Freestyle Soccer
Learn how to perform Tokura’s back flip catch in freestyle football
Japanese freestyler Kotaro Tokuda revealed the secrets to his technique and how he perfected one of the toughest tricks in freestyle football today.
2 min
Tokura in Mumbai
Kotaro Tokura is one of the best-known freestyle footballers in the world.
He won Red Bull Street Style 2012, has travelled around the world to put on freestyle football shows, and is part of the VOLTA Story mode of FIFA 20 – he challenges your team to a match when you arrive in Tokyo.
Kotaro 'Tokura' Tokuda
© Ali Bharmal | Red Bull Content Pool
Fondly called Tokura, the Japanese freestyler is famous across the world for his skills that involve flips and acrobatic moves. One of his most famous tricks is a finishing move called the back flip catch.
To perform the trick, Tokura tosses the ball in the air and catches it between his knees while performing a back flip. The move was part of his showcase which helped him win the Red Bull Street Style 2012 World Finals and become the world champion.
Kotaro Tokuda in Mumbai
© Ali Bharmal | Red Bull Content Pool
Practice acrobatic moves
Tokura arrived at the back flip catch because it was part of his style with doing acrobatic moves. When he was in competition against European freestylers, he could not match them for strength and power so he incorporated dynamic moves like backflips and handstands into his style. So when he tried the back flip catch, he was already good at performing acrobatic moves. This is not to say someone who doesn’t perform acrobatic moves would not be able to perform the back flip catch, but it would help to practice dynamic moves to make it easier.
Rhythm is important
Rhythm is very important for freestyling, especially in competition. It is important to find a rhythm to perform the back flip catch. Moving to a beat might help some freestylers learn it better.
“Musicality is very important for us. I’m learning about musicality from breaking; not just movement, but also the beats of the music,” says Tokura.
Tokura won Red Bull Street Style 2012
© Ali Bharmal | Red Bull Content Pool
Find your own inspiration
Whether it is the back flip catch or executing your own move, Tokura says you can find inspiration anywhere. He was inspired to do the back flip catch by watching a dance competition.
“I like to watch breaking. I like competitions like Red Bull BC One. I saw a B-Boy doing a back flip and was inspired by the move. I thought I could do the same flip with the ball. So I started to practice very hard,” he says.
Practice the movement in parts
Tokura practiced the back flip catch for two years before he could try it in a competition. Step one of learning the trick was to perfect the back flip by itself. Step two was to learn the back flip with a ball.
“For half a year, I only practiced the movement and the back flip without a ball. After that I tried practicing with the ball,” he says. He practiced the trick for a year and half before performing it in competition for the first time.
Pay attention to the nuances of the trick
When practicing the move, focus on the details so you can understand the move better. Some of the important details are the height to which you should toss the ball, when exactly to start the back flip, keeping your eyes focussed on the ball as long as possible, how to bend your knees when landing, etc.
“It was a move that nobody had done before so I didn’t know how it was to be done. I started practicing how high the ball should be, what kind of timing I should have when flipping; everything I tried when practicing the move was helping me learn more about how to do it.”
Keep up your fitness
Most freestylers tend to focus on the tricks and avoid the other aspects of the sport. Tokura said he did the same when he started freestyling, but working out helped him improve his performances. Fitness will help keep you agile and nimble to be able to perfect this trick as well.
“I didn’t work out before and only used to focus on my skills. But once I started to workout, everything started getting better with how I do my tricks. So I think we freestylers do need to work on our fitness. I work out in a gym,” says Tokura.
About Red Bull Street Style
Red Bull Street Style is a global freestyle football competition. In 2020, Red Bull Street Style is going online and is open for participation to anyone, anywhere in the world via video entries. Visit redbullstreetstyle.com for more details.
