The Kitesurfing Dark Flip is a great trick to learn as it adds a unique flare to getting back onto you board after falling from a failed attempt at another trick and finding your board floating fins up.
STEPS:
1) Start off by riding your board upside down and backwards (tail first). Position yourself on the back 1/3rd of the board with your back foot close to the nose of the board. Be sure to keep the tail (now front) of the board from touching the water; because of the reversed rocker the board now has, you’ll need to put a lot of back foot pressure to keep it up and out of the water.
2) You will start with slow to medium speed, just enough to finish the move with some forward momentum to ride away. If possible, time your take off with a ‘kicker’ such as a small wave or chop to help you initiate your jump, but be prepared to add more tail pressure to raise the tail of the board more out of the water to compensate for the kicker and keep the board from pearling.
3) The motion to spin the board is the same motion used to do a “360-Shove it”. Use your back foot to kick the tail of the board into the wind. The reverse rocker of the nose will cause the board to turn itself right side up and for you to land on it going in the correct direction.
4) Because the board spins 180 degrees both vertically and horizontally, compared to the “360-shove it”, you’ll need additional space between yourself and the board to keep it from hitting you, so bend your knees a lot. The board will land right side up and nose forward.
5) Spot your landing and extend your legs to land on your board and ride away.
TIPS:
1) This can be a very dangerous trick because of the fins. If the tail of the board catches, your feet can slip forward and into the fins… be prepared at any point to pull and power up the bar
to get up and away from your board.
2) There is a lot of trial and error in learning this trick, practice is the only way in learning how much and how hard to spin the board to make it land the correct way.
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