How to Hardflip

The hardflip is a frontside shove it and a kickflip together, with the board flipping up between your legs. There are a lot of different kinds of hardflips, from flat ones to vertical end-over-end ones, and they all use slightly different foot positions. I’ll show you the two techniques I’ve learned so far. Try them both, figure out which works for you and make your own adjustments.

Before you start

Learn the frontside flip first. I heard that when I was trying to learn hardflips and figured it wasn’t a big deal. After I learned frontside flips, hardflips got a lot easier.

You don’t need to catch frontside flips really high or land them 100% of the time. But you should be able to stay on top of them. Figuring out how to keep the board right under you on a frontside flip, instead of shooting out, is the exact same thing you need to do on a hardflip.

You’ll also want a solid kickflip and frontside shove it.

Foot position

Start with your frontside flip foot position and adjust from there. For hardflips, I move my front foot back some. Chances are your hardflips will end up a lot like your frontside flips. If yours are more vertical and end over end, your hardflips probably will be too.

Technique 1: the flatter hardflip

This one is set up just like my frontside flip, and it felt very similar. That’s why hardflips got easier once I had frontside flips.

1. Set your feet up and start with your shoulders facing forward.
2. Pop and throw the tail out, just like a frontside flip.
3. Keep your weight somewhat forward. You need room to flick.
4. Flick, stay centered on top of the board and come down on it.

It feels like you pop it and the board pivots, with the nose staying in place, and then it lands tail heavy. When I filmed my first hardflip, it didn’t look like that at all. But that’s how it feels, and that’s how I learned it.

This version comes out flatter and not quite as high. It’s close to how you do frontside flips, so it’s a good one to learn first.

Commit

You can’t really throw this trick to see if it works. With some tricks you can just flip it without expecting to land and make the board do the thing. With the hardflip, you need to commit from your very first try, because you need to be on top of the board to give it room.

When I was learning hardflips before I could frontside flip, I kept my weight back. I’d pop the frontside shove it and the kickflip, the board would start to flip and then hit my foot, so it couldn’t finish the spin. I ended up flicking behind me to get around it. I’ve seen that work for some people, but you shouldn’t need to do it. Stay centered and commit.

Technique 2: the higher hardflip

This is how I do them now. It’s the way you see pros do it, and you get more height and an easier catch.

1. Move your front foot back from where it was for technique 1.
2. Pop them higher. Not completely flat and not fully vertical. Somewhere in between.
3. Pop the tail out so the board flips up, not just a frontside shove it. It feels kind of like a frontside impossible or a frontside pressure flip.
4. Flick out. The flick is similar to the flatter version but slower, since the board floats in the air longer.
5. Jump pretty high and wait for the board to come around.

Same as before, you have to commit. If you stay back, you won’t clear it.

Jump higher than you think you have to. That goes for a lot of tricks that spin slowly when you’re first learning them. It gives you time to wait for the board and still be on top of it.

Troubleshooting

Full flip, half the spin

This was my main problem. I was popping it hard enough, but I was flicking so hard that it slowed the spin down. The board would start to spin, then my flick would stall it.

The fix: flick slower, more up and more out. That gives the board more room.

Full spin, half the flip

Give yourself more air. Pop them higher, scoop them more and wait. When I had this problem, popping higher and giving the board room made it a lot easier.

The board gets stuck going up

On the higher version, flicking too hard makes the board start to go up, get stuck and just kickflip at that angle. Ease up on the flick.

Try them fakie

If you can’t get the flip, try fakie hardflips. I found the flip a lot easier fakie, but they’re harder to land. Use them to get used to the flick, then take it back to regular.

What’s next

Once you have hardflips, the pressure hardflip is a fun variation. If you want the backstory, I made a video about who really invented the hardflip.