How To Do A Reverse Flip Tuck (302C): Spotting, the Kickout, and Building Toward Reverse 1½

The reverse flip tuck is a stepping stone.

Done right, it builds every habit you need for reverse one and a half, reverse two and a half, and beyond. Before going further I'd recommend watching the reverse dive tuck video first.

It covers the baseline fundamentals that this dive is built on.

3 Key Fixes for Your Reverse Flip Tuck

1. Don't Rush the Hurdle, And Find the Healthy Medium on the Takeoff

Two opposite problems show up on the takeoff for reverse flip and both are fixable. The first is rushing the hurdle, kicking the foot out in front instead of keeping it directly under the body on the step. When the knee shoots forward, the whole jump is already off-balance before you've left the board. On the hurdle jump, arms should be all the way up at the top with feet below the hips. Clean lines there actually score points and set up a better takeoff.

The second problem is going through the knees on the jump, aka weight pushed too far forward over the toes. The reverse flip has a healthy medium that has to be found: too far through the knees and you slide forward with no height; too far back with shoulders pulling and you're dangerously close to the board.

The fix if you're going through the knees is to think about walking down the board with chest up and shoulders back, and then on the final press feel like you're almost sitting into a chair. That "sitting" feeling is what keeps the weight back over the heels instead of falling out over the toes.

Diver Guy's Tip: If you're going through your knees this much on a reverse flip, go back to the reverse dive and fix it there first. The takeoff habits from the reverse dive transfer directly. Get it right on the simpler dive before expecting it to work on the flip.

2. Look Into the Tuck — That's How Spotting Works on Reverses

This is the most important habit to build on the reverse flip, because it's the same habit you'll use on every harder reverse you ever learn.

Here's the sequence: as you come off the board, your upper body stays neutral and your legs come up to you. You don't want to feel like you're moving your chest toward your legs. Feel like the legs come up to your chest. But, as they do, you get hollow and "look" into the tuck. Watch your knees come up, get into the connection. And finally, once you've grabbed, look back up and spot the water.

That's it. Look in, connect, look back.

The moment you connect into a tight tuck and look up, the water is right there. That's spotting for reverses.

The mistake is looking up over the eyebrows too early, before the tuck is connected.

When divers do that, they're breaking their form which lowers your Flip speed and makes it look worse in the air. 

3. Kick Hollow — Legs First, Hands on Thighs

The kickout is where a lot of reverse flips go archy or over-rotate, and it almost always traces back to the same mistake: opening with the upper body first instead of the legs.

The correct sequence is legs extend first, then you straighten out. Keep your hands on top of your thighs on the kickout and don't let the shoulders roll back.

Shoulders stay forward, hands on the legs — that's the hollow position that keeps the dive in control. When you open with the chest or pull the shoulders back first, the arch sets in and the rotation carries you over.

This isn't just about the reverse flip. Hands on the thighs on the kickout is exactly what you'll do coming out of a reverse one and a half. The habit you build here transfers directly.

Diver Guy's Tip: Also make sure you're actually grabbing the tuck, not just letting your arms slide past your legs. Judges and coaches notice the difference between a defined tuck position and one where the arms are along for the ride. If it doesn't look controlled, it won't score like it is. Grab it, show it, then kick.

Watch the Full Breakdown

In this video I also show how the spotting pattern and kickout habits on the reverse flip directly translate to reverse one and a half and reverse two and a half, with examples of each to show the same mechanics scaling up.

 

Things to watch closely:

• The comparison of going through the knees vs. the correct takeoff angle — the difference in direction off the board is immediate
• Watch the reverse one and a half example and how the head stays neutral while legs come up before looking back
• The reverse two and a half example shows the same spotting sequence on a harder dive. Even at that level, the legs come up before the connection

Final Takeaways: Reverse Flip Tuck Done Right

• Hurdle: foot down directly under the body, arms all the way up, feet below hips
• Takeoff: sit into the chair — weight back, don't go through the knees
• Eyes look out toward the water on the hurdle, not tilted back looking over the eyebrows
• As legs come up: look into the tuck, let legs come to you, upper body stays neutral
• Connect into a tight tuck, then look back and spot the water
• Kickout: legs extend first, then straighten — not chest first
• Hands on top of thighs, shoulders forward — hollow, not arched
• Actually grab the tuck — show the position, don't slide through it

Got questions? Drop them in the comments or DM me — I answer every one.

Good luck and I'll see you on the next dive! - DG