North Demo @ Crissy

[zgur]

Here are some tips I've learned over time:
* The earlier you throw the loop, as you are going up in your jump, the move violent the power....you can really feel the hand of god slapping you as you get ripped off the water....

* The later you throw the kite loop, the more mellow things are - like when you are on the way down.

* The harder you pull the bar, the quicker and cleaner things turn out. The worst thing you can do is under commit and not pull the bar hard enough.

* the reason fishing pole - both hands on one side of the bar pulling - works so well is that it's 100% commitment.
* I find that not looking at the kite - by doing a backroll/forward roll, is best, as then you don't stall and under commit.

* landings are the hard spalshy part. Try to land downwind, tail first if you can. This move in general is a great way to support your local shop/boarbuilder....right Ollie??....lot's of stress on those fibers, which eventually gives. Not to mention what it can do to your cartlige/knees/back......

* Unhooked is much easier then hooked in: if/when things go wrong, you can always let go. When you are hooked in, you are along for the ride....an impact vest is not a bad idea when learning.

* Kiteloops are best learned on 16/14/12m kites. Anything smaller and you are asking for trouble - a lot of force, fast kite rotations, etc.....as you get better, go for it on your smaller kites.....I suggest going out a bit under powered when you try this move for the first few times.

Having said all that, one of my favorite kite moves is the backroll fishing pole: where you unhook and grab one side of the bar with both hands. The power this move generates, with a real C kite vs. the fake bows (just kidding everyone) is incredible. When done right and the timing is on, this move is blissfull as the power spike of the kiteloop pulls your body out of the rotation to a smooth downwind landing, where you are ready for an unhooked transition.........you also pay some serious dues until you get the timing right.....

As Bob wisely state, you are playing with FIRE!!!!

Get some, Z.

[panzerfaust]

thank you very much guys for the input, I can't wait to try out all your suggestions :)

[windhorny]

First off, Ollie, you are the loop-master-well now that Chip has a kid :) You even throw big with your geriatric knees-which I have as well but tend to preserve a little more.

I agree with most here that the backroll kiteloop is for some reason easier. Not sure if it is because you cant see the kite or not but It is a very natural move and keeps you from haviung to unspin your bar.

I just notice that when I try to send it hard on a windier than normal day that the timing is totally different. When you loop facing forward it seems easier to time. When I backroll kiteloop-which are normally small jumps, I have the timing down packed. BUt as I get the balls to go higher-loop later, I find the rotation timing is a lot harder to syncronize.

The few times I have said f*&% it and thrown a loop I tend to commit to the loop but not long enough to get the kite in a vertical position to drop me slowly. Basically if you loop hard without altitude, you are going to land hard and fast. I would imagine the higher you jump the more time the kite has to get vertical for the slow landing. All I know is that I am not doing that crap with my big board anymore-way too much impact on this fragile body.

[whitecap]

some strange things can happen on landings that are counter intuitive...If you loop hard and fast, sometimes you will be left hanging five or more feet off of the water, with almost slack kite lines...those can be hard landings....on the other hand, if the kite is still coming around with a bunch of power, you get the big downwind yank, and it is a bit easier to plane away....Like Z says - get the tail, heel edge down first...try to avoid flat with the board..

Bob

[Bulldog]

Awesome thread.

I have not much to contribute, but I will say that to me it seems that doing a kiteloop off a backroll is natural because that's what happens anyway if you pull with the wrong hand, which often seems like the correct hand.

Anyway, I've done a couple of loops by accident during double backrolls (I always land going straight downwind) because I get confused during the second roll and pull on the wrong hand, but if I TRY to do it on purpose, I chicken out.

[panzerfaust]

I have not yet completed a double roll in any direction, I somehow always turn my head in the oposite direction on the second turn and then it's all over.

[Greg]

just hang on!
Limm