Articles

From Issue 1 – you can buy it here!

The back roll has to be one of the most satisfying moves to stick when you first start kiteboarding. Attempting them strapless is a great way to bring back the same ‘stoked’ feeling with an old favourite trick.

1) You approach this trick as you would with a normal back loop, leading with your shoulder and opening your chest. Turn the board directly into the wind so the bottom of your board is already facing into the wind when you takeoff.

2) As you leave the water, look over your shoulder and begin the rotation. Bring the board up over you while keeping the bottom of the board facing the wind. Use the pressure of the wind blowing into the board plus gravity to keep it on your feet. Be sure to keep your knees bent as much as possible throughout the rotation as the amount your legs can extend is your “forgiveness zone,” used to keep the board connected to your feet as it starts to fall away from you when landing.

3) Continue looking over your shoulder until spotting your landing. When you spot your landing, start to straighten you legs while using your ankles to point your toes to keep the bottom of the board into the wind.

4) Land as you would a normal back roll: knees slightly bent and head looking forward.

TIPS

1) Don’t wear a surf leash because there’s a possibility your board could bounce back and create a very dangerous situation.

2) Depending on the wind angle, sometimes it helps to take your front hand off the bar as you approach and takeoff. This allows you to open up your chest more and get the board up into the wind to keep it attached to your feet. If you keep your hand off the entire trick, your kite will drift to the other side of the window and it’ll turn into a back loop transition.

3) Spinning too fast will throw the board off your feet half way through the rotation.

4) Use the chicken loop to control your velocity through the air, if you feel yourself going too high or too fast and separating from the board, sheet out accordingly.

This is from Issue 1 of Freedom, November 2014. If you missed our launch issue it’s still available online over here. Get back to where it all started!