Hardflips

[Madam, I'm Adam]

I was able to hardflip like 19 years ago and I'm trying to relearn them now.

Impossible? Maybe. But I'm getting close - I either flip it and land with my front foot on and my back foot just to the side, but missing the board. Or I flip it halfway and get both feet on the bottom of my graphic. That's when I'm not flailing around and completely missing them, that is.

I've been trying them on a mellow bank, I feel more comfortable with that than trying on flatground.

Any tips would be much appreciated!

[Ok]

funnily enough, i just started trying them last night. for me it’s more like 25 years ago. this was THE trick to flail and bail over your local hip 30ish years ago.

i skate much larger boards now, skate much less frequently, and im old, heavy, and out of shape. the results were predictable.

i tried a fair amount of foot placement ideas last night, probably gave the attempts 15 minutes. back foot towards the tip of tail, front foot at a 45 to the board, front foot further down the board (towards back) compared to a kickflip.

that’s what i tried. hopefully someone comes thru with the goods

[Madam, I'm Adam]

funnily enough, i just started trying them last night. for me it’s more like 25 years ago. this was THE trick to flail and bail over your local hip 30ish years ago.

i skate much larger boards now, skate much less frequently, and im old, heavy, and out of shape. the results were predictable.

i tried a fair amount of foot placement ideas last night, probably gave the attempts 15 minutes. back foot towards the tip of tail, front foot at a 45 to the board, front foot further down the board (towards back) compared to a kickflip.

that’s what i tried. hopefully someone comes thru with the goods

I skate 8.25 inch boards max, that's best for me at my height (5-8). You're using basically the same foot placement as me, though. I'm angling my front foot even sharper than 45 degrees, like maybe 70 haha. The tricky part is the back foot placement - I don't put it in the same place as when I do f/s pop shoves because a lot of video tutorials say not to. I'm going to try that next time.

From what I can remember of all the trick tip videos I've watched, I need to:

- keep my weight moreso on the heel side of my board (so as a result I'm thinking I'll need to tighten my trucks a bit more just for this trick - which isn't unusual. Shane O'Neill even mentioned that he tightens or loosens his trucks depending on what he's doing)
- flick late, after the board's been f/s pop shoved
- flick to the side and down. That's why I'm putting my front foot at such a sharp angle, to help it flick better
- try to jump up, not way back behind you (I figured I'd need to jump back but apparently not)
- shoulders should be in line with the bolts as much as possible

Also from what I can glean, I really have to bend down. It's like nollie flips, where a lot of the trick is in the pop. Trying to keep the idea of my ass to the ground on each attempt.

And, I'm not trying to do the between-the-legs hardflip where it goes more vertical. I'm trying to do it moreso like a f/s pop shove+kickflip where it stays more flat, since that's how I did them in the past and that always looked more appealing to me.

[silhouette]

Considering everything you've described so far, for back foot placement try setting it up like you would for a 360 flip (so seemingly closer to toe side) but pointier on the toes, and then pop off mostly the center and tip of the tail using the ball of your foot in addition to the toe assist (this is important). That should ensure the concave sticks to your front foot before you do the swipe to the side thing for the flick and once you've found the sweet spot you'll never miss forming the trick again unless your shoes or griptape have gone to shit.

The jump is weird and in part key to forming the trick but it sounds like you figured it out a long time ago already, what's not instinctive about it at first is you have to lean back before the pop but then send the board ahead of you and sort of jump through its motion to catch (up with) it, all the while keeping straight or while turning if you're trying to do a frontside flip.

My impression is horizontal hardflips are easier on flat, vertical ones easier on banks because then the most practical way to jump through the trick is different. Horizontal hardflips also seem easier with looser trucks whereas vertical ones often stem from tighter trucks, although depending on individual habits that's not always true in practice.

[Ok]

per usual, your breakdown makes good sense.

when i had em, tiny boards, rock hard bushings, and that back foot position, very vertical hardflips, muska adjacent.
i of course want some mike carroll horizontal style, and for some reason i’ve had it stuck in my head that i need the ball of my back foot, on the heel side of the tail, in front shuv position. i’ve never successfully flicked the board from this setup tho, and if i did, i feel like it would look like the jeremy rodgers style inward heelfip, the kick down (this is another trick i want to learn, not that way tho).

[Madam, I'm Adam]

Considering everything you've described so far, for back foot placement try setting it up like you would for a 360 flip (so seemingly closer to toe side) but pointier on the toes, and then pop off mostly the center and tip of the tail using the ball of your foot in addition to the toe assist (this is important). That should ensure the concave sticks to your front foot before you do the swipe to the side thing for the flick and once you've found the sweet spot you'll never miss forming the trick again unless your shoes or griptape have gone to shit.

The jump is weird and in part key to forming the trick but it sounds like you figured it out a long time ago already, what's not instinctive about it at first is you have to lean back before the pop but then send the board ahead of you and sort of jump through its motion to catch (up with) it, all the while keeping straight or while turning if you're trying to do a frontside flip.

My impression is horizontal hardflips are easier on flat, vertical ones easier on banks because then the most practical way to jump through the trick is different. Horizontal hardflips also seem easier with looser trucks whereas vertical ones often stem from tighter trucks, although depending on individual habits that's not always true in practice.

I'm just making it harder for myself then re: horizontal hardflips on banks haha. Oh well, I can't go back at this point.

Will try your tips Sil, as usual, you're a fountain of knowledge. I still keep your one comment from years back in my mind, how if you can land with both feet on the graphic, you can do the trick - just flip a bit harder.

[Ok]

Considering everything you've described so far, for back foot placement try setting it up like you would for a 360 flip (so seemingly closer to toe side) but pointier on the toes, and then pop off mostly the center and tip of the tail using the ball of your foot in addition to the toe assist (this is important). That should ensure the concave sticks to your front foot before you do the swipe to the side thing for the flick and once you've found the sweet spot you'll never miss forming the trick again unless your shoes or griptape have gone to shit.

The jump is weird and in part key to forming the trick but it sounds like you figured it out a long time ago already, what's not instinctive about it at first is you have to lean back before the pop but then send the board ahead of you and sort of jump through its motion to catch (up with) it, all the while keeping straight or while turning if you're trying to do a frontside flip.

My impression is horizontal hardflips are easier on flat, vertical ones easier on banks because then the most practical way to jump through the trick is different. Horizontal hardflips also seem easier with looser trucks whereas vertical ones often stem from tighter trucks, although depending on individual habits that's not always true in practice.

didn’t get one last night, but a few formed up close. i attribute it to your tip about the back foot being in what to took to mean, a popped 360 flip position: toes barely hanging off, foot in between the 4 and the 5 on a clock face.
thank you!