How to do a backflip in bodyboarding

Bodyboarding

The backflip is one of the most advanced maneuvers in bodyboarding. The trick is hard to pull, but there's nothing a lot of training and failed attempts won't solve.

Backflips are a quite popular trick in sports. You will find them in BMX, skateboarding, gymnastics, motorcycling, snowboarding, windsurfing, and even surfing.

A backflip is a backward rolling motion in which your body completes a 360-degree curve backward.

You can't say it is a natural human movement. Our bodies are not designed for long-term upside-down experiences, so our brains usually play tricks on us.

"Don't do that. You'll hurt yourself," they often silently shout.

Therefore, jumping backward isn't easy. It requires a lot of training and mental preparation.

In bodyboarding, completed backflips depend on three main variables: timing, projection, and jump height/air time.

You can rapidly accelerate learning and/or improve your backflip technique if you have access to a trampoline.

Start with a simple backdrop, evolve to a sideways handspring, and finally go for a back handspring before trying the classic backflip.

Backflip 101

Now, let's learn how to land a backflip in bodyboarding's natural environment, i.e., salted water:

  1. Find a wave with a solid section;
  2. Lean forward to generate and maximize speed;
  3. Eye a punchy lip or a near-vertical section;
  4. Hit the lip before it breaks;
  5. Launch into the air and lean your head back;
  6. Use your weight to throw yourself out in front of the wave;
  7. Arch your back;
  8. Lean your head back and tuck/cross your legs;
  9. Hold the board tight and get the nose in the water first;
  10. Keep your weight centered;
  11. Look where you want to go, spin, and ride away;

Bigger waves will give you more speed and upward projection. After landing your first backflip, try the no-hands version popularized by the master himself, Pierre-Louis Costes.


Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com