Safety When Launching and Landing - The Kiteboarder Magazine

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Jesse Richman proves you can unhook from a bow kite. Lens: Kim Kern Sometimes kiteboarders remind me of a bunch of high school kids; everyone’s afraid to be the first one in the group to try something new, for fear of being made fun of by the rest of the group. It’s easy to get set in your ways and avoid trying new things. I hear a lot of talk on the beach about what works and what is fun, but I rarely actually see people step outside of their comfort zone and genuinely try something new. We want riders to always be trying new things and pushing themselves, whatever their level of riding. With that in mind we bring you the first installment of a new department here at The Kiteboarder. “Try This” kicks off with two topics, looping the kite and unhooking, and we will bring you something new to try each issue. We hope that riders of all levels will open their minds to new ways of riding enough to go out there and Try This! In my opinion, every rider should be comfortable with unhooking. Not only does it allow you to take your riding to another level, but it also allows you to easily deal with situations when you come unhooked on accident (every rider WILL come unhooked at some point, even if they never want to). Before you unhook, make sure your leash will still be functional and check that your kite is trimmed properly. You may want to add a stopper ball below the bar or simply depower the kite with your sheeting strap before unhooking. Try This: 1. Move your hands to the center of the bar and pull the bar towards you and down in a smooth motion to unhook. Keeping your hands centered will keep you from over steering the kite. 2. While unhooked, keep the bar low and your elbows in close to your body. Keep your back straight and your shoulders back. Don’t let the kite pull you over (don’t bend at the waist). 3. To hook back in, pull the bar in and down, then push it up and away to get the harness loop into your hook. Practice doing this motion before you launch your kite until you can do it without looking down. Work Towards: Being able to do simple tricks unhooked. Start with raleys and backrolls. Remember to keep your hands centered and use your board to pop off the water. Grabbing unhooked gets more style points than grabbing while hooked in. Center one hand on the bar, with the chicken loop between your index and middle fingers. Unhook in the surf to allow your body more freedom to move. Again, keep your hands centered on the bar. The Kiteboarder 48 The Kiteboarder 49
The Kiteboarder 50 Bucky Ashcraft burns a turn in front of the Corpus Christi Harbor. Lens: Ryan Riccitelli Not every kite loop has to be a super powered, aerial trick. Think of looping the kite as simply another way of maneuvering it in the window. Kite loops can help you generate a little extra power in light wind or add a lot of flavor to your transitions. Try This: 1. Riding heelside with your kite about 60° above the water, pull hard with your forward hand. 2. As the kite powers up, turn downwind and carve onto your toeside. Commit to getting the kite all the way around. 3. Continue to carve onto your toeside until you are riding in the opposite direction. You should exit the turn with the kite low and with plenty of board speed. Work Towards: Doing this maneuver immediately after landing a jump to turn any trick you can do into a transition. Down looping the kite while jumping: COMMIT! The Kiteboarder 51
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Page 8 and 9: EDITOR RYAN RICCITELLI ryan@thekite
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Safety When Launching and Landing - The Kiteboarder Magazine

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