Ride with Blake | How to Jump Higher

How to Jump Higher Kiteboarding - Ride with Blake: Vlog 17

So you can jump, that's great! Now, you're wondering how to get more air. In this episode, Blake has 5 tips that will take you to the moon and back!

So here it is, five steps for you on how to jump higher with your kiteboard.

Step one:

Have good board speed, a lot of people think that being overpowered will make the jump higher but that’s a common misconception. If you have to much power, you will get a lot of lateral jumps but not so much vertical.

You need to be appropriately powered so the kite doesn’t rip you off your edge. This way you can build up the speed and power. You’ll also want to perfectly trim your kite so that you can control your speed and pop.

Step two:

Pump the kite up and down. This is known as signing the kite.

The same technique used in light wind, only now you’re using it to generate speed.

All this extra movement is going to pull you downwind a little but it really helps in building up the board speed needed to get the extra height. A good rule of thumb is to push the bar away as the kite is going up and pull in as you dive it. Sometimes this is incredibly subtle and it really just comes down to the conditions on that day.

Step three:

You can pump your kiteboard as well. I like to let off my edge and do tiny hops. Or I’ll even wiggle my back foot a little. Anything to get the board off the water to build up even more speed.

If you haven’t caught on yet, speed is everything when jumping big.

Step four:

It’s time to use all that speed and power, you’re going to explosively pop out of the water.

When doing a regular jump many people let the kite pull them off the surface. To get extra height you need to push down on your back leg and scoop the board up at an angle. Imagine creating a ramp when you load and riding off of it. It also helps to throw your body in the air.

Imagine jumping as high as you can while doing an Ollie of a ramp. This will help the kite and really send you sky high.

This is the biggest step in jumping with your kite. Work with the kite and get that explosive pop.

Step five:

You can send the kite over just past noon to one or eleven o’clock. You can kind of flick the kite and just over send it a bit. This will give you the extra hang time and power.

Pairing all of these steps together are guaranteed to improve your jumping so get out there and practice.