LOOP THAT KITE: How to Kite Loop
By Jeremie Tronet
Originally Published in the June 2009 Issue of The Kiteboarder Magazine
The kite loop is one of the less technical tricks in kiteboarding. In fact, as a beginner, you might have looped your kite on accident, regretting the action as you were heading head first into the water! Looping your kite isn’t hard they’re all about control and commitment, but you must also follow a few important key points to be successful.
1. Start by riding hooked in with plenty of power. Prepare your hands on the bar by placing your back hand at the end of the bar for better leverage.
2. Enter a normal jump by sending your kite and popping your board off the water. Don’t send your kite too fast or too far in the opposite direction, otherwise the kite will end up to close to the edge of the window and the kite will not have enough speed to finish its loop.
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3. On your way up, before you reach the top of the jump, pull as hard and as fast as you can with your back hand while also pushing forward with your front hand. Hold the bar sheeted in at full power. It’s important you initiate the loop while the kite is still on its way up so it will have enough speed to get through the loop. The loop will generate enough power to lift you up few feet or more.
4. As soon as your kite finishes the complete loop, sheet out the bar a little to let the kite climb faster to overhead to allow for a smoother landing.
5. Land the trick going a little downwind to control your speed generated by the loop.
Tips:
Ӣ For the first few times, start looping while underpowered on a smaller kite. Gradually progress, doing the trick in more and more wind with more and more power. Remember, the higher you go, the more time your kite will have to finish the loop and let you down for a smooth landing. You can work on lower technical loops once you have mastered the mechanics of this move.
”¢ The smaller the kite you are using, the easier and the faster the kite will loop. You should go for this move with a 7, 8 or 9m kite, but other sizes shouldn’t be a problem if your kite is fast enough. Shorter lines on big kites may help.
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Ӣ Once you start looping a kite, never go back; always finish the loop. Stopping the loop will automatically make you crash hard. Always commit to finishing the loop.
”¢ Start looping your kite on the way up, not at the top of your jump, and not on your way down. If you don’t loop on the way up, the kite won’t have enough speed and time to finish its loop, and you will end up landing very hard on your board.
Originally Published in the June 2009 Issue of The Kiteboarder Magazine