Kitesurfing Intermediate Technique

Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe from Toe Side
Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe from Toe Side
Air Gybe from Toe Side

Here’s a little something for everyone, an achievable mix and match, adding a little twist to your standard transition, at least on one side. The air gybe or jump transition from toe side is both a funky move in its own right, but also seriously good practice for pretty much anything from toe side. As it requires a good solid...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe Nose Grab
Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe Nose Grab
Air Gybe Nose Grab

Another splendid way to make the essential art of turning around both exciting and aesthetically pleasing. There must surely be enough transition variations to keep you busy during a reasonable session, ensuring that you never need to pull off the same move twice. Now that’s something we can all appreciate. Before adding this feather to your bow, we should perhaps...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe to Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe to Toeside
Air Gybe to Toeside

Rather than being an extension to one of the most popular transitions, the Air Gybe landed to toeside is in fact a very good way to learn an Air Gybe. Why? The answer is all about playing to your strengths. Most of us have a stronger or preferred side, the foot that we like to have leading. This side was...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe with Late Kite Loop
Kitesurfing Technique - Air Gybe with Late Kite Loop
Air Gybe with Late Kite Loop

This move is really as much a cheat as it is a trick, and a very useful one at that. If the title doesn’t give away what it is have a look at Video 1. A late kite loop in this case means that the kite loops once you are on the water, not in the air. You’ve probably seen...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Double Grab
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Double Grab
Back Loop Double Grab

Hard to believe, it’s more than two years ago that we took you through the Front Roll with two grabs! Time to rectify the situation. So here it is, a sent back loop/roll spiced up with both a nose and a tail grab. A must for your aerial repertoire, double embellishments ooze style points. Prerequisites for this are an ability...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop from Blind
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop from Blind
Back Loop from Blind

Some time has passed since we last covered a move that fits into the loosely labelled hooked-in freestyle category. Not everyone is keen on unhooking for various reasons, whether it be the conditions they ride in, the kit they own, the potential consequences, or even that it just doesn’t rock their boat - but that doesn’t mean that freestyle moves...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop From Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop From Toeside
Back Loop From Toeside

This is another great hooked in trick, which leads on to a world of opportunities once you crack it. And even for those more advanced riders this will give you something else to do when it’s too windy to unhook. Once again you can hang it on to any move you land toeside for a tasty combo. It’s also a...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop From Toeside to Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop From Toeside to Toeside
Back Loop From Toeside to Toeside

Yup, the name gives it away, and if you’ve done your homework from the last issue, you’ll be ready and primed. We’ll keep this one pretty brief, as it is an extension of the back loop from toeside, using the kite to jump, from last time, so if you need reminding of the A-B please read the last one. If...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Front Foot 1 Foot
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Front Foot 1 Foot
Back Loop Front Foot 1 Foot

These front foot one foots are a fun way of adding some unusual style to your moves and as our third instalment we’ll be adding it to a back loop, or back roll, depending where you’re from. This variation actually fits very smoothly together, the natural action of leaning back into the rotation raises the nose of the board and...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Kite Loop
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Kite Loop
Back Loop Kite Loop

Ruben Lenten has pretty much made this move his-own, which is just as well because it could do with a bit of a revival. This is very much an advanced move and done well looks phenomenal (see above). Back in the day the back loop kite loop separated the men and women from the boys and girls. Obviously the kids...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Kite Loop from Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Kite Loop from Toeside
Back Loop Kite Loop from Toeside

Another celebration of the diversity that kiting offers by the mere action of marrying a couple of skills that you have down, to make yet another enchanting move. These next few pages will see you cavorting with your toeside back loop (or roll) and kiteloop with the net result hopefully rewarding you with a stunning new move with a somewhat...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Stalefish Grab
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Stalefish Grab
Back Loop Stalefish Grab

If ever there was a perfect embellishment to spice up a back loop/roll this must be it. Like love and marriage these two combine for the sweetest company. A lot of you no doubt love to bone out a straight air or a front loop, and now this really is the reverse, a boned out back loop, in which you’ll...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop to Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop to Toeside
Back Loop to Toeside

For those of you already happily sticking your popped back loops, it’s time to add the killer combo and land them to toe side. This is also a great reason to learn your pop tricks and your toe side on both sides as some of you will no doubt pop back loops in the opposite direction to which you’d like...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Transition From Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Transition From Toeside
Back Loop Transition From Toeside

This is a fun one. We all need transitions to turn around, and lets be honest the better they look the better we feel. The BLT in its true form is one of the most popular transitions out there. Done well it oozes style, a casual rotation, effortlessly floated around with control. Old boys do them, kids in boots do...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Transition to Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop Transition to Toeside
Back Loop Transition to Toeside

Here’s a fun variation on a theme. Everyone loves a BLT (perhaps with a sausage roll chaser) and sticking it to toeside adds an extra dimension. As a move it will force you to control your rotation speed and therefore help you to improve your transitions in general. Having a floaty BLT will be of benefit, but it’s not a...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Roll Grab from Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Roll Grab from Toeside
Back Roll Grab from Toeside

