How to Do a Kickflip on a Fingerboard: Full Guide
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How to Do a Kickflip on a Fingerboard: Finger Placement, Pop, and Flick Explained
Here is something I tell every beginner who walks into my workshop with ambitions above their ability: the kickflip does not exist without the ollie. It is not a different trick. It is an ollie with one extra motion added at the exact right moment.
Learn that distinction early and you'll save yourself weeks of frustration trying to figure out how to do a kickflip on a fingerboard without ever nailing down the foundation.
What You Need Before You Start
Before you attempt a kickflip, you need three things:
- A clean, consistent ollie. Not occasionally. Consistently. Eight out of ten attempts should be clean pops with a level board.
- Understanding of where your fingers go during the ollie. Not approximate. Precise.
- A board that doesn't fight you. A badly made deck with uneven concave or a sticky surface will mask your progress and frustrate you endlessly.
If you don't have a consistent ollie yet, go back. The kickflip will be there when you're ready. I've been saying this for forty years and I'll keep saying it.
Finger Placement for the Kickflip
The kickflip starts from the same base position as the ollie, with one crucial difference: your middle finger position shifts slightly toward the heelside edge of the tail.
This slight offset is what creates the rotation. During the pop, instead of snapping straight down — which gives you the ollie — your middle finger snaps down and flicks outward off the heelside edge of the tail. That outward flick is the flip.
Your index finger still has its job from the ollie: it moves forward toward the nose. The difference is timing. In the kickflip, you lift your index finger slightly higher during the rotation to give the board room to spin beneath it.
The Pop-and-Flick: Breaking It Down
The motion sequence for a kickflip is:
- Pop the tail — same as the ollie. Sharp downward snap.
- Flick off the edge — as the tail hits, your middle finger glides off the heelside lip of the tail. It's a quick, diagonal outward motion, not a big scoop.
- Lift your index finger — create space for the board to rotate.
- Watch the rotation — the board should do one full flip.
- Catch it — your index finger comes down on top of the board as it completes the rotation, trapping it flat.
That catch is everything. A kickflip that spins but isn't caught is not a kickflip. It's a board flying away from you.
Why the Kickflip Is Harder Than It Looks
The timing window is small. The pop, the flick, and the catch all need to happen in under a second. If any one of them is off — too early, too late, too much force, wrong angle — the trick breaks down.
Most beginners can generate the flip. The spin happens. But the catch doesn't. The board rotates and lands wheels-up or shoots out sideways.
This is a timing problem, not a strength problem. And the only solution is repetition with deliberate attention on the catch phase.
Common Mistakes and What's Actually Causing Them
The board flips but won't stop spinning. You're either flicking too hard or catching too late. Try dialling back the flick force and moving your index finger down earlier. You want to intercept the board as it completes exactly one rotation.
The board flips diagonally. Your flick is going at the wrong angle. The flick should come off the heelside corner of the tail, not the very end. Practice the flick direction in isolation — just the motion, without a full trick.
The board shoots forward. You're flicking forward instead of sideways. Check that your middle finger is moving outward, not forward.
You're getting a half-flip. Not enough rotation. Either you're not flicking hard enough or your middle finger is leaving the board before it generates a full flip. Think of the flick as a quick snap-and-peel off the edge.
The ollie component disappears. You're so focused on the flip that you've forgotten the pop. No pop means no height. No height means no time for the rotation. Work on keeping the pop strong even as you add the flick.
Drills That Actually Build the Kickflip
The isolated flick drill. Don't try the full trick. Just practice the flick motion — hold the board lightly on a surface and flick it flat with just your middle finger until the rotation is clean and consistent. This builds the muscle memory for the flip without the pressure of the full trick.
The catch drill. Pop an ollie and practice catching the board with your index finger mid-air, even if it doesn't flip. Get comfortable with the catching motion before adding the rotation.
The slow kickflip. Do the full motion at reduced effort. Small pop, small flick. The board will only spin a few centimetres up but the motion will be correct. Build from there.
Repetition sets. Ten attempts, then analyse what went wrong. Not fifty attempts hoping something changes. Active repetition with adjustment beats passive repetition every time.
On Setup and Why It Matters
I want to be direct here because I've seen it too many times: a poor board setup is a hidden handicap. Uneven concave affects how the flick leaves the edge. Worn grip tape reduces the traction your fingers need to pop cleanly. Loose trucks throw off your catch.
I build every board in my workshop by hand. Concave is consistent. Surfaces are clean. Hardware is tested. When your setup is right, you can actually feel what your technique is doing — good or bad. With a poor setup, you're fighting the board and your technique at the same time.
Take a look at our fingerboard completes if you're ready to make your practice count. Or get in touch if you want advice on what setup is right for your skill level.
The Moment It Clicks
I remember the first time a kickflip felt right under my fingers. There is a very specific moment — a flat, caught, planted landing — that is completely different from everything before it. You'll know it when it happens.
Until then, drill the flick, nail the catch, and don't skip the ollie.
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