The First Flips You Should Learn on Skis

For today's video, we're going to be going over which flips and off-axis spins you should learn first. I've got a comment from one of my subs here, so we're just going to read this. Can you make a video about which off-axis tricks and flips you should learn first? Now some of you might be thinking, well John, I'm just kind of getting into the park. I don't really know how to do any flips yet. I'm just kind of learning my first spins and that's okay. And you might realize that a lot of the tricks that I'm going to go over in this video are actually way easier than you think. So just stick around and watch the end of the video because you might be surprised. Now the first category of tricks that we're going to go over and the first off-axis tricks or flips that I think you should learn on skis are going to be just your basic backflip and frontflip. It doesn't really matter which one you learn first. Personally, I think backflips are the easiest and the reason why is because you can spot the landing for a longer period of time and it's just more natural going with the lip of the jump rather than kind of fighting against it like you do on a frontflip. But both are still a good option to learn first if you want to know which one I learned first. I learned backflips first and then immediately after I learned frontflips and they're honestly way easier than you think. They just take a little bit more commitment. For example, backflips are easier than a 360 to learn because they're just so much more simple. All you have to do is flip backwards off the lip. Whereas a 360 you have to focus on your windup, your counter rotation and you can start to go off axis and everything with a backflip. You don't really have to worry about that because you're already committed to going off axis. They're just scarier to learn and that's why a lot of people don't learn them and to learn things like 360s first. For example, I was all the way up to like an upright 720. I think even 900 before I learned my first flip, which is just pretty stupid because backflips honestly are super easy. It's just scary to do the first one. Now the second off axis trick I ended up learning was a frontflip. Frontflips are kind of the exact opposite of backflips, but they're still pretty easy. The reason why some people struggle with frontflips is because you're going forwards off the lip, which is a little bit weird. The thing about backflips is you get to go with the lip and then on frontflips you're kind of fighting against the lip and you're going forward and it's a little bit weird, especially for the first time and a lot of people kind of under rotate their first frontflips and they really struggle with this part. But the thing about frontflips that make them easier is they're way easier to actually commit to. Backflips are really scary because you feel like you're rotating backwards right off the lip and just that part of just that fear part is super scary to get over with for the first time. Whereas frontflips are a little bit easier to commit to. I just think technically that they're a little bit more difficult. But either of these two flips are definitely going to be one of the first off-axis tricks and flips that you want to learn on skis. Now our next section of tricks is going to be corks and mistys. Now depending on which one you learn, a cork or misty, it's going to depend if you like doing backflips or frontflips more. Because mistys are a forward off-axis spin and corks are a backwards off-axis spin. So if you like doing backflips more, you probably are going to want to learn a cork first. If you like doing frontflips more, you're probably going to want to learn a misty first. Now the actual rotation, I think cork 7s are the easiest cork to learn. I think they're even easier than cork 3s because they're much easier axes to get into. You can pretty much just huck it and after a few attempts, you'll probably be able to land it. Obviously, you need to be comfortable with doing spins up to 720, but if you can do spins that high in rotation and you can do backflips, I think they're super easy to learn for the first time. So a cork 7 is a great first option for your first off-axis spin to learn. Another great option is going to be mistys, specifically misty 5s. You don't have to spin as much and if you like flipping forwards more than flipping backwards, misty 5s are going to be a great option to learn first. They're a super simple trick. They're super basic and it's kind of just like doing a sideflip if you know what that kind of feels like. If you've done a misty 5 on a trampoline, you're going to know what I mean. They're a pretty basic and pretty simple trick to learn for the first time. So cork 7s and misty 5s are definitely going to be the best option for learning your first off-axis spin. Like I said, depending on if you like flipping forwards or if you like flipping backwards. That's going to decide which one you're going to learn first. Now this last section is going to be when you're a bit more advanced and you already got some flips down. Maybe you did a cork or a misty already and you want to learn some different axes. This is what the last section is going to be for. In this section, I have cork 3s, switch corks, flat spins and rodeos. I think these are a little bit more difficult axes to learn for the first time. Obviously, this isn't true for everybody. I know people that have learned flat spins and rodeos and cork 3s and things like that for their first off-axis spins. But to be honest, I think these axes are way more difficult to get into and I think it's way easier to tuck a cork or a misty for the first time. So on this video on the left here, I have a cork 3. And cork 3s, it's not that you're spinning a lot, like you're just doing a 360. But the problem is this specific axis to get into is just very difficult, especially for beginners. Another reason why is because you're doing this carving takeoff here, which is just a little bit different. Whereas like on a cork 7, you can just do a straight takeoff with a t-set. Whereas on cork 3s, you kind of have to learn a carving takeoff. And it's just a little bit weird to learn for the first time. This is why I have them as a little bit more of an advanced trick. The other trick I have here is a switch cork 5. Obviously, this is a bit harder than a forward cork because you're riding switch, which just makes it a little bit more difficult. Switch corks are a little bit more difficult because you have to be extremely patient on the takeoff. This is where a lot of people go wrong, is they rotate a little bit too early and then basically everything goes bad from there. Forward corks are just obviously going to be a little bit easier to learn. And then lastly, I don't have video examples of these, but flat spins and rodeos, I think are pretty difficult axes to learn right away. So I'm putting those in the more advanced section as well. So that's gonna wrap up the video on which flips and off-axis spins that you should learn first on skis. I hope this helps you decide which tricks that you want to learn into this ski season. And if you want help with any of the tricks done in this video, your flips, your corks, your mistys, whatever it is, I can help you with that in my coaching program, which is the top link in the description. Peace!