A cheeky embellishment on a classic. Adding a tail grab to a sent back roll from toeside sums up the joys of kiting, so many possible variations to spice up any move. This is a great one to add to your armoury. You can bang it out in pretty much any conditions and it’ll keep your toeside foundations strong for...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Roll Nose Grab Down Loop Transition
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Roll Nose Grab Down Loop Transition
Back Roll Nose Grab Down Loop Transition

Last issue we very much lauded rotations, we’re not shy to praise a grab or two, whilst our undying love for transitions is anything but a secret. Our fondness for killer combos is shared by many, and when you can squeeze all three bears into one move it’s the holy trinity of practicality, style and downright dynamite. The only enduring...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back to Wrapped Hooked
Kitesurfing Technique - Back to Wrapped Hooked
Back to Wrapped Hooked

When you hear the name back to wrapped, you likely cast your mind back to bygone days of unhooked freestyle (if you've been around long enough) and what was often considered the precursor to the back mobe. What we're looking at here with the hooked version is potentially a softer, kinder and generally more friendly relative that requires no unhooking,...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Bounce BLT
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Bounce BLT
Beach Bounce BLT

For want of a better expression, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and this translates tokiting as there is more than one way to change direction. This in fact would be a British understatement at its most quintessential, for there are possibly too many types and variations of transitions to bother counting. Suffice to say here...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Bounce Transition
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Bounce Transition
Beach Bounce Transition

You’ve all probably seen someone do this, whether onto and off the beach, or some solid looking object, and thought that it’d be a fun one to add to your list, with the minor exception of potentially looking a bit of a plonker whilst mastering it. In all fairness, this is no more or less showy than any other trick...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Start Back Roll
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Start Back Roll
Beach Start Back Roll

If you want to drop the clutch, pull the pin and start with a bang, there aren’t many moves which offer such instant gratification. Assuming that you nail it, the rest of your session could be mere languid Sunday afternoon lawn management, and you’ll still be grinning like a Cheshire Cat by the time you pull your keys from the...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Start from Two Feet
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Start from Two Feet
Beach Start from Two Feet

Many moons ago we covered the beach start where you anchor the board by putting one foot in a strap to stop it misbehaving and running off whilst you fly the kite. As effective a method as that may be, the launch can often be preceded by a game of hop scotch as you hop around on one leg waiting...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Start Front Roll
Kitesurfing Technique - Beach Start Front Roll
Beach Start Front Roll

We spend a lot of time offering up different alternatives to a full plethora of moves, often ignoring a few areas. As such we relish the chance to give you a brassy alternative to jumping off the beach. Thus, we have the front loop or roll beach start. As the name suggests, we intend to marry two of your skills....

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Blind to Toeside Carve
Kitesurfing Technique - Blind to Toeside Carve
Blind to Toeside Carve

Continuing along the path of hooked in moves to keep you busy and anything to and from blind here is a cheeky blind turn. Blind is sometimes described as toeside backwards, and this demonstrates it nicely. At the beginning it’s basically a slide turn from blind, which you come out of carving on your toes, but once you perfect it,...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Blind Underturn Transition
Kitesurfing Technique - Blind Underturn Transition
Blind Underturn Transition

Often it’s welcome to have something (potentially) low impact, low altitude, but still high on satisfaction and fun, and in this case practicality as it’s a transition. It’s been a while since we covered anything hooked in blind, so now’s the time to right the wrong. Ladies and gents the moment has come to reverse into the blind underturn (read...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - BLT Indy
Kitesurfing Technique - BLT Indy
BLT Indy

If only we had a euro for every time that we’ve witnessed the sheer pleasure, excitement and downright chuffed-ness on a kiter’s face, when they’ve refurbed one of their stock moves with some form of kiting update! As enjoyable and frustrating as learning remains, seasoning something that you’re already capable of cooking up, does wonders for the soul and can...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Behind Front Loop Waterstart
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Behind Front Loop Waterstart
Board Behind Front Loop Waterstart

We often encourage new moves as variations, but if the truth be told they are merely building blocks upon a solid foundation. The old adage holds true; you have to earn the right to progress. This can be viewed as a negative motivation. However you see it, the candid fact is, that without the base you can’t build. Fortunately for...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Behind Waterstart
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Behind Waterstart
Board Behind Waterstart

Stylish and practical, definitely two words that fit this down to a T. Stylish because what better way can there be to regain your pride after a wipe-out, other than just boosting back up into the air from which you fell and scooting gracefully off. Practical as most of us spend a lot of time getting back on the board...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Between Legs 1 Foot
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Between Legs 1 Foot
Board Between Legs 1 Foot

Even if you’re not an air-style aficionado and prefer smaller kite options, there is always a place for big air and its plethora of embellishments. If you’re akin to sailing more towards the relatively fiercer end of the Beaufort scale, there is a point when unhooking and competing against kids who don’t yet shave seems unwise. The good news is...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Off Dismount
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Off Dismount
Board Off Dismount

