Kiteboarding Trick: How to Nuke Grab - Ride With Blake Ep 02

Nuke grab

The Nuke Grab is one of the more advanced grabs we cover in this playlist but it's not nearly as difficult as you think. There is a trick to doing this with ease and you can progress into it fairly quickly.  For episode two of our jump with style playlist we'll be buildup up to our next trick in this series. The Front Roll Nuke Grab. Most of the tricks we cover in this series are very simple and while this is not the most difficult trick it does take a bit of time and commitment to learn. The good news is that, the Nuke grab on it's own will make any jump look way more stylish. 

We recommend you download the attached PDFon your phone. Check it before your next session! 

While this is technically a two part trick, don't underestimate the Nuke grab on its own. Few grabs feel as satisfying and admittedly its the most technical of the backhand grabs. It's also one of the more photogenic, you may have noticed we use the Nuke grab for our PDF link above. Have fun with this one and progressive work your way into it. 

I recommend you focus on step two and work your way progressively into this one. Unless you already have the Indy grab on lock, it will take a couple sessions to reach for the full Nuke.   

A powerful pop is the foundation of this trick 

Step One - Practice your Pop

Before you start going for this grab you’ll want to have your pop dialed.

There's two ways to do this trick. You can send the kite and dive it or you can keep the kite low at 45 and use board speed to pop. This particular trick looks really good if you keep the kite low and use your pop more than the kite. Don’t feel like you have to though! It’s still really stylish even if you’re doing a sent jump!

You can see the difference 

The photo on the left is a powered Nuke Grab using board speed to initiate the pop. Blake is also really tweaking this one out. On the right is a good place to start. This is a sent Nuke grab with a mild tweak. This relays back to our first video in the playlist about jumping with style. Keeping the kite low and powered and tweaking the board will make a huge difference in how every trick looks.

Don't worry about this too much while learning the grab. Just get out there and start practicing your pop with lots of speed. We do recommend you get proficient at popping with the kite low as well on this step. That way you can bring it all together later on. Really push down with that bag leg when you release your edge and get comfortable getting as much height as possible.Get into the habit of bringing your front knee into your chest. This is going to help with the muscle memory on this trick. A useful tip here is to Use chop and small waves as kickers to get used to popping with the kite low. Or use them to get tons of height on your sent jumps. 

Work your way up.Start with the Indy grab 

Step Two - Reach with your Back Hand

This isn’t the easiest grab out there. We recommend you start practicing bringing your front knee into your chest and reaching with your back hand. You can start small and grab anywhere you like. Try and Indy grab first. That’s your back hand in the middle of the board on your toeside edge.

As you get comfortable start grabbing higher up on the board. Before you know it you’ll be getting really close to nailing the nuke. There is a secret to this trick so don’t worry about actually grabbing one until the next step. Make sure you focus on progressively reaching higher up on your board every session. 

Remember to pull hard on that front hand to keep the kite low. It helps to move your front hand a bit further up on the bar. That way when you take your back hand off, you’ll automatically dive the kite a little. If you notice you’re feeling stretched out on this one this tip will make a huge difference

Notice how Blake's back is aimed at his leading edge.

Step Three - Turn your Back to the Kite

This is the trick. You don't actually have to be that flexible to make this grab, The reason the nuke is so difficult is your center lines get in the way, That’s also why this trick is easier with the kite low.

When you turn your back towards the kite it automatically brings your front knee into your chest, it gets the center lines out of the way and the grab becomes really simple.

Not only that but now your doing something called a shifty where you turn your back on your direction of travel. This will actually make any grab you do look very stylish.

You can practice this step with the more basic grabs to like the tail grab, the chicken salad, that is your backhand between your feet on the heel side edge or the Indy, back hand between your feet on the toeside edge.

The classic Nuke

Step Four - Nail the Nuke 

The goal here is to grab your board right on the nose with your back hand. If you put the work in and practice the first three steps, this should come really easy to you. Especially if turn your back to the kite and progress your way into it with easier grabs first.  

If you watch our first video in this playlist, now is the time to implements those five concepts for better style. Keep the kite low, Really bring your front knee to your chest. Lock your back leg and tweak it out. The longer you can hold this, the more you tweak it and the more you turn your back to the kite, the better this grab is going to look.

In case you missed it, give our first episode a watch and we’ll break down the 5 tips for better style.

The Front Roll Nuke

Next Episode - The Front Roll Nuke 

This is episode two in our Jump with Style Playlist. Get this one dialed because our next episode in two weeks, we’ll be teaching you how to do a Front Roll Nuke grab. This is probably the most difficult trick we’ll be doing in this playlist but also possible the most fun. Moving forward, we’ll be doing some more basic tricks that will bring a lot of style to your kiteboarding. 

-Rygo

-Written and produced by Blake Olsen & Ryan (Rygo) Goloversic.

Blake Olsen

A Michigan boy through and through (even though he was born in Saudi Arabia), Blake is a youth with a lifetime of experiences and adventures. Not only that, he's passionate about sharing his zest for life with others. He is proficient at many fields, including kiteboarding and acting as concierge to any who simply ask. Looking for an adventure? Well, Blake is your guy. From sailing the Gulf and the Caribbean to backpacking Hawaii and Southeast Asia, he knows his stuff and can make your vacation into an adventure.

Webpage: BlakeTheOlsen.com

Instagram: @BlakeTheOlsen

Ryan (Rygo) Goloversic

Just a dude from a kite shop testing all the gear one session at a time.

Many people dream of quitting their job, traveling the world and pursuing their passions. Rygo is one of those people who pulled the trigger. About eight years into a postal career, he decided to change everything and travel as a freelance videographer & writer. This took him from coast to coast and a variety of countries. Nowadays you can catch him on the phones, doing lessons, or working on videos. Of course, he still makes a point to travel as often as possible. His mission is to help people and share the stoke with his customers and students alike. Get out there and kiteboard.

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Producer of: Ride with Blake I Sessions I Versus I Destinations I Foil Friday