I just learned dolphin flips, and we got the whole process on camera. This post is all about showing you how I approach learning a brand-new trick from scratch. Whether you're trying to learn dolphin flips yourself or just want to understand how to work through a new move, this is for you.
Let’s break it down.
Step 1: Finding Foot Position
I’ve flipped a dolphin flip or two before, but I’ve never really committed to landing one. First thing I did was experiment with foot position. I needed a setup that made the board rotate steep enough to get that dolphin motion.
Turns out starting with the front foot high helped the board roll better. That took out a lot of effort from the motion. If I had started with my foot low, I would've needed to search for the nose way more during the flick.
Step 2: Adjusting Weight Placement
Once I had a consistent flip, it was time to tweak my weight. I kept my jumps low at first to conserve energy and tested two extremes—staying behind the board and then jumping forward.
When I stayed behind, the board flipped. When I got forward, it didn’t. That told me I needed to find a way to get forward on the board while still keeping the flick working. This is where a lot of skaters get stuck, especially on tricks like nollie heels. They can flip it or land it, but not both. The real skill is flipping the trick with the right balance.
Step 3: Jumping Forward
I leaned into it hard, jumped forward, and pulled my front foot up and back to glide off the nose. At this point, the trick started costing more energy per try, but that’s the price of progress.
I floated higher, tried to learn the pattern of the board, and just focused on being patient and avoiding primo. Each attempt was about studying the movement.
Step 4: Locking In
After a few lucky flips, I knew it was working even if I didn’t fully understand why yet. I made smaller adjustments—holding my feet up longer, floating more, trying to land soft.
I realized I was searching for the board with my front foot, which doesn’t work here. The board had to meet my back foot. It almost felt like an ollie north at the end. So cool. Why don’t more people do this?
From here, it was all about feel. I had to stop thinking about the flick and start focusing on the landing.
Step 5: Visualizing the Landing
This was the mental shift. Once the basics were down, the best thing I could do was visualize the landing. If I took off thinking about the flick, I’d get thrown off. But if I saw the landing, the rest followed.
That kind of mental switch is a big part of progressing in skating. It’s moving from being overly analytical to reacting and trusting your instincts. I’ve always been good at switching between the two. But here, I was stuck in the overthinking zone and had to find my way out.
Eventually, I pushed through. The trick started to flip hot and forward, and I couldn’t have bailed even if I wanted to. That’s when you know it’s clicking.
Step 6: Reps and Muscle Memory
Once I got a proper make, it was all about reps. After you figure out the technical stuff, you’ve got to trust that your body knows what to do. This takes a lot of experience, but when it works, it feels like magic.
I focused on stronger jumps, a deeper front leg tuck, and feeling the nose. Once I shut off the thinking brain and only saw the landing, things came together. It’s a hard state to explain but crucial for mastering tricks.
I even talked about this strange kind of learning—how your body can learn things even if your brain doesn’t remember them. Like that epilepsy patient in the study who got better at tracing a star in a mirror even though he couldn’t remember doing it. That’s unconscious competence. It’s what we all aim for.
Final Thoughts
Learning a new trick is exhausting and frustrating, but once you start landing it, the confidence it gives you is unmatched. Dolphin flips are weird, technical, and satisfying. Not the scariest trick in the world, but definitely a challenge.
So, next time you’re learning something new, remember:
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Start with the base—foot position
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Adjust your weight and test extremes
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Focus on the landing, not the flick
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When it clicks, turn off your brain and let your body handle it
That’s how you level up. And honestly, dolphin flips might just be cooler than we give them credit for.