[size=large][u]360 Flip/Tre Flip Guide (based off Talisk3's amazing kickflip guide :)) :[/u][/size] [size=large] [u]Starting Off - Tricks To Know:[/u][/size] you should have really good [b]pop shove its, and kickflips. That is all[/b]. No 360 shove its are necessary, nor are varial flips, in fact varial flips will probably make it take longer, because while varials are in the front foot, [b]360 flips are pretty much all in your back foot[/b], front foot just does a tiny little flick. It is very important that you have extremely solid pop shove its, I mean every time landing them. You also want good kickflips, but they're not AS important as pop shove its. Obviously if you can't kickflip at all you shouldn't be trying 360 flips though, as you won't be familiar with the board flipping. [b]Foot positioning and weight distribution[/b] are very important for 360 flips, you want your [b]back foot hanging off the toeside edge of the tail, angled about 30 degrees towards the nose[/b], if we call the toeside edge 0 degrees, and your front foot should be a bit further back than for a kickflip, so [b]front foot around the middle of the board and angled at about 45 degrees inwards from the nose.[/b] This stance might feel a bit awkward, especially if you haven't learned that many tricks. Your feet are quite close together when you're learning 360 flips to get the full rotation easier, though as you practice you can move your front foot further forward, and this closeness means your center of gravity is shifted a lot from ollies, kickflips and pop shove its, all of which are centered on the board. If you don't have the right weight distribution, YOU WILL NOT LAND A 360 FLIP, plain and simple. You can tell when it feels like you've got this position balanced, and you want your weight balanced between both legs, but a tiny bit over the toeside edge. To help with the weird narrow feeling of your legs being close together, you can bend your knees slightly outwards and this feels a bit more stable. Really though, its just a matter of getting used to it. [u] [size=large]Doing the actual trick:[/size][/u] 1. Do some kickflips, and A LOT of pop shove its to warm up, so that when you go for the 360 flip you can almost think of it like a pop shove it, which will help you to commit to landing it 2. Set up your feet in the right position and [b]make sure the balance feels right[/b]. Leaning a bit over your front foot is good, but not too much, or there won't be enough force in your back foot to scoop. [img]http://www.how2skate.com/pics/16403249_Picture1.png[/img] 3. Pop the deck as you would an ollie and just as its lifting in the air simultaneously scoop and flick. The scoop: Is quite strong, 360 degrees of spin is a lot, but as long as you turn your back foot DOWN AND INWARDS AFTER POPPING you should get the perfect rotation . This scooping method is the most important thing in a 360 flip, so have a look at some pro's to see how they scoop it eg Kelly Hart, Mike Mo, Stefan Janoski. To get the idea of the scoop, think of an imaginary line extending backwards from your front foot heel, and trying to make your back foot point towards that line. The flick: Is very gentle, and if you've practised kickflips enough, should come very naturally. Its a lot less forceful than kickflip flick though. Flick straight out [img]http://www.how2skate.com/pics/12685822_Picture2.png[/img] 4. While you're in the air LIFT THAT BACK FOOT HIGH and I mean high, or else you will get shinned, and it will hurt because the deck is spinning pretty fast. Make sure you don't turn your shoulders forward or it will be hard to get both feet on, keep em parallel [img]http://www.how2skate.com/pics/16630511_Picture3.png[/img] 5. Passively catch the board with your front foot; while you're in the air it's just left hanging out there, the board should naturally come underneath the front foot and when it does that's your cue to stomp the back bolts with your back foot and land it. [img]http://www.how2skate.com/pics/52663593_Picture4.png[/img] [img]http://www.how2skate.com/pics/15255960_Picture5.png[/img] [u] [size=large]Potential Problems:[/size][/u] Unfortunately there is a lot that can and will go wrong with 360 flips, but most of them can be easily fixed.[b] Q: Landing on the nose or in front of the board[/b] A: This is probably the most common problem and is just due to the fact that it is a weird foot positioning for 360 flips, and comes from not adjusting your weight to deal with this. Lean back a bit to fix it. [b]Q: Board goes too far in front of me[/b] A: This is the opposite of the first problem, in that you are leaning too far back, this does make the scoop a bit easier, but just lean forward and then use more ankle scooping motion rather than weight to get the rotation. [b] Q: Board doesn't flip fully, I land upside down.[/b] A: As long as its the board landing upside down and not you, then this is easy to fix, just practice those kickflips more, and move your front foot back further and it should be easier to get the rotation. [b]Q: Board underrotates, doesn't get the full 360 spin, and; Q: Board spins 360 degrees, but too slowly for me to land on it and my feet hit the ground before the board[/b] A: Same for both, you really gotta turn that ankle inwards and scoop the shit outta the board, before you go for the trick, shake your ankle a bit to make it loose so you can get a quick scoop [b] Q: Can't get my front foot on the board[/b] A: This is quite an odd thing to happen, and I don't think it is very possible, it'd be weird, but if you do, put more focus on the kickflip part of the trick, to make sure your front foot is coming up high enough. Could also be from leaning too far forward, see the first Q [b] Q: Can't get my back foot on the board[/b] A: There are really three ways of not getting your back foot on A1: (When problem is because the board hits your back foot shin ) This is a lot more common, because the kickflip messes with the 360 rotation, the flip is usually quite vertical, meaning when it comes round its a lot higher at the back than at the front. The only way to fix this is just to commit to it and bring your back foot up really high, try to bring your knee up to your chest. Easy physically to fix, but mentally it can just be hard to commit A2: (When the problem is that your back foot lands to the side of the deck, usually toeside) This is also usually from not committing, but could just be out of habit, either way it is a result of turning the shoulders, when really you want to be keeping them parallel to the board at all time. A little bit of forwards turn is okay, but check yourself when you don't land it and if its anywhere past 45 degrees forward, keep a watch on those shoulders. This too can be quite hard to fix as its a commitment problem rather than technique. A3: (When your back foot is too far behind the deck to land on) See "Board goes too far in front of me" This is a common problem and is quite easy to fix If you have a question that hasn't been addressed, ask it here, video helps to find the problem and fix it.