KGB
Don’t ask me where the name comes from… I can’t see any similarity between KGB and the russian intelligence, but whatever, here is the guide to perform the trick =)
- Come into the trick like you would do for an unhooked backroll. Unhook, edge hard and pop out of the water.
- Look over your front shoulder and go into a backroll rotation. When just over 1/2 way through your rotation throw your head in the other direction over your back shoulder and pull your hands hard to your front tip.
- Pass the bar from your front hand to your front hip.
- Once you grab the bar, reach around with your other hand and get them both on the bar.
- Spot your landing, bend your knees and ride away.
Tips! When unhooking always keep your elbows bent, this helps you keep a good edge. Try not to lean forward when you unhook. Keep your hands in the middle of the bar. Don’t throw the backroll to hard, it makes it hard to change direction.
Unhooked Railey
If you already master the hooked railey, then you might wanna go a bit more crazy and try the unhooked railey which basically is the same trick as the hooked railey, just one thing differ, guess what… =P
Anyway, to perform the unhooked railey, just follow these steps:
- Ride with speed and power.
- Make sure that your kite is tuned for unhooking, so that it does not back stall.
- Keep your kite at 45 degrees and your hands positioned in the middle of the bar.
- Unhook and keep your elbows bent.
- Edge hard and leap out off the water, try to throw your feet away from you, behind you and up at the sky.
- Once you are extending, then you can let your arms stretch out. When you feel yourself coming back pull your legs back underneath you.
- Spot your landing, bend your knees and point your board downwind.
Tips! Practice riding unhooked before you try to make unhooked tricks. Trim your kite for unhooking.
Hooked Front Roll
The hooked front roll is harder to perform than the back roll. The trick is however quite simple compared to many others. Here is the steps you should follow to master this trick:
- Come into the trick with even speed and power.
- Keep your kite at 45 degrees and your hand in the middle of the bar.
- Jump off the water, once in the air, tuck your front shoulder and turn your head over your back shoulder.
- Keep your head turned in the direction of the spin.
- Once you see the water, bend your knees and spot your landing.
- Point the board downwind, land and ride away.
Tips! keep your hands in the middle of the bar. Relax, don’t try to spin to hard. At first try sending the kite a little to get some lift.
Nuke Grab
The Nuke Grab requires a body that is a somewhat flexible. You don’t have to be a gymnast, but this trick might be a bit difficult if you carry on to much load in form of a beer belly… anyway, if you can reach your own toes, then you’re probably fine to perform this trick, just do as I say =)
- Come into the trick with moderate power and speed.
- Hold your kite at 45 degrees with your hands in the middle of the bar.
- Unhook, edge hard and pop off the water.
- Once you come off the water, bend your front knee as you twist your lower body.
- Bring front foot up to your body and grab the nose of your board with your back hand.
- Hold the grab and keep your head up while you look forward. This will extend your body upwards.
- As you start to come down release the grab and bend your knees.
- Land and ride away, that’s it!
Tips! Position the kite lower makes the grab easier. Don’t reach for the board, bring it up to you. Concentrate on twisting your lower body. This helps bring the board closer to you.
Hooked Raily
Hooked Raily! This trick is similar to a straight forward jump, but with the difference that you rather fly than jump through the air. This trick is not to complicated and suited well for those who just began to master simple jumps and wants to start make some tricks. Just follow this guide:
- Come into the trick with speed and power.
- Keep your kite at 45 degrees and your hand in the middle of the bar.
- Edge hard and pop off the water, try to throw your feet back away from you and up towards the sky.
- Keep your head looking forward where you want to land.
- Spot your landing, bend your knees and point your board downwind.
- Land and ride away.
Tips! Trim your kite for good line pressure. Adequate line load is key to a good railey.
S-Bend
S-Bend – a pretty easy trick, but still impressive!
- Come into the trick with moderate speed and power like you do for a raley.
