This is a trick that I first saw Keahi De Aboitiz do and it blew my mind. It was one of the first strapless freestyle tricks from a skateboarding influence that I had seen and was the inspiration to give the new discipline a go for myself. It took me some time to figure this trick out; it’s not an easy one. The “360 shove it” is completely reliant on timing the speed of spinning the board to the height of the jump and the speed at which you are traveling. It’s no easy task, but its something that you will learn through trial and error. So if you don’t make it the first attempt, try and try again…. And again…
Before attempting this trick, you should be proficient at doing a Straight Air.
Step 1: Load the board
Like any jump, whether it strapped, strapless, surfboard or twin tip, to leave the water you must load up the kite and board by setting a rail and edging against the kite. This creates added tension in the lines that you will use to lift you off the water.
Step 2: Initiate the jump
The traveling speed at which you do this move is slow to medium, however you do not want to go too slow as you need to finish the move with some forward momentum to continue to ride out of the maneuver. If possible, time your take off with a ‘kicker’. (i.e. small wave, chop, etc..) This will help you initiate your jump and get wind under your board. As you leave the water, angle the bottom of the board into the wind, using it to push the board back towards the bottom of your feet. This will provide some resistance in the board for you to push against to initiate spinning the board.
Step 3: Spin the board
As you lift off the water, make sure you feel the resistance of the board under your feet before you spin the board. The board is spun by using your back foot to kick the tail of the board into the wind. The speed at which you spin the board depends on the height and distance of the jump. Be careful not to spin the board too fast or too slow; too fast, it will over rotate and too slow, it will under rotate. You do not stop the rotation with your feet. What you want to aim for is having the tail of the board hitting the water to stop the rotation of the board. The fins catching the water will stop the board and allow you to land back onto the board and continue to ride away.
Step 4: Land
If everything lines up correctly and the boards lands with pointing in the right direction and your feet are on track to connect with your board, keep your eyes on your landing and land with your knees bent.
Watch the video on this trick by Reo:
An added danger is that the board could land fins up and because you are trying to land on the board, you could land with your feet or other parts of you body on the fins causing injury. Be aware of the rotation of the board and if you see that you are heading for the fins and not the deck of the board, tuck you feet up and continue to send the kite in the opposite direction and do your best to get away from it and avoid injury.
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