Rail Handstand Flip

also known as: Rail Handstand Fingerflip

invert freestyle difficulty 6/10
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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 handstand flip started from a rail stand rather than from flat. The board is already up on its heelside rail, a quarter turn rolled, with the rider inverted over it - so the flip has only three quarters of a kickflip roll left to travel to reach wheels-down, and it is the hands that deliver it as they push off and release. Done from a standstill, because balancing a handstand on a board that is itself balanced on one edge leaves nothing over for managing speed. Two balance problems are stacked on each other at the start and both have to be given up at the same instant: the hands cannot spring off until the rail is committed to rolling, and once they leave, the board is on its own.

Step by step

  1. Set the board on its heelside rail in a rail stand and hold it there, gripping the upturned rail and the deck.
  2. Kick up to a handstand over it, shoulders stacked, and let the board settle under the hands.
  3. Spring the arms and start whipping the legs down out of the inverted position.
  4. As the hands leave, roll the deck the remaining three quarters of a kickflip turn with the fingers.
  5. Spot the grip coming level under the descending feet - there is much less rotation to read than from flat.
  6. Catch both bolts as the wheels arrive, and settle.

Body mechanics

Front footWhips down from vertical to the front bolts; the shorter roll means it arrives sooner than from flat.
Back footFollows the same whip to the back bolts - arriving together is what pins the quarter-short roll.
ShouldersStacked over the wrists to hold the handstand on an edge-balanced board, then fire the spring-off.
ArmsHold two stacked balance problems, then push the body clear while the fingers roll the rail over.
GazeDown at the upturned rail throughout - it is both the balance cue and the flip's starting mark.