- Have your kite at 45 degrees with your hands in the middle of the bar.
- Unhook, edge hard and pop of the water.
- Once you are extended in your raley, tuck your front shoulder and look around your back shoulder.
- Keep looking until you spot your landing.
- Bend your knees and absorb the landing.
- Hook in and ride away, piece of cake!
Tips! When you go into the spin bend your front knee to help initiate the rotation. When you start the rotation, “snap” your whole body in the direction of the spin. At first it helps to have your kite higher.
Slim Chance
Slim Chance! This is a cool trick that you must have in your repertoire! Just follow these “easy” steps =)
- Come into the trick with moderate speed and power.
- Position your kite at 45 with your hands in the middle of the bar.
- Unhook, edge hard and pop of the water.
- Once you come off the water, roll your body like you are going into an S-Bend by tucking your shoulder and turning your head. It helps if you have mastered the S-Bend first 😉
- As you go into your S-Bend, start to pull the bar to your back hip.
- when the bar is at your hip, snap your head in the opposite direction to initiate the spin.
- Pass the bar from your back hand to your front hand.
- Once you pass the bar, let your body fall as you spot your landing and ben your knees.
- Land, hook back in, and ride away cleanly.
Tips! Turning your head is the trick! Pull the bar to your hip hard. The more inverted you get the easier the handle pass.
Unhooked, Front Roll To Blind
Unhooking and adding a revert to blind can spice up any trick and make you look like you have more game, even a simple front roll becomes something special once you spice it up.
Riding left to right, front foot forward with the kite above 45 degrees, trim the strap to unhook the bar, unhook and ride a short distance to check you have trim spot on.
To make lide easier and to gain an extra rotation time for the landing to blind, send the kite up a little as you pop from the water. Tuck your chin to your right shoulder and look behind you over your right shoulder as you pop to start the rotation.
Half way through the rotation, you should start to spot the landing by looking over your left shoulder. As you come in to land instead of letting the board follow your body round, take your right hand off the bar and swing your arm down towards the water, this will give you enough counter swing to stop your body rotation and land blind.
As you land, bend your knees to take the landing, keep your weight firmly centered over your feet. If you feeling up tp it you can ride out the trick with surfaced handlepass.
Good luck with this cool trick!
Tips! Make sure that you trim correctly to unhook before trying the trick. when landing blind lean forwards and towards your back foot, to help keep the edge.
Front Roll To Toeside
Front Roll To Toeside (inverted handle pass)
Ok, so you are skilled enough to make a normal front roll with a blindfold over your eyes, then this trick hopefully will give you a new challenge! Just follow these steps:
- Start on your heelside edge, elbows in.
- Through your front roll, but with more forward pop as if you are going to rotate over it.
- Once inverted let go with your backhand and start your rotation.
- Pass the handle into your new lead hand.
- Land on your toeside edge.
- set your edge and ride away.
Tips from the coach.
You are adding a 180, so give your self more forward pop to not under rotate.
You’ll be landing with your back hand on the bar, so watch that the kite doesn’t fly back the other way.
Handle to your hips, before you rotate.
Good luck!
Kite Surfing Tricks
A kite surfer will never be satisfied by just surfing up and down the sea. As a beginner you will soon master the technique of going upwind in both directions and you’ll undoubtedly want to develop your skills to be able to make slide turns, ride toeside, be able to make a carving turn heelside to toeside turns without stopping and finally start to JUMP!
Once you are able to jump a whole new world is open for you! The number of tricks that one can perform in the air are almost unlimited, in fact it’s only you self that sets the limit. There are hundreds of tricks that already are “invented” but the oppurtunities to create your own tricks are vast!
KiteSurfingTrick.com is meant to be a free resource for everyone that wants to learn new kite tricks, get inspiration or to share your own tricks with others. To explain how to perform a trick with just words and a few pictures can be hard so don’t hesitate to ask questions with comment function or help other people to explain how to perform different kite tricks.