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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 …

Download the PDF Here Today we’re going to breakdown another fundamental move. The Pop to Blind or Landing Blind. This is a variation of the first two videos in this playlist. One of the most important skills to learn in freestyle or wakestyle kiteboarding is the blind landing. Landing blind makes anything you do look way better. The mistake most people make is thinking they need to learn this move powered. Something I’m pushing on our fundamentals playlist is all advanced kiteboar …

  Rygo: In years past we've often touted the Neo as more than just a wave kite, but also an awesome freeride kite. While this is true, it occurred to me that we've almost done this kite an injustice in regards to its surfing capabilities. This year, I'm committed to going the extra mile with these reviews. We'll be diving in to everything you might want to know about the Neo, and why this may or may not be the right kite for you. The Neo is a good fit for a specific type of kitesurfer. W …

Today we are going to cover a 360 Kiteloop Transition. This is an advanced trick and it builds on the 360 video we did in this playlist. This is an extremely fun kiteboarding transition and is not as scary as you might think. You simply pop into a light backroll with no inversion. Like a hand drag, the kite swings across the window to keep you aloft. You then pull a kiteloop-and-a-half on the edge of the window. This pulls you the other direction. Nail this one and you’ll turn some heads …

Today we're going to break down another must-have basic for progressing your unhooked riding: the front roll. Of all the basic moves, this might be the best looking and will give you the most bang for your buck as far as style. This is usually learned after the back roll and, while it's not difficult, it can be harder to learn if you don't have the right technique. Speaking of technique, there are two ways to initiate the front roll. Two variations While learning, I struggled to get this right …

Welcome to our Cold Water Riding series. Today we will feature a comparison of our most popular drysuits. If you tuned into our last episode comparing wetsuits to drysuits, you know that there are some compelling reasons to check out a drysuit as a water-wear option. Our most popular drysuits for kiteboarding or wing foiling are the Ocean Rodeo Soul, Heat v3, and Ignite. There are some significant differences and a large price gap between these models. Let’s get into this so you can figure …

Kiteboarding Control Bars The first step in tuning your kite is choosing the right size control bar. The standard pairing is 43 - 47 cm bars for 05 - 10m kites 50 - 55 cm bars for 11 - 13m kites 58 - 63 cm bars for 14 - 19m kites These are just guidelines, of course. You can pair any size bar with any kite, but you will change how it flies. If you put a small bar on a large kite, you will slow it down significantly. If you put a large bar on a small kite, you will speed it up greatly. Bar siz …

Riding in cold water requires some special knowledge and equipment to proceed with safety and comfort. In this new series, we will go over the required equipment, walk you through common gear choices, and provide the necessary knowledge and tricks we have learned to stay safe in that treacherous environment. In this video and blog, we will explore the base of your cold water riding protection, which is your wetsuit or drysuit. This is key because keeping your core warm is the number one priority …

Welcome to the unhooked kiteboarding training course. This is a complete course that will consist of your first moves, progressively working your way up to the most advanced tricks. The goal of this course is to start with the fundamentals and work our way up. If you follow this guide you will: Unlock new moments faster Understand each trick completely in your mind so you can visualize it before you try it Learn how to do each move safely Why did I create this kiteboarding course? I want to l …

Today we're going to break down a heelside back roll. This might be the most popular trick in kiteboarding. This is actually even easier than the raley. This will be your first roll in kiteboarding. It's going to open the door to many other more advanced tricks that begin with this rotation. The back roll is often a misunderstood trick, not because it's overly difficult but because people often mistake it for a flip. While you can invert your back rolls into a flip, more often than not they look …

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 …

With the Red Bull King of the Air competition having just wrapped up, we wanted to do a video on big air, specifically on how you can trim your kite to get more air and hangtime! This is an easy tip that will make a big difference in your kiteboarding. Rather than our normal ride with Blake blog, we decided to keep this one right to point. Enjoy!  Step One - Trim your Kite for Hangtime The point of this is to trim your kite so that you can sheet the bar all the way in without the kite dr …

Today we're going to break down the Raley. This is an exciting point in your kiteboarding progression. It's a cornerstone trick that will lead to all the other tricks. 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 fundamental movement. Best of all, it's a lot easier than you think. We touched on how to get started in our popping video. This week we are going to go into more …

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? …

Today we are going to go over how to do a 360 hand drag transition without a kiteloop. This is another fun and easy one that doesn't take much risk. A 360 spin is a back roll without any inversion. Dragging your hand through the water gives you more of a carving turn, whereas if you're standing tall it's more of a spin. Free PDF will be available Friday  Sorry about that! Visit MACkite's live chat for a (1) One time coupon code.  - This code will expire as soon as the PDF …