This is my issue. I've been practicing everyday for the past 3 weeks the
kickflip. I simply can't do it. There are times when I will randomly
land 3 in a row, but I have no idea what I did and its very hard for me
to precisely know what to do (flick my finger? move my hand? move both
fingers?). Anyways, I have a feeling it has to do with my 27mm wide
closeup deck. I have a pretty big hand so the width of this board
has always bothered me. I ordered a homewood deck (30mm wide) and it
should show up soon!

So here's the question: Do you find it easier to flip/spin/grind/ollie(or ride in general) with a wider deck?

I learned how to do it by watching gary's video.



It helps a lot for me. I just applied what he said and practice most of the time till I get consistent to it. Sometimes I still watch some tut videos because from time to time I keep forgetting how to do it. xD Most important is the stance, try and experiment how you control the board and pick the most comfortable one for you. and just try to flick it calmly so you can easily catch it.

I've watched all of em lol. And that's not the point of my thread

MartinRobs wrote:

So here's the question: Do you find it easier to flip/spin/grind/ollie(or ride in general) with a wider deck?

I'm just giving a suggestion.. But regarding to your question YES. Wider and low/mellow concave decks with medium kicks are easier to control in all aspect in my experience. I had a close up g4 as well but When I tried using 28mm-30mm decks I'm not using it anymore. For me deep concave decks are much harder to ride.

mikkolangot wrote:

MartinRobs wrote:

So here's the question: Do you find it easier to flip/spin/grind/ollie(or ride in general) with a wider deck?

I'm just giving a suggestion.. But regarding to your question YES. Wider and low/mellow concave decks with medium kicks are easier to control in all aspect in my experience. I had a close up g4 as well but When I tried using 28mm-30mm decks I'm not using it anymore. For me deep concave decks are much harder to ride.

Agreed.

Ideally when learning to kickflip you have something that doesnt spin out of control like a high concave deck,that 28ish mm. the wider, the more control. Best thing id guess for someone in your predicament is a 30-31mm low concave medium kicks board.

ALSO: practice with your trucks at different tightness to find your ideal setting. My trucks are always tight enough that there is no movement whatsoever no matter how hard i push down. this is how i find it easiest to control my board, but everyone has different settings.

Generally speaking...
Narrow decks: easier to flip, harder to land.
Wide decks: harder to flip, easier to land.

It's not a huge difference in difficulty though.

One other thing you might want to try is changing the tightness of your trucks.

Xi wrote:

Generally speaking...
Narrow decks: easier to flip, harder to land.
Wide decks: harder to flip, easier to land.

It's not a huge difference in difficulty though.

One other thing you might want to try is changing the tightness of your trucks.

In my opinion this goes for more skateboarding, not fingerboarding. I feel like I have much more control over my board when its 30mm wide, which helps with kickflips and every other trick.

I find narrow decks flip too easily. Wide decks flip perfectly, and on top of that, they're easier to land tricks with.

It took me ages to get the kickflip down don't worry if it takes you a while to learn it properly, at first mine used to end up being double or triple flips and stuff but the more you practice the better you get.



That video really helped alot for me. When I was learning I just had a stock techdeck

I've finally managed to get my basic form down for a kickflip, but I'm far from perfecting it. This has to be one of the hardest tricks to learn, as it is the first flip most people begin practicing. I've been at just perfecting the basic kickflip for years. I'm finally adding it into grinds and manuals now.

If you get frustrated and decide you're NEVER going to get this trick, just keep trying. Believe all of us when we say that it's inevitable that the kickflip will eventually come more and more natural to you.

I got a lot of practice in (and still do) by getting a feel for the flip of the board by busting kickflips off of my knee, or off of a softer surface that's still flickable, such as a mattress or padded material that sinks in like a cusion. One that you can sort of use to bounce the board high in the air in the motion of an ollie. Surfaces like this (if you know what I'm talking about) helped me a lot. They make the flipping and control a lot easier.

Other than that, watch the videos and read the advice. But in the end, most people will realize that there is only one way to teach a kickflip, and only a few little tips people can give to help you out. Most of the learning is going to come from practice and learning how to control your personal board by using you two fingers. I wish you the best of luck. Don't give up on it!