Words by: Keahi De Aboitiz
The Indy glide is another one of my favorite tricks as it’s one of those tricks that feels really good when done right. Back in my twintip days I always loved the feeling of a good Indy glide so to be able to do the same thing on a surfboard feels great when done right.
1) Look for a nice solid takeoff. Although it can be done off the flat water, you are going to want a good solid chop or preferably a small wave to start your jump. The bigger the kicker, the easier it will be to get height which will allow you to tweak out the move and give you more time in the air. In an ideal situation try this off a wave just before its about to break.
2) Approach the ramp with speed with your kite around 10 o’clock. Put your front hand in the middle of the bar with your index finger and middle finger either side of the depower line. This will help minimize the kite turning down too fast once you take your back hand off the bar. Because my front hand stays on the bar, I try to send the kite slightly on this trick. You don’t want it to cross 12 but try and steer it up between 10 and 12 as you load up to help gain a little more height. Edge hard and stomp on your back foot while pulling in the bar to get as much height as possible.
3) As soon as you take off shift your weight forward and take your back hand off the bar. Look over your back shoulder and down towards the water while starting to push the bar out. This will start the rotation and allow you have as much control as possible through the air. Bend your knees and try bringing your back leg up pushing the tail of the board towards the wind while reaching down to grab the board. I like to tweak these out as much as possible, but to begin with I’d recommend trying it on more of a horizontal axis first to work your way up to it.
4) Although you can grab in a few places I think Indy is one of the most stylish. Try to grab the board just behind your front foot and push your back leg out it out at the apex of your jump. As you get better you can try and tweak out more by bending your front knee and boning your back leg out towards the sky. Try to make sure the bottom of the board is constantly facing into the wind and hold the grab for as long as it feels comfortable.
5) At the peak of the jump, start slowly pulling the bar in to stop the rotation and start redirecting back the other way. I like to hold the grab until about half way down and the board is facing the direction you will land in.
6) With your knees still bent, let go of the grab while spotting your landing and slowly extending your legs back out for the landing. Try to keep a fairly wide stance and concentrate on keeping the bottom surface of the board facing into the wind until the end. As you land bend your knees to absorb the impact and ride away.
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