Half-loaded

Half-loaded tricks are some of my favorite moves and that’s why I want to share them with you. I enjoy doing them because once you get the hang of things you can pull them every time, so you get a lot of repetitions. 

You should be able to hook out and hook back in safely. For this you need to de-power the kite. The amount of de-power you need depends on the wind conditions. Remember if you pull in the bar to the maximum you are changing the angle of the kite to the maximum. This is not a permanent solution and the kite might back stall as the drag gets bigger than the lift. The solutions is easy, pull the de-power a bit and the kite will always sit stable in the sky, ready for unhooking!

popping for a backside 180° (upper body turning, shoulder going down)

Once you feel comfortable with unhooking you are ready for this. Let’s start off with the backside 180 (BS 180) which can be performed in the flats or using a wave as a kicker, the technique is the same.

For this trick you will be doing a backside 180° rotation (showing your back to the kite) landing blind and then passing the bar. Try if first on the beach to get used to the movement and the steering behind your back!

Backside 180° (BS 180)

 

1. Ride along with normal/ good speed, kite at 45°, hands in the middle of the bar, leading hand with pointing finger over the centerlines for less error. 
2. Ease of your heel side edge, changing your course downwind, loosing pressure on the bar but still properly gliding because you came in with speed. 
3. Unhook and pop straight up, kicking in with your back foot to get good pop. 
4. As you reach the highest point turn your head, let go with your back hand, turn the rest of your upper body and then your legs 180° backside in a fluent motion. 
5. When you land absorb the landing with your feet AND force down the bar behind your back by bringing down your shoulder. 
6. Pass the Bar, pop or slide back to heel side, hook back in and ride out!

Toeside - Backside 360° (TS-BS 360°)

*Common mistakes: Every part is key! Visualize every single aspect, fly the kite blind on the beach, pop heel side-toe side on the beach, keep the kite 45° at all time.

If you like this or if you have any questions, drop a comment and don't forget to share it with your friends!