anyone got any tips for a kickflip i've been trying to nail it off the back of waves when im paddling out but always end up upside down.

A few questions first:
a. Can U BackDeckRoll?
b. Can U DryRoll? (BackDeck keeping your head out of the water)
Both are good intros to kickflip as the movement is very similar.
c. Do U have an offset (feather) on your paddle, is it right or left-handed?
I paddle right-handed, so my BDRoll and kickflip are all left to right (come up on the right). That way the both paddleblades help U instead of resisting U.
Afret that i reckon it's about choosing a good wave (sharp, snapy, high, just before it breaks) and going for it.
For some people it is easier to go for one continiuos motion - strong sweep on the left (in my case) with some left (same side) edge into a BDRoll move with a hip-flick / twist. I found it easier in the beginning to think of it as two movements - sweep with edge that gets U launched and upside down and then twisting your hips (just like the DryRoll).
Hope it helps and doesn't complicate... Enjoy, it's all about going fot it!

thnks i jst need sum more good surf now xDD

Okay... here is the deal with kickflips,
According to the WKS... Your body should not touch the water... So, this is a barrel roll after you've launched off a wave.

Key Tip:
You must wait until your hips are just passed the peak of the wave an you are air borne before you try to invert.

As you approach the wave, give a hard forward stroke as you come half way up the wave face. Pull hard as you get your hips past the peak of the wave. Go with the angel of the wave. Don't lean forward or back, stay neutral until you get just pased the peak with your hips.

Next... as you get just passed the peak, reach under your boat and as you are pulling yourself off the wave, at the last second as you get to the peak, reach under your boat and do a reverse stroke on the side you want to pivot around and then flick it outward as you duck forward and to the side with your head.

Once the boat is over you and you are up-side-down, imediatley do a brace/roll stroke on the opposite side to bring you around the final 180 degrees of the barrel roll. Brace hard and follow through all the way, even if you don't think you'll make it around. If you pull that brace stroke hard enough and follow though, it will bring you back around eventually.

That's it. Good luck. Let me know how it pans out.

More useful stuff on:
groups.myspace.com/FHIkayakgroup

Saddle-Up,
Whitewaterules

Whitewaterules wrote:

Once the boat is over you and you are up-side-down, imediatley do a brace/roll stroke on the opposite side to bring you around the final 180 degrees of the barrel roll. Brace hard and follow through all the way, even if you don't think you'll make it around. If you pull that brace stroke hard enough and follow though, it will bring you back around eventually.

Be careful with that brace that you are doing it correctly. It's better to land upside down in water than right side up with a shoulder injury.

most important thing...you need the right wave, hopefully steep an not breaking

most important thing...you need the right wave, hopefully steep an not breaking

Doesn't actually have to be that steep. I can regularly pull off kickflips on flatwater; you just need enough of a lip to get your boat a tiny bit airborne to do a fully dry kickflip.

I agree that the wave probably shouldn't be breaking though; that could probably slow your momentum a lot, and it would definitely make that launching stroke harder.

that is to say, the mostimportant thing is your strokes, not the wave.

if you want to practice a kickflip on flatwater, do a normal double pump, but go in too vertical. This will simulate your boat coming off of the wave. Once you feel your body coming down towards the water, start sweeping your paddle blade out into the standard dry rool move. This will make both your dry roll and kickflip better with practice.

most important steps in doing a kickflip[ is proper set up so your last stroke is pulling off the lip of the wave. you don't want foam you want a super green wave! you next step is off the last stroke use your torso alot! and you want to pull your feet up as high as they can go while your torso is twisting on your last stroke once your at peak elevation you should already be close to 45 degree edge angle so a quick back deck roll and bingo! you can throw this off huge 12' rollers in the snake canyon in wyoming (aka lunch counter at 14,000 cfs) and stomp it big sometimes youmight over rotate this! go big

wait, isnt a flatwater kickflip basically the same thing as a dry backdeck roll or a over vertical cartwheel to a backdeck? Seems kind of stretch to me.

Not a dry backdeck; on flatwater, you do a double pump and use the low brace stroke as a huge power brace to flip your boat over the top of you (very much like an over-vertical cartwheel). Somewhere in the middle of the turn you switch to your other blade and sweep out like a back deck roll to finish it.

its all about where you place your last paddle stroke you can't expect the current to throw you higher than its going if your aren't paddling and don't have a great last plant stroke. you plant it and twist torso to generate the proper power. the last stroke should be planted on the peak of the wave and you want to litereally pull your self higher then the peak and after you do this properly you should be more towards back deck on either side which makes this move easy cause you flick it over like air screw! and land either bracing or up right no fake cartwheel stuff because cartwheels are done sitting up properly and the kickflip can be done as back deck roll! check out some vids they had one up on this site earlier !