Whilst pondering all the moves, grabs, transitions, airs, washes, strokes, tweaks, pops, passes and loops that we’ve covered on these hallowed pages, it struck us that we haven’t been particularly generous on the dismounts. To make amends, here is the board off dismount. Actually, a very achievable trick, since there’s no need to get it back on, it works in...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Off Varial
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Off Varial
Board Off Varial

Here’s a blast from the royal competition past. Four line kites were the latest thing; Martin Vari wasn’t throwing down any handle passes in a heat, Shinny was winning both world titles with a customary beer and ciggie and even Dre, the godfather of all things wakestyle had straps and was throwing the board about with gay abandon. The point...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Swap Back Loop
Kitesurfing Technique - Board Swap Back Loop
Board Swap Back Loop

There are subtle ways to impress and more swanky ways to enjoy yourself. This, however, is a smooth hybrid in true Heliarde style. Someone loses their board, why not try it out! What better way to switch craft, than mid-flight during a sent back rotation. Who wouldn’t? Skills needed. Realistically a grabbed Back Loop Transition would be ideal as at...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Body Dragging Past the Shorebreak on a Surfboard
Kitesurfing Technique - Body Dragging Past the Shorebreak on a Surfboard
Body Dragging Past the Shorebreak on a Surfboard

Unless you’re Olympic quick at beach starting and an absolute legend at getting over waves, body dragging out to calmer waters is never a bad idea, regardless whether you’re on a twin tip or a surfboard. So often one witnesses frustrated kiters who are constantly getting washed back up the beach, getting knocked off their boards before they’ve managed to...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Boned Back Loop
Kitesurfing Technique - Boned Back Loop
Boned Back Loop

Another fun variation, taking the humble back loop and pepping it up with a cheeky boned grab for more style points and extra satisfaction. We’ll be boning it out with a tale grab here, so extending your front leg whilst pulling the back one in towards you. All whilst slowly rotating around a sent back roll. If this move isn’t...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Boned Inverted Back Roll Transition
Kitesurfing Technique - Boned Inverted Back Roll Transition
Boned Inverted Back Roll Transition

There are literally hundreds of ways to turn around in kiting. The trusty transition can be anything from a cooling sit down to a multi-rotational kite looping mishmash and anything in between. The good news is we have plenty to challenge us and no excuses not to add another one to our repertoire. Today it's the boned inverted back roll...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Can Can Air Gybe
Kitesurfing Technique - Can Can Air Gybe
Can Can Air Gybe

Way Back in Issue 60 we introduced you to a life of high kicks and frilly knickers. We’re heading back to the ways of the Moulin Rouge, and although we can’t claim that this trick will be as visually stunning as the film, it’ll undoubtedly be pleasant on the eye and a giggle to perform whilst humming Orpheus in the...

Intermediate

Featured

Kitesurfing Technique - Toeside Back Loop Downloop Transition
Kitesurfing Technique - Toeside Back Loop Downloop Transition
Toeside Back Loop Downloop Transition

If Paul Simon were a kitesurfer, he’d have surely written about the numerous ways to leave the water and perhaps more poignantly about how many transitions there are on offer for us to learn. So here is another for those of you that love adding bows to your quiver, enjoy a decent challenge and have good enough memories to remember...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Front Loop 540 Transition
Kitesurfing Technique - Front Loop 540 Transition
Front Loop 540 Transition

It’s been a long time since we took you through the front loop (or roll) air gybe, so now it must be time to encourage you to try this 540 version - a toe side landing. Coming around to toe side is effectively adding an extra 180˚, hence the original old school name of any such transition being a 540....

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Foot Wash Transition
Kitesurfing Technique - Foot Wash Transition
Foot Wash Transition

We’re sure that this move has a multitude of apt names, but seeing as it fits into the “support” bracket of tricks such as the BLT Handwash, Darkslide, FLT Handwash etc. we’ll keep the clean theme. This one is a lot of fun to learn and joyously not too full of consequence when it doesn’t go to plan. Of course...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop to Toeside
Kitesurfing Technique - Back Loop to Toeside
Back Loop to Toeside

For those of you already happily sticking your popped back loops, it’s time to add the killer combo and land them to toe side. This is also a great reason to learn your pop tricks and your toe side on both sides as some of you will no doubt pop back loops in the opposite direction to which you’d like...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Blind to Toeside Carve
Kitesurfing Technique - Blind to Toeside Carve
Blind to Toeside Carve

Continuing along the path of hooked in moves to keep you busy and anything to and from blind here is a cheeky blind turn. Blind is sometimes described as toeside backwards, and this demonstrates it nicely. At the beginning it’s basically a slide turn from blind, which you come out of carving on your toes, but once you perfect it,...

Intermediate
Kitesurfing Technique - Stance
Kitesurfing Technique - Stance
Stance

Stance, body position, posture: the way in which we hold ourselves on the board is the ultimate foundation, principle numero uno, THE fundamental of everything that we try and achieve in kitesurfing. From the outset of getting up on the board, rocking upwind, resisting for take-off, popping, getting out through the lumpy stuff and anything else which requires you to...