Front Roll Hand Wash Transition
Yes another hand wash. These moves are always popular crowd pleasures and on clinics everyone wants to get involved in some water tickling. This is the front roll or front loop variant and it has its roots firmly placed in the more traditional popped front loop nose grab transition from yesteryear as featured in Issue 31! There is quite a lot going on in a short amount of time, so you’ll not have the luxury or hindrance to worry about flying the kite, it’s more pop and go and until you’ve nailed a few the kite will seemingly dictate when everything happens. This is another move that will be far easier to learn on a bigger kite and much trickier on a 7m.
The Approach Pic A.
Your approach into this is similar to that of a dark slide or back roll hand wash if you already have those nailed. If not fret not, your principal aim is to stay low whilst maintaining your edge. Normally to pop we explode upwards and naturally as you sit you will bend your knees and come up over the board. So get your cheeks down low whilst keeping your edge. This way you’ll have an edge to kick up and off, whilst being low enough to get your hand in the water.
You can see the rider approaching with his kite about 11 o’clock, bar trimmed out so that he can keep tension on the lines with an extended arm, plenty of speed and he is sitting low but still with plenty of edge. From here the rider takes his front hand off the bar, turns further into wind to check his speed and very gently pulls the bar in with his centered back hand.
Kick Edge Pic B.
Timing wise your moment to go is the same in all these pop trick transitions, you must go early, that is to say before you feel the kite lift. As long as you pre-empt the lift your kite is less likely to fly too far back in the window and you’ll be able to stay low.
In Pic B. The rider really kicking off and against his edge, not up. This fortunately is the standard kick off fees forward rotation but here you must exaggerate the action. The rider leans forward and stretches his free front arm out in front of him as he kicks. This will both initiate the front roll and plant his hand into the water. It is important to get your hand out in front as you’ll soon overtake it without the resistance and drag it’ll produce once buried in the water.
Hand Plant Front Roll Pic C
Not a delicious Ionian snack but your next port of call. If you get your hand down on a straight and stiff arm you will rotate no matter what, as your hand becomes the axis for your rotation. This means that you can try and concentrate your efforts on your kite or rather your other hand, the one holding the bar. You need to keep tension on the lines by holding the bar in on the sweet spot, whilst trying your best not to send the kite steaming off behind you. Three things will help: hand in the centre of the bar, sweet spot trimmed out and big kite…
Here in Pic C. you can see that the rider kite has still not reached 12 o’clock and he is already well into the move. He has his hand in the water and is making an effort to resist by keeping his arm locked out. Simultaneously the rider keeps the bar in and as such the kite will be slowly drifting back whist The rider pendulums underneath.
Upside Down Pic D.
As mentioned earlier there is an element of just going with this move as you learn it. However if you can you should try and invert yourself as much as possible to get some extra style points. You’ll see some folk banging these moves out totally straight and stiff. As your head is down it is a matter of getting your hips, feet and board up, and the simplest method is to keep your hand firmly planted and straighten your legs. With the drag from your hand they’ll be forced up! You can see that the rider pushing his feet up in an attempt to get inverted. Worth noting though is that his hand is only just in contact with the water so he is about to lose resistance and his opportunity to get fully upside down. Whilst trying to straighten up the rider has to keep the bar in and be ready for the moment that he gets lifted and his hand releases from the water.
Is Dive & Land Pic E.
Once you feel yourself lifted, this is your cue to finish your front rotation as the kite has passed through 12 and is effectively jumping you up off the water. If you can get yourself around, then you’ll be able to see where you’re likely to land and balance yourself against any awkward pull from the kite.
Looking at Pic E. you can see that the first two things that the rider has done are allow his legs to drop and get his free hand back on the bar, as both these movements will give him more control of the situation. By dropping his feet the rider has his undercarriage and landing gear down, and with two hands on the bar he can better control how quickly the kite is moving. The rider is also looking back and down wind, so that he can turn his body and board to where he should be landing. What he does now will depend on how far back the kite is and how far out the rider has pendulum. If the kite is still relatively high the rider will dive hard with his new front hand (the right one) to pull himself out of the move. If the kite is quite far behind the rider will have to dive it harder, aiming for a late kite loop, so that he’ll have the power to keep moving once he lands. Whilst learning this we recommend that you go for the first diving option, as it’s better to get wet and water start than get thrown around backwards.
Top Tips
- It’s a good idea to start off with some gentle popped front loop transitions with both hands on the bar to ease you into the kite timing and see how far back the kite goes.
- If it is going a long way back go earlier.
- Once you feel confident get low and give it a go, not much can go wrong as you shouldn’t be more than an arm’s length off the water.
Common Problems
- Main problem that you’ll have is the kite ending up too far behind you, so go early and keep your edge whilst you get low, and let the bar out a bit to stop the kite drifting too much.
