Latest News, Blog & Videos
How to Jump Kitesurfing Ride With Blake
In this video, we break down the five fundamental steps to jumping. Whether it's your first time jumping or you already know what you're doing, these steps will help you jump the right way without having too many falls.
I remember learning to jump for the first couple of years and rarely having a consistent landing. Now that I know how to land most of my jumps, here's the easiest way I could think to break it down!
Step one: Send the kite with the bar sheeted out.
Sending the kite with the ba
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18th Nov 2020
3 Mistakes Every New Kitesurfer Makes
After years of riding, I've made a lot of mistakes along the way. The funny thing about kitesurfing is no one wants to show themselves riding bad or crashing. It occurred to me I can think of hundreds of mistakes I've made along the way. I'll be dropping these mistake videos along the way and I may even start intentional filming the right way vs the wrong way in future videos. This is going to be a fun one so lets dive right into it.
Mistake One - Riding Overpowered
Kitesurfers often rid
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2nd Nov 2020
Kitesurfing: New Rules of Navigation
This video has been on my mind forever. I know it's going to drive some of you crazy but it must be said. Different Rules of Navigation should be observed in flat water spots. Like a slick behind a sandbar, an island or a jetty. A buddy of mine Leo Chen put it best. It's not about possession of the spot. It's about thoughtful use of a rare resource.
Flat water is hard to come by and sought after for riders who are pushing their progression on the water. Love or hate this idea, I think we can al
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22nd Oct 2020
Toeside to Heelside Transitions
Today we are going over toeside to heelside transitions. Before trying this, you should know how to ride toeside and make a transition.
Always remember to visualize a trick before trying it. Get these 5 easy steps in your head and see yourself doing it before going out and giving it a try!
Step One: Send Kite
Send the kite slowly across the wind window with the bar sheeted out, keep your hands in the middle of the bar.
Step Two: Follow the Kite
Twist with your shoulder and hips following the
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19th Oct 2020
How to Ride Toeside Kitesurfing
Step One - Park your Kite
Park the kite around a 45 degree angle. This applies whether you are going to your right or left. Keep the kite stable partially sheeted out. Park it high but not too high. If the kite is near noon, It will pull you off your edge.
Step Two - Edge and Twist
Twist into the wind so that your chest is facing upwind. While doing this, engage your heel edge and shift your feet so that your toeside edge is now digging in. As you twist you should naturally feel the need to e
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14th Oct 2020
My Kitesurfing Gear & Why
Choosing the right gear when you are a new kiteboarder is easy. Go for an all around kite and you will be set for years to come. Choosing your second quiver of kites can take a bit more work depending on what you want out of the sport. You have to ask your self some questions. What kind of kiteboarding do you like to do? Do you prefer once discipline over the others? Do you want to focus on hangtime, kiteloops, unhooked performance or wave? Different kites even in the all around category usua
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30th Sep 2020
Kitesurfing Lesson: How to Body Drag - Lesson Four
This week we'll be breaking down your first time in the water with a powerkite!
Step One - Body Drag Downwind
This is a fun and easy step. You'll be in the water without a board and letting the kite simply pull you downwind. Move the kite back and forth across the wind window. This is going to give you a good understanding of kite control in the water and get you used to the pull of the kite.
Start to incorporate a figure 8 motion with your kite. These will generate more pull and simulate do
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12th Aug 2020
Kitesurfing: Getting Started - Ride With Blake
This is the first blog of the ultimate beginner guide. This is a series meant to be used as a companion to actual kitesurfing lessons. So give this a watch before, during and after your lesson with a certified school. Do not attempt to use this as your sole source of lessons. We've left a great deal out and nothing beats real professional instruction. You will save yourself time, and most importantly you'll be keeping yourself safe and the local beaches in your area open to kiteboarding!
Tod
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12th Aug 2020
3 Transitions You Need to Know
The goal of this video is to inspire you to try some more transitions and mix up your kiteboarding. You can really add a lot of flow and energy to your riding by mixing in very basic tricks into every transition. This week, I'll break down three of my favorite transitions from beginner to intermediate.
Transition One - Beginner
Half Loaded Melon to Toeside with a Downloop
This is a mouthful but it's super simple. You can do it hooked in or unhooked for extra style. Just get a bit of speed
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1st Jul 2020
3 Tips for Better Kiteboard Control
This is part two of the master your kite and board videos. Last week, I covered a new angle on how to control your kite with the edge of your board. I’m going to expand on this now, and help you really get control of your board and riding position.
Kiteboarding is funny because unlike other board sports we have a lot more going on with controlling the kite. The thing is, It seems like a lot of kiteboarders never learn how to ride a board properly and it actually holds back their p
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20th May 2020
3 Tips for Better Kite Control
Today, we’re going to do one of the most important videos we’ve ever done. 3 tips to master kite control. This is part one of two, I’m going to do a second video on advanced kiteboard skills to expand on this next. We're lucky to live in a time where all kites are really user friendly but it came at a cost. It seems like most new kiteboarders don’t know how to control their kite with their edge.
Riding in a boarding stance is important
In the early days of kiteboardin
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13th May 2020
Learning the Back to Revert (Back to Toeside) Kiteboarding Trick
This is the last video in the fundamentals playlist for now. Soon, I’ll be filming an intermediate level playlist. This week, we're going to cover the Back to Revert or Back to Toeside. In kiteboarding, I’ve been pushing that all advanced moves are combinations of the basics and this is going to be your first combo. You'll be pairing a backroll with a frontside 180.This is the second progression into the Back to Wrapped or the Backmobe and its super fun to turn into a downloop tran
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13th Apr 2020
Pop to Toeside / Air Krypt Kiteboarding
This week's tip is going to be short and to the point. It’s a stylish variation of the pop and an important movement pattern that builds on many things for later on in your progression. This will be your first 180, and a good introduction to landing toeside with power. Remember, landing blind is just toeside with the kite behind your back. Aside from that, you'll be learning how to rotate frontside. This is important for tricks like the rally to wrapped or the back to revert. Later on, t
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31st Mar 2020
Can I Mix Kiteboarding / Kitesurfing Control Bars
I wanted to cover a topic that comes up all the time. Can, or should, you mix control bars? The short answer is yes. The long answer is... maybe.
The last few years, I've used a ton of different brands. Cabrinha, Slingshot, Liquid Force, North, Duotone, Naish, Airush and more. When I started at the shop, I was surprised to see the crew was always mixing control bars. More often than not, you can mix any modern 4-line kite with any 4-line bar. However, there are some things to watch out for.
I
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10th Feb 2020
How to Choose Your First Kiteboarding Kite Size (With Chart)
This is going to be another quick, information-packed blog. I wanted to cover a question we get almost daily: How do I pick the right size kite? This video is aimed at new riders, but I will address intermediate riders at the end of this blog.
When picking the correct size kiteboarding kite, there are four things to consider:
How much do you weigh?
Is this your first kite or are you adding to your quiver?
What kind of conditions will you be riding in?
What style of kite are you looking at?
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29th Jan 2020