Longboard Kickflip? Here’s the only two guides you need

Getting you ready for one of longboarding's most fabled unicorns.

do a kickflip!

I’ve recently unlocked my first longboard kickflip ever on my Loaded Bhangra V2. The moment was glorious, and while I cannot say it was clean, the board flipped and I stuck the landing…so it counts! ????

Those who have been in the longboard world for a bit, know that this is one of “those tricks” – meaning it’s hard to learn, and for longboard dancing, the move itself just looks kind of weird in a line (at least in my opinion).

It never really was my goal to learn a kickflip, because I knew how difficult of a journey it would be, but one day with the crew here in Leipzig, we jokingly started talking about Thrasher clothing, and if it was “ok” for longboarers to wear this iconic brand that has been associated with skateboarders for so long.

At some point, I came up with a self challenge: If I could land a kickflip on the Bhangra, I would have then “earned” the right to buy a Thrasher hoodie. ???? ????

earned thrasher hoodie for kickflip
The hoodie I worked hard to earn lol.

Well after a month and a lot of frustration, I finally landed the damn trick and didn’t waste any time buying the fabled Thrasher Hoodie. ???? ????

DISCLAIMER: No, we are not that shallow here in Leipzig, and if you wanna wear Thrasher, or anything else for that matter, you should do that! I just kinda turned this into a funny little inside-joke challenge for myself. We welcome and embrace skaters of all disciplines (unless you’re genuinely an asshole), regardless of what clothes you’re wearing. ???? ????

So while the trick is still fresh in my head, I decided to compile this little guide of resources and tricks that have helped mel.

There’s a lot of information out on there on this topic, and many of the tutorials are just flat out bad. I wasted all my time watching the bad ones, so now you don’t have to.

Behold, the only two videos you’ll need to be able to kickflip a longboard

BTW, if you’re coming from a skateboarding background, I’d still suggest you visit and check out these videos.

The physics of the boards are quite different, and for longboards we tend to kick straight down instead of flicking the board on an angle…yeah…I don’t really know how to describe that move in words lol.

Start with this video to learn about weight distribution

Loaded on kick flipping a V1 Bhangra

For a while, this was the only video I had referenced. For starters, it’s highly entertaining! And it’s also pretty damn good.

I’ve probably watched this video at least 20 times in my journey to unlocking this trick, and it really helped me get a feel for where my weight should be on the board.

For you, this video may be enough. But if you’re like me and still have problems after about a week or two, continue on to video number two.

Continue to this video, if you haven’t unlocked it after within a week

This is a IGTV tutorial from French rider Morgane Gervaise. It’s in French, but has English subtitles and is very clear.

I wasn’t able to land the trick with only the information in the Loaded Video. Perhaps it’s just not as informative as I thought, or perhaps I just need to not suck so bad at skating (Likely the latter). ????

I found that this video builds on top of the Loaded Video very organically, and very well. It’s like she knew exactly what bits of information I was missing from the Loaded Video, and she filled in those gaps of knowledge.

After going through this video about 10 times, I tried some of her suggestions with foot placement and also landing variations, and VOILÀ – I was able to land the trick.

Seriously, if you want to kickflip your longboard, try this progression, and in this order

I wouldn’t recommend watching both videos from the start. Really, don’t do that. The kickflip involves a lot of moving pieces happening in a very quick time, and too much information can actually mess up your brain even more.

Watch the Loaded Video, really absorb the information, and go practice. If, AND ONLY IF, you still can’t land it after about a week, then move on to Morgan’s video.

Some longboard kickflip tips I can fill in from my own experience

While these videos help immensely, here are some tips I can suggest that aren’t really mentioned in either video.

Wear a shin guard on your front foot

I follow the Valeriya Gogunskaya logic, where if I’m working on new steps or tricks where I don’t have confidence yet, I bust out all the protective gear.

However, one piece of equipment I can absolutely recommend is a shin guard on your front foot. You know, like those things football (soccer ⚽️) players wear.

I don’t know why, but when you’re learning this something when failing the trick will send the edge of the board flying into your front shin many, many, many times. ????

wear a shin guard to protect yourself when practice kickflips on a longboard
It’s a bit hard to see here with black on black, but I’m wearing a shin guard on my front leg.

Play around with moving and not moving

In talking with other longboarders, some felt it easier to unlock this move in motion, some felt it was easier to do it standing still.

I found the latter easier, without motion. For the first week, I tried only in motion at the recommendation of the skateboarders, but it was too hard.

Some people have had the exact opposite experience, so if you’re struggling, try to switch it up.

Pay attention to your front shoulder

Both videos kind of touch on this indirectly, but this is really key here. Pay attention to your front shoulder once you start getting familiar with the kicking motion.

People working on this trick tend to pull their front shoulder back, so it makes it impossible to get your front foot back on the board.

I fought against this for a solid two months, so try to have this somewhere in the back of your mind from the get go.

Conclusion – DO A KICK FLIP!

Despite being down right frustrating at times, this was actually a pretty fun trick to learn, and I’m slowly getting hooked on it.

I don’t know that I’ll incorporate it into dance lines, but it’s a pretty fun trick to have in your back pocket, plus not many longboarders can land it. ????

So go crazy and have fun with it! What resources have helped you and where are you in YOUR journey?

Let me know in the comments below, I’m happy to help anyway I can!

About Shawn Segundo
Shawn is the founder of Longboard Dancing World and is also an avid longboard dancer. When he's not boarding or building this community, he can be found doing other marketing stuff professionally, or trying to find the best vegan cakes in Leipzig.

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