- You may also have trouble getting the hand in and keeping it planted in the water. Really reach forward and throw yourself down into the water.
- Once it’s in resist the pull against it. This may take a few goes to get your head around.
Keystones
- Get low but keep your edge
- Release your front hand and kick forward early
- Reach your hand forward and down into the water
- Resist and try to straighten your legs up
- As you lift drop legs and turn to dive
Front Loop Grab
It was recently brought to our attention that we had yet to cover one of the first and potentially simpler of front loop (or front roll) variations – the grabbed sent front loop. We’ve talked you through the inversion, the one foot and all manner of transitions and pops, but this issue we’ll set the record straight and deliver an achievable and yet utterly stylish grab which you can add on to your much loved front loop. Adding a grab onto any move that you already have in the bag is a matter of both confidence and making sure that you have the basics right, so we’ll have a look at what is needed to secure a comfortable and safe front rotation whilst enabling the back hand to come off the bar and grab the board.
The set up and take off – Pit A.
To learn this, you’ll best keep everything as close to your standard default front as possible, so that you’re adding a grab, not learning a new move. However there are a few points in the set up that you’d do well to follow and we’ll look at the rider as an example. Firstly if you don’t already, you should centre your hands on the bar, so they are resting either side of the centre line. This will stop any unwanted movement of the kite when you grab. With your hands together, sending the kite may seem a little sluggish so be sure to use both hands in a push and pull movement.
Secondly don’t be afraid to send the kite as hard as you normally do. If the kite travels past and behind 12 o’clock, then pulling and supporting yourself on the bar with your front hand won’t result in an immediate diving of the kite. 
Thirdly do trim the bar at least down to half way, as this way you are less likely to stall the kite on takeoff and during flight, which hopefully means that you’ll execute an up and down jump rather than flying downwind at speed.
Finally, although you must complete your rotation, it will be easier to grab if you’re not spinning too quickly. So to slow your rotation down just a tad doesn’t use your head to turn you on takeoff but rather just your shoulders and the kick off. You can see the rider is still looking forward as she begins to throw her shoulders down towards the nose of the board and stamp away against her back foot edge.
Grab Prep – Pic B.
The secret to getting a grab in during the short time you have is to go for it early. Looking at the picture you can see that the rider is wasting no time in releasing her back hand and lifting the back of the board up towards her as soon as she takes off. You can also see that The rider is looking towards the tail of the board where she intends to grab it, so she can cirri her hand at the target and bring hand and board together. This would not be possible if she had thrown her head around to look over her back shoulder in order to get the rotation. Having released her back hand so early she can already pull on her front hand a little bit, so long as she did send the kite back past 12 O’clock. In this jump the rider is aiming for a boned out grab, hence she just lifts her back leg, but you’re quite welcome to lift both knees if it feels more stable.
The Grab – Pic C.
The moment of truth! Your easiest and most reachable options for the grab are either the heel side edge by the fin, or the tail itself. It’s a great idea to practice this on the beach without your kite to find out where is most natural for you. Holding a grab, rather than a little tickle is a good game plan, as you’ll have more balance with both hands occupied, so literally grab the board and pull it towards you. Once again to bone it out you can straighten the front leg by pushing your front foot away from you whilst holding the tail in close. In the picture you can see that The rider is still watching her grab, which keeps her rotation slow, and she has the bar held in, which keeps tension on the lines and the kite under control as it gently moves it above her.
Landing Prep – Pic D.
If you’ve held the grab and controlled your rotation speed from the take off you will need to initiate and prepare for the landing by completing your rotation. The first and most important ingredient is your head. The rider has turned her head to look around towards where she will land. The old adage of where you look is where you’ll go has never been more true. As your head turns your shoulders will follow, and as long as at least one of your knees is held up so will your hips and board. With your body turning towards the expected landing strip you need to maintain tension in the lines so that you have enough float to get around, and as you can see The rider still has her bar pulled is From this point onwards as you drop slowly down the harder you pull on your front hand, the more the kite will pull you downwind toward a soft landing. Our suggestion here would be to release the grab and get both hands on the bar so that you’re confident with the dive and can then control the power on landing. As you drop the grab, allow your legs to straighten underneath you so that your landing gear is down and that you have a platform to land on. If you keep your knees up, you’ll land with the board in front of you, not underneath you and you’ll be unlikely to smoothly sail off downwind. And if you have boned out the grab remember to lift the front leg slightly as a tail first landing will be a lot more pleasant than a nosedive.
Top Tips
- As already mentioned playing with the grab on land, whether rolling around on the beach, your lawn or in the lounge will train you to grab without too much thought.
- Once you’re on the water start off by throwing down a few front loops without the grab so grab as soon as you take off – if you wait you’ll miss Now check out the sequence and videos – good luck’ that you’re feeling confident.
