Step-By-Step Guide to the Perfect Tre Flip on a Skateboard

Person Performing Stunt on Skateboard
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01
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Get Ready

360 flip - ryan sheckler
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The 360 flip (also known as a tre flip ) is a skateboarding trick that looks similar to a kickflip, except that the board spins on two axes. That means that in the 360 flip, you flip like in a kickflip but also spin 360 degrees like a 360 shuvit. If you are imagining a very sweet trick in your mind, then you're probably got it right.

360 flips are difficult intermediate skateboard tricks to learn, so you really need to be confident in a few areas before you learn to tre flip. Here's what you need to know:

  • Skateboarding: Just riding around, but you want to be more than just basically comfortable. You should be beyond just starting out skateboarding. You want to have a strong natural sense of balance and where the board is without having to look at it too much.
  • Kickflips
  • Pop shuvits
  • It's helpful to know how to 360 pop shuvit, but it's not essential.

Please read through all of these 360 flip instructions before you tackle the tre flip and make sure that you understand and can picture in your head what you will be doing and what the board will be doing. Wear pads -- helmet, elbow and maybe even a cup -- as you learn this one; messing up on 360 flips can hurt a lot. And you're probably going to fall a lot here at the beginning. That's just how it works.

02
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Foot Placement

how to 360 flip skateboarding instructions
Steve Cave

For 360 flips, you want your feet in a pretty unique setup. Where you place your feet for 360 flips is even more personal than most other skate tricks. The point is to be able to pull off a sweet 360 flip. Here's a starting point: Put your front foot behind your front truck's bolts. You want this foot at an angle. It's going to be pretty far back on the board, but that's OK. Your back foot is placed so that the ball of your foot is nestled in comfortably in the little dip right before your tail goes up on the toe-edge side of the board. You can have your toes hang over or not, up to you. Practice getting comfortable with shifting your feet to this position while rolling. Once you are good to go, you can try the 360 flip.

03
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Scoop and Flip

360 flip skateboarding trick tips
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It's easiest to practice 360 flips off of a little bit of a ledge. A curb can work just fine -- you don't need a huge ledge, just a little extra space. This will give you a little bit more time to complete the flip and a little more room to move around in. Once you have a place in mind, get some speed going and get your feet into position.

Now, you want to pop the board, similar to any old ollie or kickflip, except that you want to scoop down and back with your back foot. This is the key to 360 flips -- this scoop. So, as you pop the board, push down and back with the ball of your back foot. This scoop is what makes the board spin.

With your front foot, flick the board like you would do for a kickflip. Don't flick it too hard and don't really even worry about it too much. If you have your kickflips dialed in, as you should before tackling 360 flips, then the front foot should come naturally. Just flick it.

Now, here's the hard part to all of this -- you want to scoop the tail and flick the nose at the same time. It should be one motion. This is another reason that being a confident skater before learning to 360 flip is a good idea -- you need to be comfortable with two feet doing two completely different things. This part can take some time to practice and figure out. - that's OK. it could easily take more than a dozen tries to get this down. Just relax, visualize it before you go out and try it and practice.

04
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Landing Tre Flips

Landing tre-flips skateboarding trick tips
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After the pop, the scoop, and the flick, you want to get your feet out of the way. Pull them up a few inches above the board, giving the board space to flip and spin. Don't just spread your feet out wide; pull them up. So, you are up in the air, feet held poised above the skateboard, and the board is flipping and spinning below you. Keep an eye on it and watch for the grip tape. When you see it, you will want to catch the board with your feet. This is tough.

The first several (dozen) times you practice tre flips, you will probably not catch the board right. If you do, nice job. If you don't, then there's your confirmation that you are in fact normal. Catching the board takes getting used to how you flip and spin the board and getting a sense for how long it takes. You should slowly get a feel for it. The goal is to eventually get to the point that you don't even need to look down to catch it (though you probably will, out of habit. And that's OK).

05
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360 Flip Problems

360 flip skateboarding trick problems
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Here are some common problems people have when learning 360 flips:

  • Not learning it fast enough: You feel like you've been practicing forever, and you just aren't getting it. It's not one specific problem, it's all kinds of stuff. If this is you, then you need to practice more. Some skaters learn tricks fast, but most take some time to learn. And 360 flips are pretty advanced. If you've been trying for a very long time, then you might want to take a break for a little while so you don't develop any bad habits. The problem could also be that you are trying to learn 360 flips when you aren't yet confident in other areas of skateboarding. Practice general street riding hit up the skatepark and try kickflips and shuvits. Get comfortable.
  • Landing with your feet together: This is a pretty common problem, where you land on your feet right next to each other. You have to focus on landing with your feet above the bolts -- keep them spread out. It's not a big problem; you've probably just been focusing on other parts of the trick and are just relieved to land at all. The most common place to land like this is the nose. Watch the board and get a feel for where it will be, and you should be able to fix this problem pretty easily.
  • Can't flip 360 degrees: Again, practice. Practice getting a better scoop and a stronger ollie. You can use your front foot to help with the 360, too. Try 360 flipping off of short ledges or kickers to give yourself more time.