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I get asked all the time, “How do you keep progressing” or “How do you stay motivated”? These are completely valid questions. Most kiteboarders will experience plateaus in their progression or times where it is difficult for them to get to the next level. Whether this is working up the courage to send a first jump or bringing it all together to land that first handlepass, we all face similar challenges holding us back from our next big progression breakthrough. A lot of …

Today we are going to go over how to do a backroll to toeside with a downloop transition  This is one of the most stylish kiteboarding transitional-based tricks you can do. It's also probably one of the easiest.  You only have to do a half backroll; the loop timing can be modified for skill and the grab comes very naturally. If you watched and learned from our Jump with Style playlist, we filmed a couple backroll videos like the backroll stalefish and the backroll tail grab. We also …

Today we are going to go over how to do a Kiteloop Front Roll. This trick is a fun one. People call it a front roll kiteloop and Ruben Lenten coined this trick as a Boogie loop. I would call a massive mega loop front roll a boogie and an average one a front roll kiteloop. It doesn’t really matter what it’s called because it’s the same thing so call it what you like. This trick feels strange at first because you and the kite are rotating in opposite directions. However once …

Last time on Sessions we explored Key West and the Canary Islands with our team rider Blake Olsen. We were filming for our  kiteloop playlist and just enjoying the islands with good friends. It was so much fun visiting what has become one of my favorite cities for kiteboarding in the USA. The only downside was that I had just injured my knee snowboarding and I had to sit out on most of the riding on both of these trips!  Testing the Liquid Force NV V9  Getting back on the wa …

Today we're covering one of the most sought-after tricks in kiteboarding: the backroll kiteloop, also known as the F-16. This doesn’t have to be a scary trick. Actually, most people accidentally do backroll kiteloops as they are learning their first backrolls because it is natural to pull in on your back hand as you throw the rotation.  The only thing that makes this trick scary is when you don’t know what you are doing and it gets out of control. If you can follow thes …

Today Rygo and I are going to be covering a very important topic, one that will change the way you transition forever. The reason downloops are so cool is because they're basically a shortcut to more powered transitions, used for riding waves, carving turns and riding in light winds. Make sure to do this while slightly under-powered to minimize risk of injury. This is one of our more advanced videos. The good news is that we have three tutorials you should master before attempting this trick. …

Unhooked Back Roll Basics Difficulty 2 Today we’re going to breakdown a heelside back roll. Learning the back roll is going to open the door to many other more advanced tricks that begin with this rotation. Tricks like the Back to Blind, the KGB or even Back Mobes. Like all sports, it comes down to repetition and practicing the basics.  The Back Roll is often a misunderstood trick. Not because it's overly difficult but because people often mistake it for a flip and while you can …

Down Loops are the first step in learning kiteloops. Today we are going to be going over how to land with a downloop. A downloop is different from a heli loop because they are more of a transitional loop used at the end of a jump, trick or transition. A heli loop will catch you softly, whereas a downloop will help, but more so pull you into the other direction. You may land hot, but it won’t be the same amount of pull as a kiteloop, Make sure always to land with your board pointed downw …

The Raley Level: Basics Difficulty: 2 of 10 Today we’re going to break down the raley. This is usually the first trick aspiring freestyle or wakestyle riders learn. It’s a must if you hope to progress into any other air tricks as they all stem from this basic maneuver. Best of all, it’s a lot easier than you think. While not overly difficult, the raley is at the heart of most freestyle tricks. Loads of tricks start with the raley and incorporate rolls or spins. For example, a B …

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 …