Hi,
Got some fun riding in the other day and I felt incredibly compelled to just send the kite back the other way while I was still under speed and hop a
little.
I also took a few diggers that day, so I decided not to push it, but does anyone have any tips for this particular type of thing? If I just send the
kite back with confidence and plan on a bit of downwind velocity, will I be all good or are there any surprises?
that how I have been seeing it..send it back and be confident...little by little you get more height/distance/confidence.. the first time your 2ft up
and go 20 feet out produces the biggest grin:D...the main thing for me is having the right kite in the right wind...than these moments can
happen...but i have the beach to ride so dont know how id react on the hard stuff...sure dont think i'd be so quick to throw it behind me
I could type a couple paragraphs but I'll just tell you in person next time I see you. A lot of the time I have trouble describing properly.
I will try to share like, the briefest possible way I can come up with....
after you send it, instead of flying it back thru 12 and back to your side for a normal jump, just leave it out on that side a fair bit longer before
directing it back up TO 12 instead of through it, with just a little curl on the turn so it goes 10-11-12-11:50-11:45. If you're fast and lines and
board are loaded, you're going up just a bit, just that bit you're probably looking for. As soon as lifting, remember to change weighting/tension
in legs, point new leading end of board downwind a bit, and begin sine or kiteloop to power away from transition.
look at me I said brief and it's still a paragraph+
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
before transitions can be predictable, speed control SOLEY by kite action and position need to be mastered.
without confident speed control by kite your transiton will be a drop and yank.
medium to slowing UPWIND drive speed with board direction, and kite should be rising to an over head position as you slow ( the coincidence of
kite rising to 12 and almost slowing to a stop roll or slight powerslide will make it FEEL in control) as the kite goes through the apex, a POSITIVE
pull (or slight lift ) should be felt through the harness unweighting the board...AT THAT MOMENT! LOOK to the new direction and DIRECT the kite to the
new direction....and this is where speed control kite and body position must flow, whether you are 10 feet up or just sliding. if the flow and
speed is faster everything has to be faster.
a tip to help the whole thing is body position, as the apex is approached and felt thru the harness you need to be flexing DOWN getting your ass
lower and lower til the kite supports you...this is only experienced thru practice and feel and KNOWING where and what the kite is doing AND what it
will be doing.
-speed control with kite(higher is slowing and lower is accelerating) failure is eminent until this is controlled and mastered
-timing, its gotta flow... easy up to slow ...easy down to speed away in new direction
-body position, BALANCE against the kite must be positive and sustained..ass low and maintain control
-LOOK to new direction and direct DURING APEX FEEL.
simple start and slowly add speed,--- with kite at 12 'nibble'power til motion is solid at comfortable slow speed, then pause with kite at 12 til
slowing and NOW just do it in the new direction . this will help with kite speed control and BALANCE required to make flow. as speed is added
deeper/lower body position is needed compensate rate of kite action.
adding air is about , ah speed control! or kite speed and making it pop, also a little actual jump with the legs to help a 2 footer to 6 footer.
the wind is decent, kite is powered and the kite is riding relatively high in the window and pop/ lift is readily available by just by pulling in the
bar but the same subtitles are very much still present as described above. all about balancing with the POWERED rig. PL VII 13m i think. these are
easy going just cruising , not down deep leg boost till the end.
12mph and at the end as i round the corner more breeze and pull off a decent boost
Something I was told long ago that really stuck is that you want to pull the bar on the side that you want to travel away just as you are coming down.
I have a habit of sending the kite too much past 12 ( + wimp out and jump towards my new direction ) losing tension on my lines and most of my boost.
My arcs forgive me and I can usually catch the kite but lose all my momentum.
I have learned to use that slack second to adjust my harness or something so it looks like I meant to do it .
going left to right - as you reach the end of your run, bring your kite high and at the same time take your front hand off the bar, pull the bar in
and twist your body towards the new direction of travel , then ride away. once you master this you can add a tail grab or an x up or foot out or land
to toe side. its easy once you know how but the hard part is knowing how!!
the timing, wind, and grip. all can be a little different every time, so for smooth flow tedious adjustments for all can come in to play. like
maybe having to land toeside in late, slightly off axis landings.
usually the most challenging is weak side/strong side differences in flying style.
strong sdie you can go faster, deeper and later with more power and really flow, and weak is less of all of it. doing both sides for good symmetry
in timing and balance just needs more practice.
and of course, all built on fundamentals ie. point of sail, kite control, etc. without those things to rely on you just get yanked and tattered.
left to right , your front hand is your right hand going into the transition so you leave your left hand on the bar which then becomes your front hand
going out of the transition
There's a cool old vid somewhere of this older kiter lazily flying back and forth along the beach doing these effortless looking hand drag
transitions. Pretty cool and quite similar process as described above - just no "little jump". I know up here we have a lot of guys that love BIG
pendulum transitions. They look pretty cool right at that point of max height when direction ceases and you're about to start moving the other
direction. There's something kinda "Matrix" about it
the wind is decent, kite is powered and the kite is riding relatively high in the window and pop/ lift is readily available by just by pulling in the
bar but the same subtitles are very much still present as described above. all about balancing with the POWERED rig. PL VII 13m i think. these are
easy going just cruising , not down deep leg boost till the end.
12mph and at the end as i round the corner more breeze and pull off a decent boost
hope it helps !
That helps a lot! I think those nice, smooth, powered transitions are exactly what I'm trying to do right now. Also that second video at 3:08 is
exactly what I *thought* might happen. You came out of that transition pretty hot, which may panic me on land. I might wait to really throw it until
I'm on snow or water.
I have learned to use that slack second to adjust my harness or something so it looks like I meant to do it .
Oh man, that's some sage advice. I'm totally going to use that
@carl: I do not listen to your lies. You make everything look so smooth and easy. I love your style, but it turns out that kite landboarding is not,
in fact, smooth, nor easy, when I do it. Therefore I call shenanigans . Just
kidding of course. That vid was also really helpful, especially on bar hand placement. Also, I think its great that your f*&%king wheel fell
off!!! So now I have that to worry about, too. Thanks!
Oh yeah, and here is a bit of me riding on a VERY smooth wind day, but totally underpowered at 9 mph with an 8m psycho (oops)
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look at me I said brief and it's still a paragraph+