- Your next step is to go the moment. For a quick tap of the board and then finally hold the grab.
Common Problems
- If you’re struggling to find the time to grab, your rotation is too fast.
- Practice some front loops, still using your rear leg to kick off and your shoulders to dip forward but keep your head perpendicular to your shoulders – this should help. Also go for the
Keystones
- Good edge and positive send
- Kick hard but don’t turn head
- Go for grab early, immediately after take off
- Tom head to complete rotation
- Drop legs and dive to land
Twin Tip Duck Tack
A rather fun transition, the love child of two moves! You could look at it as the twin tip variant of the directional duck tack, but equally it is essentially an on-water, or un-aerial back loop transition. In its own right a smooth way of changing direction and a possible method of learning the key movements to the duck tack before venturing out on your surf or race board. Technically on a twin tip with straps, the mechanics of this move are not overly complicated, however the timing is crucial so once you get the movement, pasting it together piece by piece will deliver the goods. The end result should be a carve up and through the wind of almost 180° degrees, so that your board is across the wind with you facing upwind, followed by a pivot on the nose of the board to turn you and the board the remaining 180°, before you ride off back from whence you came – simples!
The Carve
You need to get the board a long way up into and through the wind so you’ll need some speed. However don’t come blotting into it like a bat out of hell, rather start on a good upwind edge, kite just above 11 or 1 and then momentarily sit down slightly so that your board flattens and picks up a little bit more. To be able to carve all that way you don’t need anything fighting you, whether it is the kite pulling you back downwind or the board dragging through the water. Therefore you need to get your weight, think hips and shoulders, more forward so that you use all the board to carve – the sitting slightly helps with this. If you’re low and have weight on both feet, the board won’t bog and drag, but instead whizz around. To go all the way you must get the kite up to 12 o’clock, so pull gently on your back hand as you approach. And finally to prevent the kite from holding you back you must let the bar out to get rid of the power as the kite moves up.
Pic A. The rider is carving into the wind whilst drifting the kite up to 12 o’clock with his back hand. He has taken his front hand off the bar, which allows him to twist his head and shoulders further upwind and let the bar out as the kite lifts. His front knee is slightly bent, and as he pushes his back foot away he breaks at the waist to keep his body upright. With weight on both feet you can see that his entire edge is in the water.
Half Way
Carving all the way until you are literally across the wind will place you in the perfect position to complete the move. As you can imagine once you’re here you won’t have any time to think before you gracefully sink back into the drink. The good news comes from 2 things. Firstly if you have got the kite up to 12 o’clock with the bar sheeted out, it will have flown all the way to the edge of the window, so therefore be right above you, waiting to support you. Secondly if you have carved hard, there will still be resistance against the board as it turns back towards you. This means that you can pull the bar in and push against both feet for support.
Pic B. You can see that the rider has carved all the way on the edge. With the board banked over and the kite high the tail does not slide, which would move him away from the kite. As Christian comes around past the 180° mark he pulls in on the bar and moves his weight forward, bending his front leg and pushing his hips towards the nose of the board.
Dig In
Assuming that you’ve got this far now is the time to get dynamic. Your sits is to dig the nose of the board into the water, throwing your weight over it and your front foot, whilst pulling in on the bar and turning your head and shoulders. As the power comes from the kite the resistance from the front of the board should be enough that the kite will pull you around.
Pic C. With the kite above him, the rider pulls down hard on his bar hand whilst throwing his weight forward onto his front foot. At the same time he turns his head down and around to sink the nose and lift the tail – the rest depends on the kite.
And Around
When the power from the kite arrives you need to be in the previous picture’s pivoting position. If so the kite will lift you up from the water and then pull you off downwind. If however you don’t get your weight forward and therefore have too much of the board in the water the kite will lift you off the water and you hopefully land a couple of feet downwind and sail away.
Pic D. With the bar held in tight, the kite has lifted the rider and he is now up and over the board. With all his weight pushed over what was his front foot, he leans back against the pull of the kite and allows it to pivot him around the sunken nose. To stoke sure that he doesn’t get pulled onto his face, the rider locks out his front leg, which will force the board to follow the pull from the kite.
Top Tips
- It’s worth trying to learn this in two stages. First work on getting your carve; as once this is in the bag you’ll be able to think ahead and throw yourself forward into the pivot.
- The carve must be just that, a carve any sliding and it’ll be goose over. So practice carving as far as you can, moving the kite up to 12 o’clock and letting the bar out as it drifts.
Common Problems
- Best start with the problem of sliding the tail out, as we’re all too proficient at this. If you are “loosing” the tail as you carve up it’s because you’re subconsciously going into slide turn mode.
- This means that as you carve you are bending your front knee so much that all your weight is over the front foot, which results in the tail sliding as you push the back foot away.
