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Re: Jib, jab, gybe

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 12:05 am
by sc-surfer
Nick, It's all good except for the front strap!! 8)

Re: Jib, jab, gybe

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:48 am
by NCKite_Ryder
I ride with a front strap at Ocean Beach sometimes... in big onshore surf its hard as shit to get over the whitewater strapless, not to mention tiring.

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:20 am
by jwest21
Thanks for all the pointers everyone. I did make sure to look ahead when practicing on land but I might be too focused on looking at my kite. I've had two main gybe sessions, getting in a few dozen attempts; it's definitely my top priority each time I go out now… well that and trying to do more surf style toe carves and cut backs off the chop. WAPAH! I think my TT is starting to get lonely in my closet.

Re: Jib, jab, gybe

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 12:53 pm
by metabon
This video helped me a lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtfUYb6fNGg[/video]

Re: Jib, jab, gybe

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 1:05 pm
by Tunces

Re: Jib, jab, gybe

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:59 pm
by JRaut
amir wrote:Definitely learn strapless and return to straps for major boosting. And I totally agree...don't look at your feet, feel it.
I went strapless for the first time today. Awesome. I went from hitting 10% of my gybes while strapped to hitting >50% on my first day riding strapless.

For the first half of my session, I felt lost on the board; didn't know where to put my feet fore and aft, where to put them left and right, where to put my weight, etc. But by the end, I felt like I was damn-well stuck to that thing. And it feels about 100x better than strapped up - - more carve-y and more finesse-y.

Things I found to work well:
1) Regardless of which direction of travel, I found it easier to gybe and get on my toe side, then switch my feet. Port-to-starboard gybes were easier for me, I hit about 60% of those and, say, 30% of the other way.
2) It's been said before, but DON'T LOOK AT YOUR FEET.
3) The best time I found to switch my stance was right after I got on my toe side. I always end up with a little lull in my power right after a gybe. It's during that little lull that I was best able to switch my feet - - the pull of the kite wasn't too much to pull me off the board and the board was still on plane, but not going too fast.
4) Go for it 100%. The best gybes I had were when I literally just jumped up and switched positions of both feet at the same time. The pussy-footing around (pardon the pun) and the whole "trying to bring the old rear foot up front then switching your body and then moving the previous front foot to the back" thing didn't work for me. I always fell over to one side because it too me too long.
5) Just jump for it. Land. Get near a 'close hull' and shuffle your feet to where they feel comfortable.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Anyone need a set of straps?

J

Jib, jab, gybe

Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 11:11 pm
by sc-surfer
@JRaut, stoked for you. Strapless is sooooooo much fun! Had a blast in small Wadell surf strapless today. Nothing like it.

Re: Jib, jab, gybe

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:23 pm
by Bulldog
Another vote for strapless...no one who rides with straps makes 100% of their jibes but most good strapless riders do.

Charlie made a good point about the kite though. The way it makes sense to me is this:

Zero Gravity.

If you are switching your feet before turning to toeside, fly the kite up and over you and you will experience a fraction of second where you are literally floating a few millimeters above the board. Do a quick 180 (you are already weightless, so no need to jump) and then turn the board as the kite continue to move from noon to one o'clock. You will lose some power but once you are through the turn you can dive the kite to power back up and off you go.

Of course, this only works if you don't have straps cluttering up the surface of the board. =-

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:20 am
by jwest21
I've been really hoping for a decent day at Alameda where I'm a little more comfortable trying out riding strapless. Might just have to bite the bullet and take those straps off at third. Gonna refresh the ink and clear nail polish on it with my name and number first. Ha

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone. I came damn close to nailing one on Sunday. Started celebrating to early though and lost it trying to put my new back foot in the strap, the easiest part.

Re:

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:32 am
by buckidge
jwest21 wrote:Gonna refresh the ink and clear nail polish on it with my name and number first.
Good idea, but a surfboard is WAY harder to lose than a TT. Mostly because it gets blown by the wind and you're likely to push it forward as you're falling. Getting a good water start strapless is the hardest part of the whole process.