The front flip is probably the most difficult basic invert. You will do a side flip over your front shoulder. Before you do the front flip you need to be able to ride safely already and have a solid edge. I would also highly recommend doing the basic flat tricks like the Ollie, the 180 and the 180-to-Blind first. Because the front flip is the most difficult basic invert I would further recommend that you learn a Raley and a Back Roll before trying it.
The approach of the front flip is the same as for the Raley. You do the trick after the motor tower or just before it. If you want to do the Front flip to the inside, then you need to ride a big curve and stay on your heel side edge.
If you want to do the Front flip tot he outside, you need to ride a little bit to the inside and then go on your heel side edge. You should cut progressively. This means, that you start cutting gently and then more and more. Cut for about 3 to 5 meters before you release. Hold the handle at the approach close to your hip.
You can do the block just like you do for the Raley. For this, you need to kick your board a little bit backward but especially downwards into the water. The cable can’t keep pulling you straight due to the block and you will get dragged out of the water. As soon as you set the block, you need to turn your head and front shoulder to the front. So if you want to do a front flip with the right foot forward, you need to turn to the right and if you want to do it with the left foot forward you need to turn like to the left. In addition, you need to pull up your front knee. This way you will rotate automatically and do a front flip.
Try to do a complete flow of motion instead of starting the rotation just after the release. If you jump off first and rotate thereafter, you will have the problem that you rotate really slow, and you can’t complete the rotation. So, you should kick into the water with your front foot, turn your shoulder and head to the front and pull up your front knee. These are quite a lot of things to do, so better try to do it in a dry run first.
Try to keep the handle close to your hip in the air, so that you can jump higher. Additionally, you can rotate way faster, because the rotation point is in your body center. Once you are upside down and you can see the water again, you can let go the back hand.
This will slow down the rotation a little bit and you can land softly. Bend your knees at the landing to absorb the landing. If you can’t get the full rotation yet, you probably didn’t turn your shoulder and head enough. A lot of riders turn them initially, but stop then and braing their head straight again. Keep your head on your shoulder until you are upside down. But maybe you separated the motion of the block from the motion of the rotation too much. Really try to do a flow of motion and you will notice that the rotation will be much easier for you. You can also pull up your legs to be a little bit more compact and rotate faster in the air.
Just like for the Raley, you can of course try this trick first at a system. Furthermore, you can do all other tricks like riding slower or with a Wakeskate.
