the cup on the tail of your board. This is what makes the difference between the positioning of the 360 flip and the kickflip, which requires the back foot to be at the tip of the tail.
Finally, slightly tilt your back foot up, this will help you get a good spin (don’t confuse the spin with the flip).
The pop and the Scoop:
The most crucial steps if you want to be able to perform a 360 flip, the pop and scoop are the key elements that will allow you to land your maneuver with style and ease. For real, the secret for a good 360 flip is the back foot “scoop”.
With your front foot in the kickflip position and your foot back on the front cup of your tail, lean forward to give yourself a swing and get up in a quick and dry motion. Now jump and POP!
That's when things get a little tough. Just before continuing your ascent in the air, kick your front foot as you would for a kickflip, but at the same time, kick your back foot backwards so that your foot is almost under the board for a split second.
Then, continue the movement of your back foot’s sole looks behind you. Always keep in mind that this backward ankle scoop is what will make your board turn just perfectly. The front foot is there to guide your board more than anything else.
The catch:
Once you popped, scooped and kicked, it's time to take your legs off the board’s path and lift them at least 2 inches above the board to give it space to flip. Keep your eyes on your moving board to know when to put your feet back on it.
Once the rotation is almost complete, catch your board with your front foot to stop the rotation completely. A fraction of a second after catching your board with your front foot, put your foot back on the board and get ready to land.
The landing:
Once your board is done spinning and flipping, it has been catched with your front foot, it's time get back down to the ground. By the time your 4 wheels touch the ground, bend your knees to absorb the impact. And for an extra dose of style.
That’s it! You lander you first 360 flip, but it's definitely not the time to stop. Keep practicing until you land your 2nd, 3rd, 4rth one and so on. Like we said earlier, the ultimate trick to any skateboard trick is to never stop practicing!