- Try to move your hips into a central position in between the foot straps, but no further forward. Also concentrate on edging the board so that you push through your back heel against the board, not your foot over the board. If you’re falling in downwind of the board, it will be because the kite is pulling you.
- Be sure to drift the kite up to 12 and let the bar out as you go. Also try to break at the waist as you turn so that your upper body stays upright. If you are falling onto your side as the kite pulls and board pivots around, make sure that you turn your head and shoulders to lead the pivot.
- Finally if you hop up and out of the pivot, it is because you have too much resistance, too much edge in the water. Make sure you get all your weight over the foot and roll back against the pull.
Keystones
- Drift kite up towards 12
- Release front hand
- Good solid carve off both feet
- Pull on bar, throw weight forward
- Lead pivot with head and shoulders
Nose Grab Front
In today’s world we have made it very easy for everyone to be more skilled in kitesuring. Now information is easily accessible on internet and people paste their experiences in the form of blogs, articles and share the best way to enjoy this sport.
So in continue to that here is our guide to a popped front roll with a Crail or Nose grab thrown into the mix for extra spice. The grab itself is done with the back hand reaching forward and touching, stroking or preferably holding either the nose of the board or as near as possible on the toe side way up near the fin. It goes without saying that you’ll already need a competent popped front to nail this beauty, as the more powered it is performed with, the better the axis of rotation will be and thus all the sweeter the grab will look. Let us remind you of a few vital key moments for a decent popped front whilst also sneaking in the grab.
Coming In
You need to approach in the right way if you want pop, as it will not only help in getting up and off the water, but also the rotation and the landing.
Image A. the rider is perfectly set up for some hefty pop. With her kite parked just below 11 o’clock she pushes the nose of the board off the wind and flexes her back leg to flatten the board, increase speed and move towards the kite, allowing it to drop back a bit in the window. At the sometime she has all her weight, hips, head and shoulders dropped back over and behind the back foot. Her hands are centered and she has her bar trimmed in enough that she can get into this position without pulling too much tension onto the back lines. We always recommend moving your front hand over the middle of the bar, centre line between your first two fingers if you can. This will allow you to keep the power on throughout the move without the kite diving down.
Take Off
Going into a popped front rotation it is all too tempting to drift the kite up and wait for something to happen, which will inevitably lead to a dangly and uncontrolled spin under a very high kite. It’s a mast to keep the kite flying forward and get your height from a very aggressive pop. Breaking the pop and rotation apart, even just by a millisecond will make all the difference. If you concentrate on going up before throwing your head around and shoulders down you will get enough height. If you dive straight into the rotation you’ll not extend up and rather fire yourself down towards the water.
Image B. is showing the rider popping up hard. Having carved rapidly back up onto her edge with her weight still back, she has now stamped down hard, pushing her back leg down against the edge of her board and extending her body upwards for maximum pop. She keeps her front elbow tucked in and bent to prevent the kite from drifting up and the bar is still angled towards the kite as if she were riding. The only give away showing a prospective front rotation is the bending and lifting of the front knee.
Rotate and Release
When you relies that that you’re on the way up you need to get spinning and think about the grab. You won’t have long in the air so its chop chop. To start the rotation lean the head and shoulders forward, so that you are going with the pop. By lifting the front leg and allowing your body to be kicked up you will start to rotate from the back legs impetus. Turning your head to guarantee spin will help, but if you whip around too quickly it’ll be tricky to get the grab in early enough. As for the grab you need two actions, release the front hand and start to reach forwards, and you must bring the front knee up and across your body to bring the nose of the board within reach.
Image C. the rider is just off the water and she already has her front knee up and across in front of her. She resists the temptation to pull her back leg up and keeps it straight – with it extended the nose of the board will tip even closer to her. She allows her head and shoulders to tip down and forward into the rotation as she fully extends up and keeps the bar pulled in. Her back hand is reaching down towards the already well-positioned board.
The Grab
Early grab will give you two advantages.
- The first is purely aesthetic, you’ll be able to hold it for longer and thus it’ll be more noticeable.
- The second however is more functional – once you have the grab you can pull the board in, making you small and then concentrate on getting around the rest of your front roll.
Theoretically at least, if you get the take off right the grab should fall into place.
Image D. As a result of all the hard work the rider has got a pleasantly satisfying pop, good height and controllable slow rotation. This allows her to get her hand onto the nose area before she has rotated 90°. Keeping the front knee up and releasing the back hand early were key. Keeping the bar in and power on guarantee that she won’t just drop out of her rotation, but will continue to be pulled forward.
The Money Shot
Once you’ve got the grab, hold it. As stated before, this isn’t just for poseur status, massaging your ego or blatant show boating, but with a solid hold of your board you can pull it in and turn your head and therefore finish your rotation.
Image E. With her grab held the rider turns her head to spot the landing. To speed up her rotation she has pulled both knees up whilst still holding the bar in, keeping the kite moving forward and pulling.
