Hey jumping gurus, what is the best way to keep your body position stable when jumping high, especially when you are flying the kite from 11 to 1 while up in the air. I am getting good height, and I am flying the kite back and forth to come down more slowly, but find my body can twist and turn on bigger jumps. Any insights would be great.
Thanks in advance

Do a tail grab, it'll keep ya steady, and that front hand remaining on the bar will steer ya down nicely

I used to get the unwanted twist or rotation on big jumps and still do sometimes. To stop myself from rotating in a boost, I do this. Look down wind from yourself briefly before you jump, and spot the general direction that your going to travel in.

As i pop and take off from the water, I hold my body posture strong, and kinda pop off the water in a down wind direction, instead of popping of the water in the direction I'm travelling too. If you pop forward in the direction your going too, you'll almost always start a slight rotation. Also look downwind as you jump. There's probably other things, but this has been something that has worked for me.

Knees to the chest... It turns a good boost into a kook air...

Many ways to stop over rotation - heres another

(A) Drop back & twist the board to a table top lock position against the lines - lets you check whos coming from any angle, spot your landing, drop your legs, position your kite behind you and when your about 10ft off the water... send the kite absolutely as hard as you can fishpole style. It will catch you just before the water with lift and speed - glideing another 15 feet or so about a foot off water - push bar right out and land slashing hard upwind for that fun spray



(B) the easy way.. to stop rotating forward - when launched, keep the bar close to your chest and drop one shoulder slightly backwards from the direction your travelling. (if jumping left - your shoulder drops to the right)

Also the more you experiment with twisting your hips/board in the air before landing - the more natural your balance will become...

Instead of the Stunned Mullet pose

Let us know how you get on with it - we never stop learning

^^^ Actually the easiest way to avoid over under rotation is to un hook and do a slim chance, if you over rotate just land to blind or if it's an extreme over rotation dislocate shoulder and land wrapped.

--- Alternatively if you haven't been kitesurfing for ten years ---

Doing a plain vanilla jump, when you start to come down from the jump you should be pulling on the front hand to bring the kite down in front of you. When pulling on the bar as well as pulling down you can also either push it away (correct for forward rotation) or pull it towards you (correct for back rotation).

The push away or pull towards you is very subtle but is enough to influence your body rotation. The whole process is dynamic you must still actively twist your body whilst pushing or pulling on the bar.

Select to expand quote

moon waxing said...
^^^ Actually the easiest way to avoid over under rotation is to un hook and do a slim chance, if you over rotate just land to blind or if it's an extreme over rotation dislocate shoulder and land wrapped.

Yeah im sure Dafishy guy meant monster jumps not chop hop so unhooking wont be an option at that height... Unless hes wears a Len10 dooby watch

^ you sir are correct...talking big air here...not bunny hopping.

Okay, so taking all the reasonable tips into account today, 22 to 25 knots, 11.5 meter kite, 85 kilos, and the results were mixed. I had a very low success rate of landing properly. Getting the height is easy. In fact, my body position is so bad I actually turned them into great transition jumps, (totally on accident, I just happened to be so turned around I flew the kite back the other way and landed and headed back. So much so i wish I would do this move on purpose because I can't transition air that well when I try. I was pretty powered up and there were plenty of ramps to launch from, but I found I was pretty much holding the power on the bar all the way up and all the way down. If I redirect too hard in the direction of travel I would send it down too fast with my sideways body.
Things I tried: table top....not ready to pull that off
shoulder back slightly dipped: mixed success
looking and landing spot: best result but not always working
flying the kite through the 11 to 1 to keep it in the air: too much body rotation still.

things I didn't try: moving the bar away and in.
lenton style loops: forget it as that aint gonna happen in my advanced lifetime.

