How to No Comply Bigspin Flip

No comply frontside bigspin flips are a great trick to have on lock. They’re a good way to warm up or turn around in a line, and you can do them on banks or pretty much anywhere. The secret is that they’re really easy. Pop shove it easy. They’re also low risk and low impact, which is good for anyone with bad knees, and part of why I love no comply tricks so much. But they still feel cool, because you see the board flip like crazy and come together under your feet.

(I call some of these “varial heel” and “laser flip” here for simplicity. Technically they’re pressure flips.)

Before you start

You need the basics of the no comply 180. If you’re new to no complies, start there.

Foot position

• Front foot: wherever you normally put it for no comply tricks.
• Back foot: this is the important one.

Every no comply trick is a pressure flip in one way or another. You need your back foot in the right spot to preload the board so it flips when you scoop it. I put about 75% of my weight on the base of my big toe. You can’t see that on video, but having your weight in the right spot is how the board tips over and starts flipping.

How to do it

1. Open up and step off

When you’re ready, open your shoulders frontside and step off with your front foot. Slide your foot off the side and pivot on your heel to get a little more clearance. The more you turn your foot, the less you’ll have to rotate in the air, because you’ve already started.

2. Scoop it vertical and forward

Scoop more vertical than flat. With your front foot on the ground, the board needs to go up between your legs. If it’s too flat, it runs into your leg.

Scoop the tail out in front of you. That gets the board spinning and loads the flip. As you step off, follow through going forward.

My board is worn on the toe side of the tail. You’d normally think a frontside trick would wear the heel side. That should give you an idea of what’s really happening.

3. Let it do its thing

Once you’re in the air, you’re pretty much done. The board will either flip or it won’t. Since your foot is on the ground, you can easily decide whether to hop back on or walk it out.

While you’re learning, you can do almost the whole trick without trying to land it. Scoop the board, throw it, wait for it, then put your foot down and mark the trick. Get a feel for how it works. As the flip gets consistent, start hopping back on.

4. Hop back on

Wait for it to come around and try to catch it as you land. Don’t jump too late, or it’ll look like you’re cheating.

If the board won’t flip

Step back to the no comply varial heelflip

Most people can skip this and go straight for the bigspin flip. But it’s easier to focus on the flip when there’s less going on. It’s also a bit harder, so if you figure it out, the bigspin flip will be no problem.

For the no comply varial heelflip, move your back foot forward, with as much pressure on the side of the tail as you can. Again, it’s all in the big toe. Pop almost straight down with just a slight push forward. Your front foot is in the way, so the spin has to be close to vertical. It’s more like a 1 1/4 flip to make up for the off-axis spin.

Or the no comply laser flip

You could even go a step further and learn the no comply laser flip. I think it’s harder and not quite as cool, but it might help if you’re still stuck. It feels like playing with a Skip-It: the first spin goes through your legs, and you have to jump over the second one. It’s not as fluid as the bigspin, but you’re not making up for an off-axis spin, since it does a full 360.

Once the pressure is right and the board is flipping correctly, come back to the bigspin flip. Even with a different foot position, it should feel the same. Get the pressure right, scoop the board forward as you step off at an angle, wait for it and catch it as you land. With practice, you can get close to 100% consistent.

What’s next

Once you have it, you can:

• Land it in a pivot, like a gazelle or a rewind.
• Add an extra body rotation and turn it into a 360 no comply flip.
• Land a no comply into another no comply.

If you’re curious where no complies came from, I made a video about who really invented the no comply.