Touch Down
Aim to hold your grab for as long as possible, until you complete the rotation. You’ll find the timing quite natural, as you’ll need to let go to allow your board to drop under you as you start to drop. Assuming you went off the wind in your approach you should come around to a comfortable downwind landing towards the kite, which will kill the power in the kite and make tutu comfortable stomped landing.
Image F. You can see that the rider has released the grab and lets her legs and the board drop down beneath her for a solid reception. She still has pulled in so will land following the kite with her weight squarely over the board.
Top Tips
- A good pop and confident front roll are key, so before throwing yourself up into one of these get warmed and ready with a few two handed front rolls. When you’ve knocked out a few high and controlled ones you’ll be more confident to go for the grab.
Common Problems
- If you’re struggling to reach the grab there are two solutions. Firstly if you can already nose or nearly nose (troll) grab the board in sent jumps or front rolls try popping with the kite higher, or even drift it up a tad
- With a higher kite and a more vertical rotation it will be easier to reach the board. Secondly if you’ve never tried a two grab before and you’re finding it tricky here, revert to getting the body movement right in a sent jump and then a sent front roll. Videos and Sequence for the entire visual path….
Keystones
- Bear away with weight back for god pop
- Extend up fully
- THEN release back hand and start rotation
- Bring front knee up and across
- Hold grab and turn head
Back Loop One Foot
Kite surfing is an grand sport and also proven one of the best exercises for your body & your mind. Being a pleasurable, social sport, kitesurfing can increase your levels of health and fitness with no doubts.
Hopefully you did your boned back loop grab homework! Here is the natural progression, once again based on the humble sent back loop, grabbing the tail but adding a stylish one foot into the equation!
The Approach Pic A.
To have the time in the air to get a foot out and still land you’ll need to perform a dos, and floaty back rotation. Approach wise you need to be coming in on a good edge with the kite parked at either 11 or 1 o’clock. Get your weight back by extending your front leg and dropping your bum over the back foot, whilst still resisting. You can see that the rider is low to the water and edging hard upwind. From here she can send the kite aggressively with both hands for a decent floaty jump.
The take off Pic B
This part will really decide how much time you’ll have and how slowly you’ll rotate. Having sent the kite hard against a good edge the lift from the kite should come early, once the kite is around 12 o’clock. As soon as the rider feels the pull she stamps up off her back leg, extending her entire body up in a popping motion and simultaneously pulls the bar in, both for extra lift and to stop the kite moving any further back in the window. By popping up the rider is carving up into her rotation but she isn’t turning further into wind and therefore she won’t spin uncontrollably. All the while the rider keeps her head looking forward through the bar, again making sure that she doesn’t rotate quickly so that the grab and one foot will be simpler.
Go Early Pic C.
Just the same as the grab, you must go early, but only after you have extended up into the rotation.
As soon as she has left the water she is looking for the grab and already bringing her back foot up towards her extended back arm. The earlier she gets hold of the board, the more time she’ll have to grab and concentrate on getting around smoothly and landing softly! Go for the grab just as you have practiced so whether you grab the heel side edge of the board or the actual tail doesn’t matter, whatever feels comfy and natural.
Slip It Out Pic D.
It will be easier to get your foot out if you have the board edge up, as opposed to flat. 
This way gravity will help and with the smallest of encouragement you should be able to get your pinkies free. You can see that the rider is still looking at the board, she looked for the grab and then focused on the foot strap so that she can see what she is doing and this also has the added benefit of keeping her head from looking over her shoulder, and thus keeps her rotation slow, giving her plenty of time for the one foot. The rider can now hold the board up whilst she pulls her foot out and down, easily releasing it from the strap. If the board is held flat it will be harder as you will have to pull your foot out towards you, which requires more flexibility or longer arms. On your first attempts aim just to get your foot out onto the pad. Once you’re confident you can extend your leg, pushing your foot down towards the water for extra style and look at me points. Final point to ponder here is that even though the rider is flying the kite with one hand, she still has the bar pulled in. This gives her support and float, whilst keeping tension on the lines, meaning that the kite is ready for the eventual landing.
Back In Pic E.
At first keep your back foot close to the strap when you take it out. This way you can literally pull your foot out and leave it resting on the pad, so to get it back in you just need to push it. As you gain confidence start to extend your back leg once you have taken the foot out take the foot so that it is more obvious. You’ll need to keep your eyes on the prize, 
so watch the strap and aim your foot back in. Once your toes are in, use your grab and push your foot and/or pull the board to make sure that your foot is properly in.
This is not essential but it will make the landing considerably easier. If only your toes are in you’re more likely to trip over your toe side edge when you land.
The Grand Finale Pic F.
