Learning how to kickless scooter tricks comes down to one movement: getting the deck to spin partway and then pulling it back with your upper body instead of your foot. The motion feels strange at first because your legs stay put. Once the rewind clicks, the trick starts to feel natural.
What Is A Kickless On A Scooter?
A kickless is basically a heel whip or heel rewind without kicking the deck. You start the rotation with a sharp sideways hand movement, let the deck travel partway, then use your wrists and arms to stop it and bring it back toward your body.
All the work comes from the handlebars and your body positioning.
How To Do A Kickless: Step-By-Step
These steps follow the progression used in most scooter trick tutorials. Learn them in order.
- Start with a heel whip motion. Get comfortable with the base movement first — the kickless builds directly on it.
- Approach with speed and height. You need enough airtime to execute the rewind and catch. Most tutorials recommend learning on a ramp, bank, or flyout rather than flat ground.
- Initiate the rotation with your wrists. Instead of a big arm sweep, use a sharp, compact wrist movement to start the deck spinning.
- Stop and rewind with your arms. Use your hands, wrists, and arms to halt the deck’s rotation and pull it back toward your body.
- Keep the scooter close. Multiple tutorials stress this: the closer the deck stays to your body, the easier the return is. If it drifts too far out, the catch becomes much harder.
- Catch and roll away. Land with both feet back on the deck and ride out clean.
Where The Kickless Goes Wrong (And The Fix)
Most riders struggle with the same handful of issues. Here’s what the tutorials flag most often.
- The deck drifts too far away. This makes the rewind nearly impossible. Fix it by keeping the scooter tucked closer to your body through the whole motion.
- Too much arm sweep. A big, windmilling arm movement is inefficient and throws off your timing. The motion should be compact and wrist-driven.
- Over-rotating the deck. If the deck spins too far past three-quarters, you run out of time to pull it back. Focus on stopping the rotation earlier.
- Body balance gets crossed up mid-air. One tutorial notes that your weight can shift awkwardly while the deck is spinning. Counter it with a small body-weight adjustment in the opposite direction.
- Not enough speed or height. Attempting the trick flat with minimal air makes it much harder. Give yourself more room to work by using a ramp or bank.
Practice the motion on both sides — whip-side and heel-side — to build control. Many riders find one direction much easier at first, and drilling both prevents a lopsided trick.
If you’re still learning on a heavier commuter scooter and want something built for tricks, the best adult kick scooters for daily riding list is worth checking before you invest in a stunt deck.
References & Sources
- YouTube — “How to KICKLESS on a Scooter (Land It Clean!).” Video tutorial on the kickless technique. Shows the full motion and common mistakes.
- YouTube — “HOW TO KICKLESS ON A SCOOTER.” Step-by-step kickless breakdown. Covers the three-quarter rotation and rewind.
- YouTube — “How to kickless on a scooter in 3 easy steps!” Three-step kickless progression. Highlights wrist-driven motion over arm sweep.
- Reddit — r/Scootering. Rider-submitted kickless tips. Practical advice on keeping the deck close and building control.
FAQs
Is a kickless the same as a heel whip?
No, but they’re closely related. A heel whip uses your back foot to kick the deck around a full rotation. A kickless removes the foot kick entirely — the deck rotates about three-quarters of the way and comes back using only your hands, wrists, and body positioning. It’s essentially a heel whip without the kick.
How long does it take to learn a kickless?
The motion itself isn’t complex, but the timing of the rewind takes repetition. Practicing on a ramp or bank speeds things up considerably compared to flat ground, where the lack of airtime makes the trick much harder.
Do I need a special scooter to do a kickless?
A dedicated trick scooter with a threaded or compression system allows the bars to rotate smoothly through the motion.