Kickturn

Kickturn - Lifting your front wheels and rotating on the back wheels to turn. A kickturn is quicker than leaning to turn. This will allow you to make quick adjustments, turn on ramps and more. The kickturn motion is a building block to the best tricks, on a skateboard. Like the ollie.

Tricks you need to know

Getting on and off the skateboard, pushing with your foot, Good balance while rolling on a skateboard, turning by leaning.

Things to know

This is the first time your wheels will leave the ground. You will also use your weight to pivot on your back wheels only. You will use the kick on the tail for leverage to turn the board. 
This basic skateboard trick will combine foot work with balance, lifting and rotating all at the same time. On this page I cover doing a kickturn on flat ground. To see how to do it on a ramp or transition
click here [one day].

Part 1 - Getting the wheels off the ground.

• Get rolling and stand in proper stance. At a slow and steady pace you need to adjust your foot placement while moving.
• This can be done by unweighting one foot at a time. Slipping or taking small steps and hops can help you get your feet in the right spot.
• You want to have your front foot in the center of the board one quarter from the front.
• Stand on the ball of your foot at a 10 degree angle back from perpendicular.
• The back foot needs to be on the kick on the tail of the board. It should be at a similar angle to the front foot.
• Once rolling and in a slightly crouched position you will have half of your weight on the front foot and half on the back foot.
• You want to lift the front wheels up off the ground.
• To do this you will need to shift some of the weight to the back foot and rock onto the back wheels. Just a bit.
• Using your body and legs shift some weight to the back foot.
• Lean back like you would in a rocking chair. Do this very slightly.
• Keep trying to rock back just a bit until you notice the front wheels lifting. You may need to do it in a sort of jerking motion to get the wheels up.
• When you feel the lift lean forward again and stand back at your normal stance.
• The wheels will slap back down and you will keep rolling.
• Do this over and over until you get the feel and can really lift and smack those wheels down.
• They should make a good smack sound when they land.

Part 2 - Turning with your body

Now that you can pull the wheels up. Lets use that to kickturn. You will be winding up and rotating your body while lifting the wheels.

Backside

• Get rolling and in stance.
• Now turn your arms, shoulders and hips slightly frontside (to your heelside).
• Crouch with your knees a bit.
• Now swing the arms then shoulders then hips to the backside.
• Once in motion lift up the front wheels.
• You will start turning backside on your back wheels!
• Put those front wheels down and be stoked!

If you got the timing right and your balance is good you will have rotated while the wheels were up and done a kickturn.

Frontside
This is a little tougher but follows the same steps. Wind up backside

• Get rolling and in stance.
• Now turn your arms, shoulders and hips slightly backside(to your toeside).
• Crouch with your knees a bit.
• Now swing the arms then shoulders then hips to the frontside.
• Once in motion lift up the front wheels.
• You will start turning frontside on your back wheels!
• Put those front wheels down and be stoked! Again

Voila!

A kickturn.

Practice

Keep practicing this anywhere you can.
Try adding more spin.
Try lifting more and holding it longer.
Try it back to back. That is called a tic-tac and you can use it to gain speed.

If you are feeling good with your skills try a fakie kickturn or a a kickturn on transition.

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