Once you have your foot safely back in the strap it’s all about preparing and conquering the landing. Your first job is to make sure that you finish the rotation, so turn your head and look towards your potential landing zone, which should be in front and downwind of you. Don’t be tempted to look too far around as this will encourage you to over mists. Job number two is to get two hands on the bar so that you can comfortably pull the bar in and dive the kite, which will both pull you out of the rotation and pull you downwind for your landing. You can see that the rider is looking downwind whilst reaching up for the bar. From here on in she’ll dive the kite and land with the board facing down wind, claiming the one foot.
Top Tips
- Assuming that you’re happy with your slow rotation the most important part to concentrate on is getting the grab early.
- If you do, then you will have more time to get the foot out and then back in.
- Do concentrate on looking at the foot strap to get your foot out; making sure the board is edge up.
- Finally do wiggle your back foot out of the strap a little before you take off, or even loosen the strap so that it is easy to slip in and out.
- Now have a good look at the Sequence and the get the grab early and don’t use your head. Videos for a full step by step guided tour.
Common Problems
- Most of the potential problems will be the same as for the grab, so over rotating or flying the kite forward too much when you grab.
- If it’s not working make sure that you take off up into your back rotation, If the kite pulls you forward in the air, causing you to lose balance, land nose heavy or crash, send it a bit more for the jump so that you’re flying with the kite just behind 12 o’clock.
Keystones
- Good solid edge with back leg resisting
- Send kite positively
- Pop up into the back roll
- Grab early and tilt the board edge up
- Look at strap to get foot out and in
One Handed Tabletop
It’s a classic one and it will never going to get out of style. Now you can learn this from TOP to bottom with the aid of below instructions. And to do this trick you need to understand that it’s a wind game and there is no surprise knowing that when the wind is high, you have to walk with it and literally kiter’s bag of tricks can be weaken. Bye this reason expanding your air game is a very mandate, hence when the wind calls, as it so often does when you’ve set your heart on unhooking or that cheeky dark slide, you can still have an array of moves to amaze your peers and more significantly keep yourself well entertained. Today’s trick “The table top” comes very much from windsurfing and was championed in kiting by many of the early adopters. All you really require is to be happy with a grabbed jump; if you can ride blind you’ll have the movement already!
If you’re not certain what a “Table top” should look like, just go through with the sequence images and get the right idea. This move requires you to take your back hand off the bar and throw it behind you whilst twisting your body and scissoring your legs. The more you invert the more likely that your board will be upside down and that is when you have a purist’s table top. However on a twin tip we reckon not inverting too much looks better, but whatever rocks your boat. So here we proceed to it.
The Foundation Pic 1
Your prospective table top won’t be much if you don’t provide it the legs on take-off. You will be hanging slightly off your front hand as 
you swing yourself into this and therefore your jump needs to be more send than bow. You can see in images that rider has given the kite a good send by the angle of his bar. Over here the push and pull action is very important as you’ll have your hands very centered so that you don’t make any rash moves once you’re up, but this does mean that your hands have less impact when you send the kite back. You need a decent send to give you the height and get you flying with the kite behind 12. If you don’t send it past 12 and just pull in for lift you will redirect the kite too much once you go for the table top. How far back you go will depend on kite size and wind strength, nothing too extreme as you still want float. Needless to say Christian has a good edge coming into this and he is looking upwind not at the kite.
Get Settled Pic 2
Once you do take off make sure you’re balanced, settled and
that the kite is where you want it, just behind 12 o’clock. There is no great rush as you won’t be able to hold the one handed position indefinitely. As the rider launches himself skywards he brings the bar in to make sure that he’s got tension on the lines for float, and this also lets him feel if the kite is supporting him and from where – you’ll feel the kite pulling from anywhere but up if it’s in the wrong place!
By pulling the bar in with two hands it guarantees that the kite won’t move much as you release and swing into the move.
The Moment of Truth Pic 3
Now that you’re comfy it’s time to go. The rider has released his back hand, swung his arm back and turned his head to look down at the water behind him. This action will swing you around so that along with your hea
d, your body and legs will turn too. Looking down allows your shoulders to drop, which will lift the board a little. The movement itself is fairly simple, almost like throwing a blind in the air.
However do take note of the fact that he has kept the bar in close to his hip with his front hand. This keeps the kite sheeted in and more importantly keeps you in the air – don’t be tempted to extend your front arm as you extend and swing your back arm.
Tweak It Pic 4
Once you’re happy with the first swing and twist you can tweak yourself into a more extended position, the canvas is now yours. The rider has reached down with his free arm to lift the board further, and pushed the board up and away from his by extending his legs. The trick is now trying to hold it, fighting gravity whilst keeping the bar in. The two simplest variations of this are to invest more by throwing your head back as you turn and to pull your back leg into your bum, keeping the front boned for a more classic position.
