STEP 15 - Jumping

There are three different steps you need to be acquainted with when jumping. These are Chop hop, Kite Piloting, and the combination of the two.

Chop hop

We divide jumping into 3 different sections: jumping only with your Kite Surfing Board, jumping by piloting your kite, and finally a combination of the two.
To perform a correct chop hop, you need to build up pressure, create some extra tension in the lines, and then use that extra tension, that extra power, to make a jump.

Create the tension by turning your Kite Surfing Board upwind. Push down the heel side of your back leg to turn your board upwind. As the kite will not be as fast as the board, extra tension is created in the lines, and pressure is built up. Release the pressure by stretching out your legs while turning the board downwind again.

Let’s take a closer look at the take off point. Turn your Kite Surfing Board into the wind by applying heel side pressure. Bend your knees a little more before turning upwind. As soon as your board points upwind and you feel the extra tension in the lines, stretch out your legs and release the rail by putting your board flatter on the water. Before landing, point the board more downwind. This enables a softer landing. Land the back of the board first and then the front. Absorb the landing with your knees.

Piloting the kite in this maneuver is not difficult. Set your kite at about half the height of the wind window and keep it there.


Kite Piloting

Using the power of the kite while jumping can result in phenomenal heights. First, let’s look at the movement of the kite.

The kite is set up higher in the wind window and then aggressively piloted backwards in order to keep it in the power zone. You will still be moving to one side of the wind window, but the kite is in the other half of the wind window so you will be lifted. While in the air, slowly pilot the kite back to the top. As soon as you land, pilot the kite back down to be able to ride away with speed.

From a top view, it will look like this. The kite is moved to the other side of the wind window. By piloting aggressively, the kite will stay in the power zone. Then, pilot the kite back to the top. The higher the jump is, the slower you will have to pilot the kite back. Once you have landed, pilot the kite through the power zone and ride away.

When jumping, quickly pilot the kite in the opposite direction in which you are riding. Once you are airborne, pilot the kite back to its original position. Use a lot of speed. The forward speed will be translated into upward lift as the kite is suddenly piloted to the other half of the wind window.

Start by doing very small jumps and with not too much speed. This section will discuss little jumps. When you start jumping higher, the kite movement will be a bit different.

Now let’s take a closer look closely at the kite movement. Position the kite a bit higher than half the height of the wind window, then pilot the kite aggressively to the back. As soon as you feel that you are being lifted, pilot the kite back to its original position.

The control bar must be pulled on one side to make the kite pilot to the back, as soon as you become lifted, or even a bit sooner, pull on the other side of the control bar to position your kite back in its original position.

Pull hard on the control bar with your backhand to pilot the kite to the back. Then, as soon as you are lifted, the kite is piloted back by pulling on the other side of the bar. Place your Kite Surfing Board downwind when landing. The kite will pull you downwind so you will have to land with your board pointing downwind.

Right after liftoff, pull your kite back into its normal position.

A kite needs time to be turned around, especially when it is a big kite. So when you want to pilot the kite to a certain position, start piloting in advance.


Combination

Once you are comfortable with the kite movement, you can combine the technique of the chop hop with the kite movement.

You will have to coordinate the edging and the position of the kite to get maximum height. Release your edge as soon as you feel the kite start to lift. Think about the time it will take you to pilot the kite overhead for it to create lift and also think about the time it will take you to edge the board so as to build up extra pressure. It takes time and practice to find this balance.

As with the chop hop, the board is turned slightly into the wind at take-off and then turned downwind with the landing. Look closely at the direction of the board during takeoff. Actually, you should move the board into the wind at take off.

When jumping higher, the kite movement will be a bit different compared from the previous section. When the jumps are small, the kite will have to be piloted back as soon as you take off. This is a simplified technique for jumping. The theory behind jumping is that after takeoff, you stop the kite from flying backwards by placing the bar parallel to the water. The higher you go, the longer the kite has to stay overhead before returning to its original position. As you can see, the kite is piloted slowly back overhead.

If you want to make higher jumps, you will have to pilot more aggressively. If you have enough speed and there is a strong wind, pilot the kite more aggressively by pulling the kite more in front of you where it will catch more wind. The result will be a higher and farther jump. Just before landing, the kite is piloted back to its original position.


Tips and Tricks

1. First, get comfortable with the kite movement only. Build up your speed and pilot faster when you are ready for it.

2. Let go of your Kite Surfing Board if you are in trouble and stay focused on keeping your kite overhead.

3. If your kite keeps crashing because you lose tension on the lines, let go with your backhand to force yourself to pilot the kite back.

4. If you don’t pilot the kite back to its original position, you will not be able to land correctly.

5. Again, if the kite is not piloted back to the original position before landing, the landing will not be soft.


Master the three different steps you need to know when jumping for you do with ease on water. Refer to the tips and tricks above to learn this tricky technique easier.

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