Jumping is hard!

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jwest21
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Jumping is hard!

Post by jwest21 » Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:42 pm

Headed out on Sunday for about 90 minutes with the ol' twin tip and worked on getting some air. Had some success, but also plenty of time body dragging back to my board after crashing. My biggest issue didn't seem to be landing when I did get into the air, thank you snowboarding, but rather getting the kite to pull me up instead of just downwind, dragging my board out from under me and teabagging me good.

I think my main issue is not holding that hard edge long enough, or perhaps not enough speed.
Should I be holding a typical upwind edge for speed, then carve hard upwind right before I pull hard on my back hand? Maybe I was losing speed holding that hard edge too long. I usually find that I fly my kite a bit too close to the water compared to others, but I was pretty diligent this day about keeping it around 45 degrees, at least when I was preparing to take flight. I got way upwind of the crowds after my first tack so I tried getting closer to that hill that seems to smooth out the water a bit more... perhaps I should just head down to lower launch for this kind of thing. Any advice on what I'm likely doing wrong would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, I did manage to get my first grab while launching off of a wave, which was a little strange since I've never done a stalefish grab and my first attempt at going for the classic indy felt very awkward, whereas the stalefish felt GREAT. Also worked on my slide transitions, which greatly improved, and general stance to keep more weight against the kite and keep water from spraying my face by twisting my hips and keeping my front leg a little straighter. A great overall session and excited to get back out for more. I do miss my surfboard though.
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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by super_monkey » Tue Aug 13, 2013 7:27 pm

you are supposed to go as fast as you can, right before the jump go a bit downwind and start sending the kite and the same time start edging really really hard, when you feel the kite starting to pull you out of the water, release the edge.

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Post by Rob » Tue Aug 13, 2013 7:54 pm

I can do the same thing going as slow as I can. Speed aint the key element

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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by super_monkey » Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:16 pm

I agree, if you want to get three feet off the water, you should go slow

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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by super_monkey » Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:25 pm

This thread has a bunch of good pointers:

http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2371169

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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by KGB Kiteboarding » Wed Aug 14, 2013 12:08 am

Set tack for broad reach(cross wind), edging moderately, then send kite to 12, bear off course immediately(loading), then edge hard upwind to achieve "POP" while slacking bar out, upon max tension or "POP" aka "Lift off" pull down on bar hard esp with the forward hand and position board downwind, land with board directly downwind with confidence and speed, carve hard again hard to achieve broad reach and immediately repeat for mass applause! Only bigger each time. good luck. Leave the tea bagging for after kiting.

You can do this at any speed only the faster the bigger. Remember to use every available swell as a kicker to really launch higher than normal. Timing is everything...may the force be with you jedi!/kiter
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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by AirSports99 » Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:07 am

Having the your kite up to the 12 o'clock position PLUS you cutting your board into the wind makes you go UP versus being blown with the wind. The kite will have the same energy pulling you (just do you want that energy to send you up or downwind).

Also if you have you kite cross the vertical axis, this will let you land slow and soft as a feather. Assume if you are traveling from EAST to WEST. Your kite will be WEST of your center axis, send you kite to 12 o'clock, but also send it more to the EAST. You can figure 8 the kite and have it give you more lift.

Keep it simple at first, just cross the axis of the direction you are going and that will reduce the crashes.

When you land, keep your leading leg higher and land with your trailing leg and point the board in the direction you are being pulled by the kite. Once you land, you can immediately cut hard. Just going up and doing nothing will be the tea bag splash.

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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by ozchrisb » Wed Aug 14, 2013 8:47 am

Indy's are hard right? The harness and the depower line are in the way. A slight twist away from the direction of travel can help though.

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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by NCKite_Ryder » Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:42 am

Board speed is crucial for going huge, some of the new kites are designed to act like a gas throttle where you can just pull in on the bar but that's not what's going to get you up to 20-40'... watch the pros, they are traveling as fast as they can... bear off downwind so you can set a mean edge, then send the kite towards the opposite end of the window ever so slightly. If you're hitting off waves board speed and the lip of the wave can get you monster air... the coast is one of the best places because of the amazing winds and ramps...

Don't forget to boost both directions, It will pay off as you progress... do everything switch.
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Re: Jumping is hard!

Post by jwest21 » Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:57 am

Thanks for all the tips so far. Sounds like one of the key elements I'm missing is to bear downwind right before sending the kite and simultaneously edging hard. I also think I may be sending the kite a bit too much toward say 10-11 o'clock when on starboard tack instead of up toward 12. I'm a goofy footer so most of my jumps have been starboard tack but I will work on both directions next time out.

I've gotten a lot of good floaty jumps just off the lip of a small wave but mostly tried using the kite to boost off flatter water. I'll have to give it a shot at combining the two, although it would complicate timing of the whole thing. Friday after work session hopeful as I'm camping at Angel island this weekend. Too bad there's no good launch off of point blunt there.
Sold all my gear; ebbs and flows; see you next season.

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