How to do a one legger in fmx, with video.

The One Footer
Beginning to move around on the bike.

See Video

Step by step below.

One leggers are the basis to any big move where the legs are moved. How can you do a superman without knowing how to remove your leg safely from the peg?

When you leave the jump, be sure that the bike is set up level in the air. For this move, you want your weight to be centered on the motorcycle (for the most part). You'll actually feel centered, but your head will be slightly over the bars in order to maintain the maximum control over the bike while it is jumping. When you're bike is ready and neutral in the air take some pressure off of your right [or left, your preference] leg. Lift it about three or four inches off of the peg. Jump the jump several times and repeat this motion until you are completely comfortable taking the pressure off of your foot.

When you are ready to move on, jump the jump and repeat the same motion, only this time push your leg a few inches away from the bike. Repeat this until you feel comfortable. Removing your leg away from the peg might not be new to you , but for some it is a completely new experience. After you are confident in the removal of your foot from the bike, you can start to 'kick' away from the bike. This really makes the trick a two-part move (lifting your leg off then extending) but your leg motion will soon begin to blend into one, smooth action.

This angle isn't the best to show how far forward I'm leaning, but I am over the bike, hitting the jump in the "attack" position. My elbows are bent slightly, and I'm leaning over the bars just enough to keep my weight evenly distributed but forward a little over the motorcycle. My knees are also slightly bent, ready to extend and "bounce" when I leave the ground.

Right now I'm expanding my whole body - a motion I do (sometimes in different ways) on everytime I do a trick. Because I'm only taking my left leg off, I use the leverage of my right leg to help take the weight off my left. I'm keeping it strait (as well as my ms) as I begin to kick my left leg up a little and out.

I'm still pushing my leg up and out here, and my arms have bent slightly as my entire body has moved forward a little on the jump. That's completely normal. I'm lifting my upper leg up here as I keep my knee slightly bent, mainly because I'm going for an award-winning one legger here and I want to get it as high as I can. However, I could pause my upper-leg here and simply extend my knee for a good and fully extended one-legger. I'm just going over the top because I'm well practiced with this motion. With time, you'll become so comfortable on your bag of tricks that they'll all begin to grow each time you do them.

Here is the image I had in my head, so that is what I set out to do. That's very important in FMX - visualizing the trick you are setting out to do. It will come much more natually when you do that. I won't hold this long, because I'm on a smaller table top, and I know I have to get back to the peg. So it's like a spring, as soon as I get to my peak extension, I'm already starting to bring it back. You'll want to progress into any new trick that way, no matter how big of a jump you have.

To bring my leg back, I first need to decompress my knee a little to make my leg move faster. I start to lower the angle of my upper-leg at my hip joint, while at the same time bending my knee slightly. I stay focused on the landing so I can make any corrections needed to my bike and so that I am aware of how much time I have untill touchdown.

My leg is almost back, and I realize that to get everything in the right position, I need to straiten my upper-body and move it up and back slightly. I use my right leg and my arms to do this, while I am still simultaneously lowering my left leg to the peg. I must be careful not to pass the peg up, so I have to be aware and bring my leg in to the bike as I lower it down towards where the peg is. It's always better to not make it all the way to the peg than to go past it, because the force of landing will slam your foot down on the peg if you're above it.

Just before touchdown, I have my foot close to the bike and on the peg. I'm a little nose-high here, and since I don't have enough airtime left to correct this, I am keeping my arms somewhat stiff and still leaning forward enough so that when my rear wheel hits I won't be slammed over the front of the bike. That can happen, and when it does, it's easy to slip a hand off the bars and lose control of the bike.

Allright! Leaning forward to correct my weight distribution and tensing my arms up prevented me from slamming into the handlebars, and now my front wheel has touched down and I'm starting to ride away. I'm careful not to accidently pull back on the throttle any as I land, and I focus on where I'm pointing my bike as I make the move to gradually get on the brakes so I can turn around and do it again!

This angle isn't the best to show how far forward I'm leaning, but I am over the bike, hitting the jump in the "attack" position. My elbows are bent slightly, and I'm leaning over the bars just enough to keep my weight evenly distributed but forward a little over the motorcycle. My knees are also slightly bent, ready to extend and "bounce" when I leave the ground.	Right now I'm expanding my whole body - a motion I do (sometimes in different ways) on everytime I do a trick. Because I'm only taking my left leg off, I use the leverage of my right leg to help take the weight off my left. I'm keeping it strait (as well as my ms) as I begin to kick my left leg up a little and out.
I'm still pushing my leg up and out here, and my arms have bent slightly as my entire body has moved forward a little on the jump. That's completely normal. I'm lifting my upper leg up here as I keep my knee slightly bent, mainly because I'm going for an award-winning one legger here and I want to get it as high as I can. However, I could pause my upper-leg here and simply extend my knee for a good and fully extended one-legger. I'm just going over the top because I'm well practiced with this motion. With time, you'll become so comfortable on your bag of tricks that they'll all begin to grow each time you do them.	Here is the image I had in my head, so that is what I set out to do. That's very important in FMX - visualizing the trick you are setting out to do. It will come much more natually when you do that. I won't hold this long, because I'm on a smaller table top, and I know I have to get back to the peg. So it's like a spring, as soon as I get to my peak extension, I'm already starting to bring it back. You'll want to progress into any new trick that way, no matter how big of a jump you have.
To bring my leg back, I first need to decompress my knee a little to make my leg move faster. I start to lower the angle of my upper-leg at my hip joint, while at the same time bending my knee slightly. I stay focused on the landing so I can make any corrections needed to my bike and so that I am aware of how much time I have untill touchdown.	My leg is almost back, and I realize that to get everything in the right position, I need to straiten my upper-body and move it up and back slightly. I use my right leg and my arms to do this, while I am still simultaneously lowering my left leg to the peg. I must be careful not to pass the peg up, so I have to be aware and bring my leg in to the bike as I lower it down towards where the peg is. It's always better to not make it all the way to the peg than to go past it, because the force of landing will slam your foot down on the peg if you're above it.
Just before touchdown, I have my foot close to the bike and on the peg. I'm a little nose-high here, and since I don't have enough airtime left to correct this, I am keeping my arms somewhat stiff and still leaning forward enough so that when my rear wheel hits I won't be slammed over the front of the bike. That can happen, and when it does, it's easy to slip a hand off the bars and lose control of the bike.	Allright! Leaning forward to correct my weight distribution and tensing my arms up prevented me from slamming into the handlebars, and now my front wheel has touched down and I'm starting to ride away. I'm careful not to accidently pull back on the throttle any as I land, and I focus on where I'm pointing my bike as I make the move to gradually get on the brakes so I can turn around and do it again!