How to Do Beginner Kick Scooter Tricks

Co-authored by Kyle Hall

Last Updated: February 2, 2021 References

Do you want to look like the people doing backflips and 360s on their scooters at the skate park? You don’t have to be a professional to pull off some cool tricks on your scooter. Once you get the right stance down, you can start practicing some beginner scooter tricks like the bunny hop and the tailwhip. Before you know it, you’ll be nailing more impressive tricks that you can show off on the half pipe.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Getting the Stance Down

1
Place your dominant foot on the back of the scooter deck. You want your foot to be at a 45 degree angle with the edge of the deck. The outer edge of your foot should be right up against the edge of the brake.^{[1]
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- If you’re regular footed (your right foot is dominant), your legs and feet should be turned toward the right side of the scooter.
- If you’re goofy footed (your left foot is dominant), your legs and feet should be turned toward the left side of the scooter.
2
Place your other foot on the scooter deck next to your dominant foot. Your big toe on your dominant foot should be lined up with the groove on the inside of your other foot. The inner edges of both of your feet should be touching.^{[2]
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3
Place your hands on the handle bar grips. Wrap your fingers around the grips so you have a firm hold on the handle bars.
4
Kick off with your back foot. Use your back foot to propel yourself forward whenever you want the scooter to move. Place your foot back on the deck in the same position it was in before.^{[3]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Doing a Bunny Hop

1
Push off with your back foot so you’re moving on the scooter. Don't push off too hard; it will be easier to practice the trick if you're going a little slower.^{[4]
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2
Bend your knees and then push up with your legs. It should feel like you're jumping up. You want to propel yourself from the crouched position on the scooter. Keep your feet planted on the deck.^{[5]
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3
Pull up with your arms while' pushing up with your legs. You want to pull up on the handle bars so the front wheel on the scooter lifts up about one foot (.3 meters) off the ground.^{[6]
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4
Let the back wheel lift off the ground as you’re pushing and pulling up. At this point both wheels should be about one foot (.3 meters) in the air. Make sure both your feet are still planted on the deck.^{[7]
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5
Let the scooter drop back to the ground. Both wheels should hit the ground at the same time. Continue riding forward with both your feet on the deck.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Learning to Barspin

1
Take your left hand off the handle bars as you're riding the scooter. Keep your free hand around 6 inches (15 cm) away from the handle bars so you can easily grab them again when they come back around.^{[8]
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- Practice while you're standing still when you're first starting out. You'll have an easier time getting the motions down.
2
Lift the front wheel off the ground and spin the handle bars clockwise. Spin the handle bars 180 degrees, keeping your right hand on them as you spin them.^{[9]
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3
Reach your left hand under your right hand and grab the handle bars. Make sure you’re reaching under your right hand and not over it.^{[10]
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4
Release your right hand and spin the handlebars clockwise 180 degrees. Use your left hand to spin the handle bars this time, holding on to them as you spin them.^{[11]
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5
Grab the handle bars with your right hand. Both of your hands should now be back on the handlebars in their original positions.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Doing a Tailwhip

1
Do a clockwise tailwhip if you stand regular on your scooter. Standing regular means you ride with your right foot at the back of the scooter.^{[12]
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2
Do a counterclockwise tailwhip if you stand goofy on your scooter. Standing goofy means you ride with your left foot at the back of the scooter.^{[13]
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3
Practice bunny hopping. You'll need to do a bunny hop in order to tailwhip, so practice the bunny hop until you're confident doing it. The higher you're able to bunny hop, the easier time you'll have tail whipping.
4
Kick yourself off and do a bunny hop. Remember to push off with your legs and pull up with your arms so both wheels go in the air.^{[14]
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5
Use your front foot to push off the deck so it spins around 360 degrees. Both of your feet will be in the air at this point. Keep both hands on the handle bars and wait for the deck to come back around.^{[15]
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6
Stop the deck with your back foot as it comes back around. You want your back foot to land on the back of the scooter so the deck stops spinning.^{[16]
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7
Place your front foot back on the deck. At almost the same time as your back foot, you want your front foot to land on the deck of the scooter. At this point, the scooter should drop back to the ground. Both of your feet should be planted on the deck.^{[17]
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Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Doing a One Hander

1
Kick off with your back foot and do a bunny hop. Try to get as high in the air as you can so you have more time to do the trick.^{[18]
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2
Let go of the handle bars with one of your arms once you’re in the air. Let go with your non-dominant hand when you're first starting out. You'll have an easier time balancing if your dominant hand is still on the handle bars.^{[19]
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3
Hold your arm out to the side so it’s parallel with the ground. Try to keep your arm stretched out the whole time you're in the air. If you feel yourself starting to lose balance, grab back on to the handle bars.^{[20]
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4
Grab back onto the handle bars once you land. Both hands should be on the handle bars at this point. Kick yourself off again and try doing the trick again.^{[21]
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Community Q&A

Question

How do I get it round quick enough on the tailwhip?

Community Answer

It's basically how you work your bars. The bars are important. Do a bunny hop and use one of your feet to kick the side of the deck in a direction you want it to go in, then make your wrists move in a twisting motion. Not your hand, but your wrists. Then you land on the deck.
Question

What if I don't have enough time in the air to tailwhip?

Community Answer

For a tailwhip flat, you really do not need much of a bunny hop at all. So not having enough time is most likely not the problem. If you can't get the deck around fast enough, kick more with your feet. In a tailwhip, you mainly spin the deck using your wrists. Tailwhips do take a while to learn, keep practicing!
Question

How can I do a tailwhip more quickly?

Community Answer

As you kick the deck, push the left side of the handlebars down a little, and then to the right. That will help the deck start spinning around. If you practice this for a while your tailwhip will get faster.