intermediate // flatground
Kickflip
Also known as Magic Flip
The board does a full 360° rotation along its length (heel-to-toe axis) while you jump over it. The defining trick of street skating.
The Kickflip is an intermediate Flatground trick. Most skaters land their first one within 1-6 months of consistent practice.
Spec
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Complexity
- Learn time
- 1-6 monthsⓘ
- Category
- Flatground
- Stance
- regular
Your progress
Sign in to rate
Same trick, other stances
What the tutorials teach
Every top kickflip tutorial agrees the trick is built on a solid ollie: the pop mechanics are identical, and the only addition is an angled front foot that drags up the grip tape and flicks off the nose pocket using the ankle, not the whole leg. The flick direction is upward and forward, driven by the big toe or ankle snap, and must happen after the board has left the ground and begun to rise, not at the moment of pop. Across all sources, the most common reasons people get stuck are flicking downward instead of upward, flicking the instant of pop before the board is airborne, and not jumping high enough or staying centered to let the board fully rotate before catching.
- Ankle sweeps upward and outward, never downward; if your foot hits the ground before the board, the flick direction is wrong
- Wait for the board to rise before you flick: popping and flicking at the same time causes rocket kickflips
- Drive the flick through the nose pocket with your big toe, like kicking a soccer ball forward, not sideways
- Front foot angles roughly 45 degrees with the heel hanging off the heel side about halfway, positioned just below the front bolts
- Jump high enough to stay airborne while the board completes the rotation, then bring both feet down onto it
- Keep the board directly underneath you throughout the trick, not shoved out in front
- Practice the flick alone first: pop, step off the back foot, and flick with the front to groove the ankle motion without landing pressure
- Once the flick is consistent, add the back knee bend to pull that foot back onto the board
- Sit back slightly over the tail during setup so your weight stays over the back truck and prevents leaning ahead of the board
- Film yourself in slow motion and compare your ankle exit to a reference: if the foot is going down, adjust before practicing more reps
Synthesized from the top video tutorials. Watch them
Steps
- 1
Foot placement
Back foot on the tail as normal. Front foot sits lower than an ollie — about a third of the way up, at 45°, with toes near the toe-side edge.
- Force
- ●○○○○
- Direction
- centered
- Weight
- centered
TipThe front foot position is critical. Too high and you won't catch the flip. - 2
Pop hard
Snap the tail with the same force as your best ollie. The flip needs good height to have time to complete.
- Force
- ●●●●●
- Direction
- down
- Weight
- centered
TipMany beginners reduce their pop trying to flip simultaneously. Keep the pop identical to your ollie. - 3
Flick the front foot
Slide your front foot up at an angle, then at the nose end, snap your toes off the toe-side corner of the board.
- Force
- ●●●●○
- Direction
- forward
- Weight
- front
TipThe flick is a snap — like flicking a coin. The side of your shoe's toe catches the concave and spins it. - 4
Suck up your feet
Pull both feet upward so the board has room to flip a full rotation underneath you.
- Force
- ●●●○○
- Direction
- up
- Weight
- centered
TipYour back foot should come up as high as your front foot. Asymmetric height causes the board to flip crooked. - 5
Catch and land
Watch the grip tape come back around and stomp both feet onto the board simultaneously over the bolts.
- Force
- ●●●●○
- Direction
- down
- Weight
- centered
TipCatch with your back foot first on the concave, then the front foot.
The blueprint
Shown for regular stance
Animation
Setup
Try the kickflip motion
Drag to learn
Drag the feet and flick arrow. The outcome updates as you experiment.
Result
Clean kickflip
Why
Snap on the tail, diagonal flick off the toe-side corner — board flips and you land bolts.
- Front
- 55%
- Back
- 8%
- Flick
- 25°
3D simulator
Common mistakes
Jumping forward off the board
- What
- You jump forward and the board stays behind.
- Why
- Leaning forward to 'help' the flip.
- Fix
- Jump straight up. The flip happens because of the flick, not because you lean into it.
Inconsistent landings
- What
- Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
- Why
- Inconsistent foot placement going in.
- Fix
- Before every attempt, physically look at your front foot position.
Board not completing the flip
- What
- The board only does a half-flip.
- Why
- Flick isn't strong enough, or leaving the board too early.
- Fix
- Delay the flick slightly — wait until your foot has slid to the nose before flicking off.
Board flipping at an angle
- What
- The board flips diagonally instead of cleanly along its axis.
- Why
- The flick is going sideways rather than along the board's length.
- Fix
- Focus on flicking directly off the toe-side corner, not across the board.
Common problems
My kickflip goes varial every time
- Why
- Too much scoop in the pop — you're kicking outward and also pushing the tail sideways, adding unintended rotation.
- Fix
- Pop straight down, then flick your toe up and out (not around). Watch your wrist snap on the flick — it should be a clean outward kick, not a scoop-and-kick combo.
The board hangs up on my back foot
- Why
- Your back foot is staying too flat or in the way of the board's flip path.
- Fix
- Drag the back foot off the tail quickly after the pop. Clear it off to the side so the board has room to rotate under you.
I can't seem to catch the board — it spins away
- Why
- You're jumping too high or too early and losing visual contact with the board mid-air.
- Fix
- Stay low in your crouch. Watch the grip tape come back around and catch with both feet over the bolts simultaneously. Film every 10th try — you'll spot exactly where you're losing it.
My kickflip only flips halfway
- Why
- The flick isn't going far enough off the nose. Your toe is touching but not following through.
- Fix
- Flick with the ball of your foot and follow through fully — your foot should end up off the board completely. Think 'kick the board away from under you' and then jump back onto it.
I can kickflip stationary but bail rolling
- Why
- Same forward-commitment issue as the rolling ollie, compounded by the flip mechanic.
- Fix
- Start with very slow rolling, almost walking pace. Lock in the stationary motion first, then gradually increase speed. The flip mechanics are identical — your brain just needs the rolling repetitions.
Track your progress
Sign in to rate this trick, log practice clips, and see it light up across the skill tree.
Community clips
How other skaters land the Kickflip. Hype the ones you rate — the most hyped becomes this trick’s cover in the catalog.
Why this works
The mechanics behind the trick
- Board
- The front foot's flick imparts spin to the board. The concave channels the flick energy into a clean axis rotation.
- Feet
- Your back foot pops for height — identical to an ollie. Your front foot's flick is the key: the ball of your foot slides up and snaps off the toe-side edge.
- Weight
- You need to be centered so the board spins cleanly under you. Leaning to either side causes the board to flip at an angle.
Frequently asked
- How long does it take to learn a Kickflip?
- Most skaters land their first kickflip within 1-6 months of consistent practice, once you can ollie consistently.
- What should I learn before the Kickflip?
- The kickflip builds on Ollie. Get that consistent first, since the kickflip reuses the same pop, balance, or flick.
- What should I learn after the Kickflip?
- Once your kickflip is consistent, the natural next tricks are Heelflip and Tre Flip.
- Is the Kickflip hard to learn?
- The kickflip is an intermediate trick. It gets much easier once you can already ollie.
- Who invented the Kickflip?
- The Kickflip was invented by Rodney Mullen in 1983 in California.
Keep going
See where this sits in the skill tree