The Return Pic 5
In this image, you will find that the weight of board will get the better of you and the board will start to swing back around. As soon as it does make an effort to get your back hand back on the bar as this will help you to control the rest of your flight, and as the rider is doing in the picture, try to lift your knees to cut the pendulum effect of your board.
Swinging Down Pic 6
This is similar to happen if you do get a bit of tweak to your table top, so be ready. As rider’s legs and board have swung down they’ve created a fair bit of inertia, and so on they go, swinging his merrily so that his front foot turns upwind. If you’re happy to land toe side then there is no problem, but if you had good height and would prefer to dive the kite hard fete soft landing try to keep your head and shoulders facing forward, core tight and dive the kite hard as per usual. As the kite pulls it will help you turn the board back downwind and land as you normally would.
Top Tips
- As we often propose, a few incremental steps along the way to your goal will make it easier, so on your first few attempts just go for a little look back and down whilst keeping two hands on the bar, then move on and release your back hand, and finally when you’re feeling confident give it the swing and let your body and legs twist.
- Keeping your front hand held in tight against your hip is a must. This will enable you to twist back around at any time as you’re locked to the bar.
- Make sure that your front hand is butted up against the centre line in the middle of the bar.
Common Problems
- Your main obstacles will come from the kite and the swinging through on landing.
- As with all one handed moves you are at risk of moving the kite when you least want to, so if you do find that it’s flying forward and pulling you off balance into a front foot heavy landing or a splash, make sure that it is behind 12 o’clock before you take your back hand off.
- Also make sure that you are swinging yourself into the table top and not pulling yourself into it with the front hand.
- Having that hand locked in and stationary is very different from pulling against it to move your body weight.
- If you’re struggling with the landing as your legs swing through chances are you’re not diving the kite hard enough to help get you back to a downwind landing position.
- This is a leap of faith but just as when you learnt to jump, the pull from the kite for landing does and will help.
Keystones
- Send kite past 12 o’clock
- Balanced with bar in on way up
- Release back hand
- Swing arm and look down
- Keep front arm locked in
Front Foot One Foot
This is really a fun of highest order. You’ll confuse yourselves at first, however be rest assured that the Triple “F” is astonishingly easy and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face – it is a show boating with a sense of humor. Now on serious note what do you need to bash out one of these? Practically if you can jump with a tail grab and loosen your straps you are good to go and actually ready to rock and pose.
Preparation
Get yourself prepared before you hit the water. To free your foot temporarily from the confines of your front foot strap you may want to loosen the strap a tad so that your foot can slide out, and probably more significantly back in effortlessly without hindrance or interference. And if you’re going to loosen the front one you best loosen the back one a touch too. With this way if you don’t get the front foot back in it’ll be simple to ditch the board pre splash.
Image-1 (The Jump)
If you’re not as quick as Flash Gordon getting some height and float from your jump is paramount so that you have time to grab the board and set free your foot, get it back in without stubbing your toe and then land
. Preferably you’ll wish some power in the kite, a jolly good edge and some space. Start with your kite no higher than 11 or 1 o’clock. Once you know it’s there,
Look upwind and drive against your edge, pushing against your back heel ready to resist the extra power that you’re about to create. Now wiggle your front foot a little out of the strap so that it is not wedged in and send the kite hard with a decent pull push action, keeping the bar on the sweet spot. Keep edging, keep the bar in and wait for the kite to launch you. Only if you edge well and send kite hard you will get the up earlier and the kite won’t fly too far behind you, making it easier to focus on the task in hand. We’re looking for an elevator jump here, so more up and down, not flying at mach 10 downwind.
Image-2(Knees up)
As with any foot out and board off you, need to get everything in position as soon as possible, so that you’ve got plenty of time. If you only manage to get the grab in on the way down your chances are getting slimmer. Here in this image you can see that straight away after take-off rider is getting his knees up towards him. This needs the most effort as the lift from the kite is straightening you out, so you’ll need to pull hard and its maybe why the rider in the picture doesn’t look too happy. Please have a look at his bar – he has pulled it in and also leveling it. This way he gets the kite settled just behind 12 o’clock with two hands before getting on with business.
Image-3(Look for the Grab)
Pay your attention on where you wish to grab the board, as this way you’ll get there earlier. Turning your head to look at the tail will also turn your body and the board, which is a good thing. By turning the board back you have more space behind your harness to lift your back knee and get the board closer to you. Lifting the back knee and the back of the board towards you tilts the board which aids un-weight your front foot and makes it easier to slide out. You can see that everything is happening behind the guy in the picture, so he has plenty of room to do maneuver
Image-4(Make It Count)
Of course! This moment is full of glory, so stoke it count. Once you have the tail of the board pull it up and in towards your bottom,
as this will aid twist the board off your foot. At the same time lift your front foot towards you, your foot will now be dangling in told air. Keep your hold tight on the board and keep your bar in for float. From this moment you have a plethora of alternatives to show-off, the most significant of which is to get your front leg extended as the guy has in the images. As you get confident you can play with board angles and leg positions. As per any reasonably high and float jump, aim to keep the kite just behind at the angle of 12 o’clock so that you don’t get pulled forwards and off balance whilst in flight.
