Trick Tip: How to land your jumps straight instead of sideways - Kiteboard & Wakeboard

Tips for making your landing safter  

• Releasing your back hand when jumping makes the control bar/handle pull on your front arm, keeping your board and body position lined up straight for a smooth landing. 
• Release your back hand and stretch the arm behind you over the tail of the board, or better yet, grab the tail. 
• Tail Grabs compact your body making it easier to control yourself flying through the air, they also add style points, but the best style is a smooth landing. 

What can go wrong when jumping. 

If you hold both hands on the handle, even if you try to keep both hands pressed down in front of your forward hip - The back arm is shorter relative to the front hand when standing sideways. The back arm will experience a higher load of pull than the front arm which rotates the body sideways (perpendicular) to the pull of the rope/lines. 

Rotating sideways from both hands on the control bar results in a belly flop/face-plant landing because the board stops but you keep going. When catching the topside edge, the board and feet stop instantly. All of your forward speed/momentum is transferred to the upper body and head. Your head catapults around the board edge and magnifies the speed of crashing due to the leverage force rotating around the stopped board. This is like a 20 pound sledge hammer producing 1500 pounds of force when swung with a long handle. 

Yes, experienced riders can press both hands to the front hip and torque their bodies but it’s much more difficult, and considered a more advanced technique. 

For more details on how to jump when kiteboarding, read this article. Jump Higher (Land Softer) https://www.mackiteboarding.com/news/how-to-jump-...