This kite-foil tutorial looks at a basic backroll.
You should already be able to do kite foil jumps easily.
Also, you should be confident doing rotations on a twintip board.
It’s safer to learn rotation skills without a foil.
Also, I’d recommend a helmet, and ideally some padding for your arms, legs and torso.
The kite-foil backroll uses the same kite control as a jump.
Let’s look a bit closer at the trick. You need both feet in the footstraps to begin.
Steer the kite up towards 12 o’clock. You don’t need to steer quickly,
as you only need a small jump. Keep the bar out enough so that the
kite doesn’t drag you as it climbs. Before the kite reaches 12,
bend your knees and drop your weight back. This will get you carving upwind during take off,
which creates the angular momentum for the backroll.
Then, just before the kite hits 12, push down on the back foot, and pull in the bar.
You should feel the board lifting you from underneath,
at the same time you feel the kite pulling you up from the harness.
During rotation keep the bar straight, not steering left or right.
Turn your head and shoulders into the rotation ...
to help the rotation and so you can see where you will land.
Just before you land, start diving the kite down enough to ride away.
As you touch down let the foil descend fully into the water, and then let the board kiss the water.
Sinking the mast fully will give you the softest impact during landing.
You should then be able to ride away as the kite moves away from 12.
Let’s look at a backroll riding the other way.
Assuming you can jump while kite foiling,
you just have to add the correct amount of rotation to do a backroll.
The sharper you carve upwind the more you will rotate.
If you carve upwind too sharply you can over rotate, of course.
If you carve upwind too gently you can under rotate.
Generally speaking, it’s easy to over rotate since a kite foil can carve upwind so quickly,
especially when the kite’s depowered, which makes it easier to lean back and carve upwind.
The height you jump plays a big part in how much rotation is needed.
During a larger backroll, you need much less rotation as you have more time to get around.
During a smaller backroll, you need much more rotation as you have less time to get around.
The backroll is much easier to land than the frontroll, since the rotation
means that the leading edge of your foil is usually moving forward as you touch down.
You just have to make sure that the foil is level,
or pitched down slightly, during landing and as the foil sinks into the water.
A lower pitch helps the foil glide forwards as it descends into the water.
Whereas, a high pitch can prevent the foil from gliding forwards as it descends into the water.
That’s why if your back foot is too low as you touch down you may struggle to get moving.
Thanks for watching and good luck learning kite-foil backrolls.