Image-5(Eyes and In)
In the time when you are learning this, once you experience that you’re dropping it’s your signal for font foot in. This way you’ll have sufficient time. Once you get more proficient and confident you can wait until mill moments before landing. To make life easier and give you a bit longer you should start to pull gently on your front hand. This way the kite will fly at 12 o’clock and you’ll be satisfied with a little extra lift, and therefore time. If you don’t perform this, you’ll drop much quicker. Fix your gaze on the front strap and pull your back knee up, which will tilt the nose of the board down. Bend your front leg to bring your foot up and if your strap is loose it should be a fairly simple procedure. Once your foot is in give it a wiggle whilst you still have hold of the tail to make sure that it’s secure.
Image-6(Both Hands and Dive)
Now all that’s left is to land this with panache and you’ll feel quite chuffed. Once your foot is in release the grab and get you back hand on the bar. You’ll need to dive the kite hard for landing because you gave it a little pull forward for support whilst replacing the front foot, so if you’re not aggressive now you’ll get pulled off balance as the kite flies around the edge of the window. You can see that rider is giving the bar a fair yank down to dive the kite and as it pulls he angles the board off the wind for a soft downwind landing.
Top Tips
1. Approach your first few attempts with an aggressive jump, a boned grab and a subtle look back to get your confidence up.
2. Then loosen the straps and give it a go.
3. You’ll be surprised how both the grab and the back foot act as anchor points, making this feel far more solid and controlled than you would expect.
Common Problems
- First off, struggling to get the foot out. Assuming that you have loosened the strap or straps the primary cause of this will be your legs. If you bring your front knee right up into your chest you’ll have no room to lift your foot out. Similarly if you don’t lift your back knee enough you may have the some problem.
- Make sure you get a decent tilted angle on the board, as this will make a world of difference.
- If you’re getting stuck looking back and then dropping down into the drink. Chances are that you’re being a bit ginger on the front hand and leaving the kite too far behind you after take-off. Remember to fly the kite back up to just behind 12 o’clock with two hands as you bring your knees up. Don’t go for the grab until you have the kite settled.
- When you’re having problems getting the foot back in it’s either going to be lack of time and height, so make sure that you pull gently on the front hand as you slide it back in. It could also be the knees again, so make sure the board is tilted.
Keystones
- Elevator jump
- Control kite with two hands
- Tilt board back knee up into chest and grab
- Pull board in and lift foot out
- Tilt, look at strap and slide foot in
This video shows how you can progress your jumps and not only to take your one foot of from the board but both feet and even flip the board! Practise and you’ll become the jumping king at your local kite spot in no time!
Down Loop Airgybe
The down loop airgybe is a pretty easy trick as long as you can jump and how to make a down loop with the kite. Just make the two tricks simultaneously and you will make a down loop airgybe.
Let’s go through in detail what we´re doing here.
- Check that there are plenty of room down wind and approach with somewhat more speed than for a normal airgybe since the speed will help you to down loop more smoothly.
- Send the kite back to 12 and edge hard upwind to get some lift.
- To help yourself get airborne bend your back knee a bit as you would anticipate a jump.
- As soon as you feel the lift, do two things. Spring up off your back leg and start redirecting the kite from the side where it was coming. By getting the kite moving forward early on the downloop will be smoother and the kite will be ready for your command.
- As the kite lifts keep the bar in and wait.
- When you feel that you´re reaching the apex of the jump, move your front, right, hand to end of the bar. Or even better is if you can move your hand to the end of the bar as you get lifted to the apex.
- 8. 9. Now when you reached apex, pull like a mofo with your front hand and keep the bar sheeted in, don’t let go whatever you do.
10. As the kite loops it will pull you downwind. Keep yourself balanced by bringing your knees up, which stops your feet and board from being “left behind”. Keep the bar in and turn the kite.
11. The kite has now come through the bottom of its turn and is on the way back up, which means that you will start dropping down towards the water.
12. As you come into landing stop pulling with your right hand, but make sure that you keep tension in the lines. Spot your landing.
13. Just before touchdown, drop your legs and board underneath you, absorb the landing and point the board downwind. If you land with to much speed you might get to close to the kite which lines might start slacking. Be ready to sheet out the bar to get tension on the lines again.
14. A good landing will soak up the speed but be ready to dive the kite down to the left to catch up more power.
15. 16. As you land carve back upwind to regian control of the kite and get back on the edge. As already mentioned spendning to much time running downwind will shorten the distance to the kite and the lines will slacken.