Kiteboarding Camp- Switch Tricks

Three moves to practice on your switch side.

Author: Matt and Keegan Myers
Published: Oct/Nov 2005 issue of Kiteboarding Magazine, www.kiteboardingmag.com

So your starting to stick some tricks and think you’re pretty hot on the water. Sending it and throwing down your first few wake style tricks is a great accomplishment, but real respect (the jaw dropping kind) comes from mastering all tricks on your switch foot also. If you’re that kiteboarder who learns a trick regular foot and never tries it switch, you’re losing out on a on a huge aspect of the sport.  Learning how to send it and get pop on your switch foot not only gives you confidence landing on and jumping from your toe edge, it also doubles your bag of tricks, instantly. Your goal should be to dial in all tricks going both switch and regular, making you a more confident and solid overall rider.  Check out a few of these easy to try switch tricks during your next session and you might be surprised at how challenging, and addictive switch can be!

Raley to Toeside (AKA Air Krypt):
This is one of the easiest, but also most fun, switch tricks to attempt.  Landing toeside from a switch raley feels very natural and can easily be done as a transition move also.
1. Load and pop as you would for a normal raley.
2. Throw your feet behind your head and begin to rotate your upper body frontside.
3. Continue to rotate frontside until you complete the 180 to toeside.
4. Spot your landing, land toeside and ride away.

Backroll to Toeside (AKA Roll to Revert):
Basically an over-rotated backroll. It feels very natural on your switch side since you land toeside.
1. Load and pop as you would for a normal backroll
2. Turn your head in the direction of your rotation to help lead your body around.
3. As you spot your landing, continue your rotation.  Try releasing your lead hand to help over-rotate your body the extra 180 to toeside.
4. Bend your knees to absorb the impact, land toeside and ride away.

S-Bend to Toeside (AKA Vulcan):
This switch trick is somewhat more difficult due to the awkward forward rotation and the stall (under-rotation) to land toeside.  A Vulcan is basically a big, slow rotating backside 180.
1. Load and pop (make sure to load your back foot to get the proper forward pop).
2. Commit to the forward spin, it will feel very unnatural at first.
3. As you spin forward, look over your shoulder to spot your landing and stall your rotation by releasing your lead hand.
4. Spot your landing, land toeside and ride away.