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This blog will eventually be made into a complete beginners' unhooked playlist. Stand by while we film this spring. This week we're going to break down the most fundamental move in kiteboarding: the pop. In freestyle kiteboarding, all advanced kiteboarding tricks can be broken down into smaller tricks. That means you have to master the basics, and it doesn’t get any more basic than a good pop. Think of this as your foundation whether you want to progress into air tricks, the park or just g …

In season three of Ride with Blake we decided to focus on producing themed playlists. Blake and I took an RV road trip along Michigan's west coast to produce a "Jump with Style" playlist. Our aim was to teach kiteboarders how to improve the way they jumped and to help them develop a large bag of easy, yet awesome-looking kiteboarding tricks. For season four we decided to build on that idea. We'll be producing the ultimate kiteloop playlist- a progressive kiteloop playlist starting with the b …

Last week on Sessions, we made our way to Brazil. In that special two-part episode we spent a week in the Village of Taiba. We caught up with Cabrinha's newest international rider  Lucas Arsenault and talked kiteboarding gear with him. The following week, we visited the kite park league down in Icapuí.  While there we filmed with two of the industry's hardest-working riders, Colleen Carroll and Sensi Graves.  While filming, it occurred to me that these riders are …

The kiteboarding back roll with style  The Back Roll is often the first trick new kiteboarders learn. The thing is, as exciting as they are, at the end of the day, they don't look that great on their own. Now, add a grab. The Tail Grab is the easiest grab to pair with your Back Roll. It's also one of the better-looking grabs. For this playlist, our aim is to help you add a bunch of safe, good-feeling, easy tricks. These will improve your riding and style fast. These are non-inverted, si …

The roast beef is arguably the best looking grab you can pair with a back roll, especially if you follow the tenets of style from our first video in this playlist. It might look like a difficult grab, but it’s actually really easy if you learn the muscle memory of the grab first. This is a trick you can master hooked in and cross over to your unhooked riding if you really want to up your game. The secret to making this trick look good is keeping the kite low and letting it pull you throu …

Learn how to Pump Your Foil There are a lot of new skills to learn with foiling but the most frequently asked about is, “pumping”. Videos online show talented athletes pumping back out to the lineup, off docks, and around boats; pumping certainly draws some attention to the sport as well as lots of questions. Everybody wants to pump it up, but how is it done? The short answer is, “technique, practice, and/or immense talent”. Let's take a look at some ways to “pump …

The foot drag is an entry level hydrofoil trick that feels amazing and doesn't take too long to learn. If you know how to sit on your foil, you're already halfway there.   We recommend you download the attached PDF on your phone. Check it before your next session! Step 1 – Practice getting low Just like our sit on a hydrofoil video, you'll want to work your way into it progressively. You can start by building muscle memory and squatting while riding. In fact, this is the exa …

Front Roll Nuke The nuke grab is considered one of the most advanced grabs but if you watched our last video, you know there is a trick that makes it easy to do, You’re probably thinking, that the front roll nuke must also be a difficult trick. While it is an advanced trick, it’s surprisingly easy to do. Blake was actually doing these before he was landing the standard nuke grab! The reason is because of the way he was rotating his front rolls. By doing an off-axis roll and throwin …

This trick is really awesome, it’s tons of fun, it keeps you blasting upwind without losing any ground, and it’s also going to lay the groundwork for some more advanced tricks such as the duck tack with a stance change, as well as carving 360s. Those are some of my favorites; they’re tons of fun, and are always a crowd-pleaser. This is going to lay the groundwork and build some skills for that. The prerequisites for this trick are found in some of our previous videos. You& …

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 …

The Gybe with a stance change is the second transition you should work on in your hydrofoiling journey. It's not the most difficult transition but this one is going to take some practice on your end. Don't get to discouraged and have fun with this one. As with all hydrofoil tricks, don't try to recover from a fall. Go with it and commit to the fall.   Before you try you should... Nail the heel to toe and toe to heelside transition - see previous videos Ride both natural and unn …

How to Jump with Style  So you want to learn how to jump with style? You’ve come to the right place. In this video and blog, we’ll break down five practices to implement into your kiteboarding every session. Regardless of your level, adding these concepts to your riding will give you something fun to try and it might turn a few heads or two when you seemingly upgrade your style overnight. For season three of Ride with Blake, we wanted to take things up a notch or two. Blake and …

This video will kick off a new series of videos showing some foil trick tips that you can look to learn in your beginner and intermediate stages of kiteboarding. We will be trying to drop one of these every week or so for the foreseeable future. So... keep an eye out.... and get ready to progress through some basic techniques and tricks. The Heelside to toeside transition  This week we are going to start with a familiar obstacle for new foilers...your first tacks. I speak with new …

Heads up, this is a special edition. If you've been following our bi-weekly "How to Jump with Style" videos, stay tuned. We’ll be back on our regular schedule with these next week. So you want to become a kiteboarder? Maybe you’ve seen it on your local beach and now you’re curious what it takes to get into an adventure sport like this. This video and extensive blog should break down the steps you need to take, and breaks down in detail many questions you might have. We’ …

The printable steps are at the bottom of this blog  So you want to learn to hydrofoil surf? Congratulations! We too have caught the foil bug for all of our board sports. Surf foiling is truly a one of a kind experience that makes even the most marginal days into magical sessions.  Aside from the silent, smooth, and effortless glide, surf hydrofoils tap into the most powerful part of the wave just beneath the surface. This allows you to keep momentum and connect sections on the smal …