Bunny Hop

also known as: Bunny Jump

oldschool freestyleflatground difficulty 2/10
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roll 0° yaw 0° pitch 0° body 0°

Shown for a regular-footed rider. Teal ring + arrow = the rider's facing direction; teal band = the tail; a dot is where a hand holds the board - bright yellow for the front hand, amber for the back one, which is the whole difference between a mute and an indy. Board and rider rotate independently - each follows its own component. Drag to orbit.

How it works

The pre-ollie hop of 1960s-70s freestyle and slalom: the rider crouches and springs upward while pressing down simultaneously on nose and tail, bouncing the board off the compression of its wheels and trucks so it lifts a few centimetres with the feet. Both hands stay on the board through the hop - front hand holding the nose, back hand the tail - clamping the deck to the soles so it cannot drift away underfoot. There is no pivot and no pop off the tail - the lift is symmetric, wheels leaving the ground together, which is why the trick predates and differs from the ollie. It cleared cracks, hoses and small obstacles for a generation of skaters, and survives as a quick rhythm hop in modern freestyle lines.

Step by step

  1. Roll at an easy pace with feet spread over both bolt sets.
  2. Reach down and take the board in both hands, front hand on the nose and back hand on the tail.
  3. Crouch deep, loading the wheels and bushings with a sharp downward press through both feet.
  4. Spring straight up, sucking both knees toward the chest in one beat.
  5. Let the board rebound off its compressed wheels and rise level beneath the feet.
  6. Keep light sole contact (or hover just above the grip) through the hop's peak.
  7. Land all four wheels together and re-extend into the roll.

Body mechanics

Front footPresses the nose into the pre-load and lifts level with the back foot on the rebound.
Back footMirrors on the tail - equal, simultaneous pressure is what keeps the hop flat.
ShouldersStay square and level; the hop is a piston, not a pivot.
ArmsSwing up together to add impulse, exactly like a standing vertical jump.
GazeAt the crack or obstacle being cleared, then to the landing patch.