Handflip
also known as: Hand Flip
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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 fingerflip's opposite number, and a separate trick rather than another name for it: the whole hand takes the nose or the rail and throws the board through a full rotation in the KICKFLIP direction - toward the rider, the grip turning toward the heels. Where a fingerflip preloads tension into the deck with the fingers underneath and releases it, a handflip is a direct throw: less metering, more commitment, and a faster flip that arrives before you are ready for it if you overthrow. Everything else is shared, which is why the two are so often confused - the direction is what tells them apart. Every stance and rotation variation of the fingerflip has a handflip counterpart, named the same way round.
Step by step
- Roll at an easy pace and crouch, taking the nose with the whole hand rather than the fingertips.
- Lift it enough to tip the board back onto its rear wheels.
- Jump off both feet, splitting them wide of the rails.
- Throw the board over toward yourself - the kickflip direction - in one committed motion.
- Release early; a handflip has no preload to hold on to.
- Spot the grip, catch both bolts and roll away.
Body mechanics
| Front foot | Clears the deck fast - a handflip comes round quicker than a fingerflip - and catches the front bolts. |
|---|---|
| Back foot | Lifts with the throw and lands on the back bolts in unison. |
| Shoulders | Square over the board; the arm does the work. |
| Arms | The throwing arm pulls across the body rather than pushing away from it, which is the whole difference. |
| Gaze | Down on the deck from the throw to the catch. |