Jukka wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 11:10 pm
Any good tips on learning jibing with straps?
I've been out few times with Sector 60 and could not complete a jibe to save my life
.
Learning the "standard jibe" goes like this:
A. Before you start your carve, pull your back foot out of the back foot strap and place it in front of the back foot strap.
B. Carve around to toe-side, then turn back to heel side.
Do the above lots of times. Finish sometimes to toe-side or heel-side with a downwind direction or a hard upwind direction. This gives you a range of kite power due to apparent wind and will help you find that perfect (slightly downwind) angle to go for the foot switch later. And wind speed and/or kite power is a big variable at almost any skill level while jibing. Dirty wind is a roadblock to learning the jibe, but you will need to deal with it sometime so now is as good as any. Chop is the same issue.
Another
leaning step is to get your feet out of the straps when traveling in a straight line. This is where learning strapless first ruins you for learning strapped later. In strapless, you can put your feet anywhere except where the other foot is - piece of cake. Definitely stick with the straps first and learn the hard way. So try placing your feet ahead or behind (not always possible, but try anyway) the foot straps. On a wide board you can also place your front foot parallel to the front foot strap to simulate where it would be when twisting in to that strap on the foot switch. You can also try to get a "foot switch first jibe" by getting the switch to toe-side before you carve around. If you happen to nail the "foot switch first jibe" DO NOT GIVE UP ON LEARNING THE STANDARD JIBE! The standard jibe is foundational to wave riding and more useful than the "foot switch first jibe".
The steps to complete the "standard jibe" are:
1. Before you start your carve, pull your back foot out of the back foot strap and place it in front of the back foot strap. Also loosen the front foot in the front strap (to help pulling it out on the foot switch later).
2. Bring the kite up (on it's way to the other side) and start to carve the board around to toe-side.
3. Continue around to the other direction (now toe-side) and bring the kite down for power in the new direction.
4. If the kite looses power because you are headed too much downwind on toe-side, it will be hard to get power on the upstroke. The remedy for this is to carve harder upwind on the new direction to power the kite. As, or before you do this, you should be sending the kite up so that it is on it's way to lift you for the foot switch.
5. Once you get a bit of lift from the kite, try to switch your feet.
a. On a longer board (that will not pearl) you can bring your back foot up to the front strap while the front foot is still in it. Set the new front foot next to it, then pull out the old front foot and send that back to just in front of the back foot strap. Then simply twist in your new front foot into the front strap. Once you are comfortable and committed to the new direction, move your back foot from in front of the strap, into the strap.
b. On a shorter board that pearls easily, it is possible to bring the front foot back first so that you have both feet between the straps. To me this is not necessarily useful, but rather it just happens once you are past the stage of thinking about your foot work.
c. You can also "hop" the foot switch. You need to make sure you have loosened the front foot enough during step #1 or it will stick and you will crash. This "hop" is useful in choppy water when you can get the board to drop a bit into a big trough while you quickly switch both feet at the same time. It is also useful when there is not enough uplift from the kite to help you lighten the pressure on your feet. Just use a small piece of chop as a ramp, and when the board drops, switch your feet at the same time. These are advanced foot switches, but you will likely come upon this technique by accident - not practicing for it, as it just happens.
And as a note of encouragement - I only successfully jibed (without my butt in the water) 9 times in the first 3 months of good (but gusty) winds at my home lake. That experience was extremely valuable as I got that number up to over 100, while very hung-over, at a good wind venue for 2 days after that time on my home lake. Keep working at it. Every failure is building skill in jibing, dragging back to your board quickly, and getting up on your board quickly. The latter 2 are just as important when kitesurfing waves as having a good jibe down.