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Lately I have hit a wall in my kite progress, I just keep doing the same tricks over and over. I need to get into a new routine. I was wondering how do you spend your time on The water. Do you have sessions which you only practice one trick? How do you go about learning new tricks? Do you train off the water? Do you have methodology behind your training or do you go out on the water and have fun.

do you have the DVD? then just pick a trick, watch it over and over, and then go out and do it!

Best is to have a buddy pushing it with you!

I have ideas on and off the water...and then if conditions are right, I will try. Not every day...since doing new tricks for me is not easy, the ideas I have are hard to land.

Hey Toby

You make it sound so easy, I was wondering how you spend your time on the water? For example if I have Two Hours to kite. Would you spend the two hours training on the new trick. Do you practice your pop often? do you practice Big Air? how do you practice? Or do you just go out and do what ever comes to your mind. Do you have a plan before each session?

I have the DVD

good point!! while learning a new trick i crash several times and think by myself, hmmm , maybe next time, don't want a wet kite,etc. so then my progress stops going on with the things i can. bad habit. for the record,i have the DVD's.

I always go out and do my show.
Rotation, no rotation, rotation, no rotation, slide etc.
I do my repertoire of tricks, all elements like the 17 sections of the DVD.

Then I have new tricks in mind which I try. Normally not more than 3 times trying.
Then I do something else. Then I might try to land the trick again.

Sometimes when I feel I am very close to land it I keep trying. Most of the time Then I can land it.
But some I don't. So they stay in mind.

Sometimes spontaneous new ideas, sometimes by accident...like yesterday's new trick: Darkslide very powered, got a bit air, rotated, grabbed and landed sooo smoothly...I was impressed.
So I did it again and now th latest trick is: Darkslide Front 360 Tip & Tail Grab Transition.
I have it filmed by a drone! Looks very smooth!

For filming the DVD I had to repeat the tricks over and over until I landed it, that was completely different from what I like to do...sometimes 50 tries and even then not landed.
Those rating 5 tricks are very hard to land, and those you not gonna see in competitions, or maybe few.

Use trick progression its the best way!

What do i mean by this.... Pic a trick say a board back pass.

Spit the trick into parts

Board pass
1. Jump high with board at your side (ok got it)
2. Jump high and put the board behind your back (new trick!!!)
3. Jump high and pass the board behind your back to the other hand (maybe don't attempt to put the board back on just land the jump). This will help you understand the feel of the kite and your position change as you pass the board.
4 complete the trick!

Dark Slide
1. Learn to flip the board (no loop)
2. Get good at slide without the kite loop
3 . Slide with loop

One foot board off
1. First learn to lump high
2. Learn to do a tall grab (new trick)
3. Once your good at tall grab quickly remove foot and put it back in and land
4. Now you you can complete the trick and use different angles etc
5. Forward and back tall grab one footer (new trick)

I find this way works really well.

Always go out with at least three new tricks in mind (also have in your mind how you broke them up into parts). This way you may not get the trick but you will be close and have a really good understanding of how to complete it next time out

Don't beat yourself up all day on learning one trick.

For me, I watch a new trick a lot of times on DVDs or Internet , think a lot about it and try to visualize it and then go out and I force myself to try it 10 times in a row. If I just try it one or two times I don't get anywhere. I think there are just too many variables and parts to almost any trick (bar, kite, board, wind, wave, speed) any time you try a trick to get anywhere in just a couple of attempts .
I always go out and run through the tricks I can do and then at some point in the first half of the session work on something new I am trying to learn. In the second half I am usually a bit too tired to be successful with something new.
I figure you have to be able to do a trick 80 per cent of the time to really have mastered it. So I keep working on my old stuff. I start each session with a jump then a back roll going right, a back roll going left, a back roll transition going right, then going left and then a double back roll and then a double front roll. A couple of times I have made it through without getting my hair wet.
Now I am trying to get a board off and a dark slide but as I always say the session doesn't start until you hair gets wet (one good crash)!

He Tobi!

Drone???

You mean the camera that follows you automatically or one that flies on a qudrocopter?

does not follow automatically...a guy pilots it!

Holy f.... you stole my idea

I assume it is a hexacopter with a hydraulic gimbal and a gopro3?
Maybe you have his contact I would really like to exchange some thoughts with him about Copters in 20-25 knots