How to Boneless Flip

People have told me they like my foot plant stuff, so this is how I do boneless flips. First, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about the plain boneless.

The boneless: one smooth motion

My main concern with this trick is doing it all in one smooth, fluid motion. I’ve seen plenty of kids do it in steps. They step their foot off, reach down, grab the board, then jump, then land it. And they count that. That’s not how it’s supposed to be done.

The standard way is to reach down and put your hand on the board, slide your front foot off and jump, all at the same time. Not step one, step two, step three. You can grab with either hand. I’m talking about the main principles, not one exact version.

There are a few ways to bring the board up. You can pull it straight up, or you can kind of scoop it out. That’s more of a personal style thing than anything.

Doing it as one motion means you keep your speed. You don’t have to step off and slow down. You just plant your foot on the way up.

Boneless flips

Once you have the straight boneless, you’ll probably want to start doing different flips.

The main point for me: don’t just grab the board, flip it and fall on top of it. That’s fine when you’re starting out. But the way a boneless flip feels good is if you flip it, then grab it.

1. Plant your foot and pop the board up.
2. Flip it, with the board out away from you.
3. Grab it.
4. Pull it back to your feet and land.

Keep jumping the whole time. Don’t jump off, sit there, flip the board, grab it, twist it around and then jump back on. Keep it all as one thing.

Go higher

On this trick, the only thing that stops you from doing it high is how high you jump. On a 360 flip, if you can’t do it high, it’s because it’s hard to pop the board up that high. Here there’s no excuse for stepping off, flipping it and falling on top of it.

Jump high, flip it up, grab it and pull it to your feet. Then it feels like something you can do at a spot, like a bank or down some stairs, instead of just a little play trick.

Want more?

The boneless gazelle adds a 360 and a varial. And here’s the story of who invented the boneless and how it got its name.