This tutorial looks at how to get started with kiteloops … and gives you tips
to minimize the risk involved.
You can practice your first loops without a board.
If you have a trainer kite, this could be a good place to start.
Start with the kite near 12. Then steer as hard as you can.
Keep steering until the kite is climbing again.
Definitely do not stop steering while the kite is heading down.
You could also practice your first loops while bodydragging.
This should be on a day when there’s barely enough wind to ride.
Point your body downwind and steer as hard as you can.
The faster you steer the less powerful the loop.
Next, you can work on kiteloop waterstarts, also on a light wind day.
As before, steer as hard as possible.
Steering firmly gives a smaller loop.
Steering slowly, on the other hand, gives a larger kite loop. That dives further into
the power zone, and pulls for much longer.
It is also important to remember, that the kiteloop will force you downwind.
You can’t stop it.
So, you must head downwind, towards the kite, as it loops.
Next you can work on some downloops while riding.
Like the waterstart kiteloop, it is essential that you ride downwind as the kite loops.
If you carve completely downwind before the kite pulls you downwind, then you won’t
feel any aggressive acceleration.
The first aerial kiteloop to try is the heli-loop.
Just before you land, start diving the kite, as normal, with the front hand.
Then keep pulling the front hand, as you land, until the kite loops.
The heli-loop should be a short loop at the top of the wind window. This gives lots of
lift, and if timed well, can actually help you land with less impact.
Just make sure to not start the heli loop early.
The heli loop can be a useful tool. If you notice you’re landing too slowly to ride
away, keep pulling the front hand, and the heli loop will get you moving downwind.
The final part of this tutorial is the backloop.
As the name suggests, you steer hard with the back hand for this loop.
The backloop accelerates you far more aggressively than the previous techniques. The back loop
pulls against your direction of travel, creating more apparent wind
– and accelerating your body significantly.
You must be ready to accelerate downwind and then drop when you backloop.
But don’t worry, in order to practice safely, the are ways to reduce the power of a backloop.
The easiest way to limit risk, is to backloop in very light wind.
Also, reducing your board speed makes the backloop much weaker ...
as does reducing the height of your jump and pop from the water.
And, of course, steering as hard as possible will make sure the loop is over quickly.
Learning to kiteloop is risky, but I hope this tutorial gives you
a safer way to get started.
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