So, I will keep trying. Lucky I am built to take a punishment. I really love the air time, I don't do it enough as I mainly ride surfboards, but damn, the rush going up is sooooo good.
Thanks again for the tips.
Sincerely,
The not so flying fish

Okay, so taking all the reasonable tips into account today, 22 to 25 knots, 11.5 meter kite, 85 kilos, and the results were mixed. I had a very low success rate of landing properly. Getting the height is easy. In fact, my body position is so bad I actually turned them into great transition jumps, (totally on accident, I just happened to be so turned around I flew the kite back the other way and landed and headed back. So much so i wish I would do this move on purpose because I can't transition air that well when I try. I was pretty powered up and there were plenty of ramps to launch from, but I found I was pretty much holding the power on the bar all the way up and all the way down. If I redirect too hard in the direction of travel I would send it down too fast with my sideways body.
Things I tried: table top....not ready to pull that off
shoulder back slightly dipped: mixed success
looking and landing spot: best result but not always working
flying the kite through the 11 to 1 to keep it in the air: too much body rotation still.

things I didn't try: moving the bar away and in.
lenton style loops: forget it as that aint gonna happen in my advanced lifetime.

So, I will keep trying. Lucky I am built to take a punishment. I really love the air time, I don't do it enough as I mainly ride surfboards, but damn, the rush going up is sooooo good.
Thanks again for the tips.
Sincerely,
The not so flying fish

Dude - try the tail grab! I'm tellin' ya!

Okay, I did not try that, but I still have not jumped with one hand yet. Pretty lame, I know, but it's not easy letting go of that stupid bar! Is there a way to practice letting go with one hand? I am being serious....Guys (and gals) make this look so stylish, would love to be able to do that.

You don't let go of the bar completely - You are still hanging on to the bar with your front hand. The grab is with your back hand.

Just keep practicing and you'll get it

Agree with a lot of what STW said about the table top position and looking back to where you launched from because it stops you twisting .If for example you rip the kite from 11 to 1 to boost if you lock yourself in the table top position with bar pulled in and kite at 12.30 you can hold this position until your just about to land then steer the kite back hard and it pulls you out of that position for a perfect powered landing
Attached a photo so you might get an idea of board positioning
Hope to get down your way soon and catch up

Hey Gerry! Hope you do get down this way because I know if I watch what you are doing it will come easier. In your photo I see where you left the water, but what I would like to see is A: where the kite is in the air, and B: direction of travel of your body, and C: what angle your kite is in relation to the direction you are traveling in.
Great shot by the way!

Got to experiment a bit more yesterday with all the techniques posted, and best result was with the slightly dropped should looking at the landing zone. I am about to start incorporating to down loop just before landing, but I want to be able to nail 95 percent of my jumps first. Not reaching heroic heights yet, but each day gets easier.
Thanks for all the online help, would be nice to have a jumping mentor closer by, but having no crowds has some fine advantages.

just practice and practice, it will become 2nd nature and in no time you will be ripping big jumps flipping your mates off mid air

Naw, more like saluting as I fly by. Still wondering what is the best way to go one handed on the way up. This spring has been pretty good so far, plenty of days in, so the practice isn't going to be an issue. It's more like, what are the waves like, as that is always my kite priority. This session was the second of the day after some waves.
Side note, this board has a wider stance (La Luz) than my Underground that I learned on, and I borrowed a four year old North from a friend, his stance is much narrower, and I found it much easier to hold myself still. I have the pads as close in as possible, but it does seem a little wide.

For me its all about the take off. if i stick that well then there is never any unwanted rotation. usually these days i hardly ever get an unwanted rotation unless i smash a jump off some white wash. on occasions that can stuff me up.

^^^^ It's mostly in the take off. Botch that, and you'll be fighting to right your self alll the way through the jump. Practice good, clean take offs and you be well on your way to clean smooth landings, without rotating.

often twisting can happen mid air from any momentum built from ramping off a wave or commonly in beginners overdoing a jump by forcing yourself into the air by pushing off the board to pop into the air. Mix this with flying the kite hard in the opposite direction you have bits and pieces flying everywhere.

I found that being patient and setting up a good take off helps. Be prepared to keep the bar out so you can pull in on the bar during the take off. Often keeping your knees bent helps you to keep balance load on the lines. Once you are in the air and youve reefed in on the bar I find keeping my elbows tucked in close to each side of my chest and inline with my shoulders with attention to keeping the bar square with my shoulders. I find this keeps you in control where you can begin to spot your landing.

Some people will keep their knees bent and hold the board close almost like you are in a flying squatting position with the landing gear tucked up. Some like to just do this when they hit the peak of the jump. These days I just drop the back foot/trailing/tail end of the board down.

Jumping is all one thing then landing is a whole other thing. I find always pointing the board downwind makes for a smoother landing and as you get better with timing youll find that you'll want to keep quite powered up on landing.