Handstand Flip

also known as: Handstand Fingerflip · Handstand Flip Out · Handstand Kickflip Out

invert freestyle difficulty 7/10
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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

From a handstand with a hand on the nose and a hand on the tail, the rider springs off and rolls the deck a full turn in the KICKFLIP direction - toward what was their back - landing on it feet-first. Both hands are on the board at once, so the throw is a two-handed roll rather than a fingertip flick: one hand pushes the body clear while the other pulls its end over. The rider has to un-invert in the air, whipping the legs down from vertical to under the hips, in the same beat the board completes its flip. Kevin Harris's rolling versions are the touchstone.

Step by step

  1. Set a controlled handstand with one hand on the nose and one on the tail.
  2. Bend the elbows slightly and spring upward, beginning to whip the legs down.
  3. As the hands leave, pull one end over to roll the deck a full kickflip-direction rotation.
  4. Track the grip tape while the body swings feet-under-hips, blind to the landing until the head comes up.
  5. Catch the completed flip with both feet over the bolts, arriving together.
  6. Compress deep to stop the board rocking and roll away.

Body mechanics

Front footWhips down from the inverted position to catch the front bolts as the flip finishes.
Back footFollows the same whip to the back bolts; legs must arrive together or the board squirts out.
ShouldersFire the spring-off; they lift and pull back to help rotate the body upright.
ArmsPush the body clear, then the flipping hand's finger snap drives the board's rotation; both arms then swing up for balance.
GazeOn the flipping deck from release to catch - the visual thread that times the leg whip.