Fingerflip

also known as: Rolling Fingerflip · Backhand Fingerflip

flip freestyleflatground difficulty 3/10
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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 board is flipped by the hand instead of the feet, and away from the rider: the front hand grips the nose with the fingers underneath and the thumb on the grip, lifts it so the board tips back into a wheelie, and a snap of the wrist throws it through a full rotation in the HEELFLIP direction - the grip turning toward the toes and over. Because the fingers can preload tension into the deck before they let go, the flip speed is completely controllable; the difficulty is clearing the feet out of the way and re-planting them on a board rotating right beneath the body. Thrown backhand, with the hand turned under the nose, it is the same trick with a different wrist angle. A 1970s-80s freestyle staple that survives in modern street as a caveman-family variation. Pulling the board TOWARD you with the whole hand instead is a handflip.

Step by step

  1. Roll at an easy pace and crouch, gripping the nose with the leading hand - fingers under the tip, thumb on the grip.
  2. Pull the nose up so the board tips onto its back wheels; the back foot weights the tail to let it come.
  3. Jump upward off both feet from that wheelie, splitting them slightly apart over the rails.
  4. As you rise, snap the wrist to roll the board one full kickflip-direction rotation under you.
  5. Release the nose cleanly - a late release drags the flip off axis.
  6. Spot the grip tape as it comes around and catch the bolts with both feet.
  7. Compress and roll away.

Body mechanics

Front footSprings off the deck, hovers clear of the flipping nose, and re-catches the front bolts.
Back footWeights the tail so the hand can lift the nose into the wheelie, then splits toward the tail on the jump and lands on the back bolts at the same instant as the front foot.
ShouldersStay level and square; the crouch-and-rise happens with a flat back, not a hunch.
ArmsThe flipping hand crouches, snaps, and releases; the free arm swings up to lift the jump.
GazeOn the board through crouch, flip and catch - hand tricks are timed entirely by eye.