Is a Varial Kickflip easier than a Kickflip?
Yes, it can be due to our body structure and the physics.
Some say, "Varial Kickflips are easier than Kickflips" or "Trelfip is even easier." But why? How can more complicated tricks be easier? Let's science it.
Summary
Why are Varial Kickflips easier than Kickflips?
Two reasons:
1. The energy of the nose doesn't bump directly at your front foot, making it easier to flick out your front foot.2. You can flick your front foot forward, which is anatomically more natural for a human body.
How to practice Varial Kickflip
Pop in the same way as you do in a Pop Shove-it. Use the tip of your toe and flick straight forward instead of diagonally flicking off to the heel side.
Simulation
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Premises
The best time to flick a board in flip tricks
Right before the board loses its momentum to go up after popping, it virtually goes into a state of zero gravity. That's when you can flip it with the tiniest amount of energy, even with a finger.
Why is a Kickflip harder than a Varial Kickflip?
You tend to pop too hard when practicing kickflips and give the nose too much upward energy. Ideally, the upward momentum of the nose should become small enough by the time you flick it. But, when you pop the tail with all your body's energy, you generate excessive energy.
And the problem is that this energy doesn't disappear all by itself; you must consume it by the time you finish flicking.
How to reduce the energy of the nose in a Kickflip
To do that, you have two options:
- You may jump up high and slide up your front foot, so the board loses its energy while going up, which is difficult when learning a trick.
- Use your front foot and hold down the nose. But generally, the pop generates significantly more energy than your front foot can absorb while flicking.
Comparison between a Varial Kickflip and a Kickflip
Similarity between tricks
Let's study what makes Varial Kickflips easier, too. Similar physics applies here: When you pop too hard (or Overpop as in the force of the nose in RED overwhealms the force of flick in BLUE), your board sticks to your front foot too much.
Difference between tricks
The nose's energy does not directly bump into your front foot. If excess energy remains in the nose, it disperses into the air after bumping against your front foot. In other words, your front foot does not have to consume all the energy of the nose due to the horizontal spin of this trick.
How to Varial Kickflip effectively
Pop in a Varial Kickflip
Pop as hard as it needs to deliver your board's nose to your front foot, depending on how high your front foot is. Popping harder than that may cause too much friction between your board and your front foot. So focus on letting the nose stay in contact with your front foot and avoid popping harder than that.
Flick in a Varial Kickflip
In a Varial Kickflip, you can flick your front foot either forward or slightly toward the toe side, which is how a human leg generally works.
- Watch the nose your board comes up.
- Follow it with your front foot.
- Flick out the side of it forward, using the tip of your toe.
Whereas in a Kickflip, you have to find a way to flick your front foot diagonally off to the heel side, which is anatomically unnatural. Some flick their front foot straight forward by shifting their weight to the heel side before jumping.
