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Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Forum with lots of safety info - a must for newbees
FredBGG
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Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Postby FredBGG » Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:37 pm

Safety Release Reflex (SRR)

Hi
Due to the recent accidents I want to repeat what I advise everyone I see with a kite to do.
Sorry if I sound like a broken record as I have repeted this many times, but not in it's own
thread.

It is of life and death importance to develop what I have called Safety Release Reflex (SRR).
Basicly you should build up an instinctive reflex reaction to pull your safety release when things go wrong.

Ask yourself when did you last pull your safety? Would you be able to find it in a split second with
a hand full of sand in your eyes and after being hit on the head hard?

This is what I suggest:

After each move or transition briefly reach and get a good grip on your safety release.
Everytime you almost fall or lose your balance do the same.
Before launching do the same.

Making a habit of this will just make it so much easier to use your safety when you need it.

Remember that when you need your safety you may be flying through the air, getting yanked,
half drowned, tierd...you name it.

Every martial artist or musician is evidence how practice makes perfect!

I also recommend testing your safety under load and testing it not under load on a regular basis.

Testing under load is obvious, but testing not under load is also important.
If your kite acts up and the lines go slak you may need to activate your safety to avoid the kite
suddenly powering up.

Be safe, wear a helmet and have fun!

Cheers

Fred
Last edited by FredBGG on Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SSR) please read!

Postby Gibby » Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:41 pm

That is a great suggestion Fred, and one I plan on putting into practice frequently in the future.

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SSR) please read!

Postby FredBGG » Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:25 pm

Thanks Gibby.

However let me warn you of a known side effect.
It has been reported that a small percentage of participants in a triple blind, cross-eyes, short
sighted and quack study that problems have been reported.
Several very accomplished participants reported reaching for their penis and attempting to pull it off when tripping on some stairs when not even near a kite! :wink: :o :thumb:

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SSR) please read!

Postby Ivel » Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:29 pm

hey wouldn't it be SRR? Safety Release Reflex

you need be so comfortable with your release that its just muscle memory and you dont even have to think about releasing the kite.
i test mine every time before i go out. it also ensures that you dont have sand or other junk jamming it up. also when borrowing a new bar/kite for sure take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the rigging. it's much easier to sit on the beach for an extra minute and check over everything than to be on the water and have to search for the quick release when shit happens.
i find the push release like Naish, North, and Cabrinha. they even work with no line tension as you create tension between yourself and the release. and they can be used with any hand. just grab and push is all you have to do.

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Postby FredBGG » Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:50 pm

Thanks for the correction...done.!

You add some good points that I did not include :thumb:

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Postby Kosh » Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:52 pm

I agree 100%, twice this summer I've used my QR in the middle of a jump (Cabrinha type release) when a bridleline on my oldest kite ripped in two pieces. It felt so easy, drop bar, with one hand push the QR, and fall down in the water. Doubt I used more than a second or two to push it. Training does make releasing the kite a lot easier and faster.

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Postby tautologies » Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:16 pm

although I might be able to reach everytime I do something, I do think muscle memory is very important. I do practice it everynow and then, and selflanding I use it quite often. It is not only about knowing how to pull the release, but also deciding in advance that you will pull the release. I think this requires people to think it through way in advance. The decision has to be made before the incident occurs.

a.

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Postby DrLightWind » Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:05 am

prayfawind27 wrote:
The moral of the story, PULL YOUR FUCKING RELEASE!!!!!!!!! ask yourself is my life worth 1200 bucks, SHIT!! all these lofting accident has a very simple fix
For couple years now I've been practicing Safety Release Reflex
and you're the one Fred who made me aware of it. :thumb:

In martial arts internal or external, all those movements has to do with muscle memory,
so if you don't have the muscle memory bult up you won't be able to access your QR fast when you needed.

DrLightWind

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Postby Toby » Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:38 am

thx for pointing it out again.

Make also sure to tell people on the beach, specially newbees.

I always give the comparison with breaking on a car. It is a trained reflex as well, there is no thinking.
We all have to come to that point with our quick releases.
And because of the trained reflex, it is even more important to have a standard quick releases.
We need to learn on the same system we are going to use later. Everything else is very dangerous.

The most used QR system is the central push up. Every company who does not use it yet, has the responsibility towards the sport, to change it asap and add a similar system like the other companies. Some companies are willing to share their system, do it.

And keep thinking about different situations...watch the video of the lofting in Florida
viewtopic.php?t=2350673

When you get lofted, there is nothing you can do while in the air...it is very important, to stay calm. You need to fly this gust, keep control of the kite. And just before you hit ground, you need to release. This is not possible, if you don't think about it and have it in mind. But it is possible, if you keep thinking about this and get the system in your head. This is your only chance anyway. And you need to release shortly before you hit ground, since you might break your arms or get unconscious.

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Re: Safety Release Reflex (SRR) please read!

Postby ronnie » Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:50 pm

Toby, this is just a guess, but if you are flying in fast, head first to hit something, you will not use your arms to release the Q/R just before you land.
I do think you have to release it as soon as possible, as close to a reflex as you can get.
Humans were not designed to kite. Natural reactions developed over thousands of years tend to switch the brain into a survival mode that does not include kitesurfing.
I think Fred's point about having thought about it before and developed some kind of safety switch may give you a chance of being one of the few who does not freeze in a violent lofting, but that is just a guess again.

If you are lofted upwards however and can fly the kite to reduce your vertical landing speed, then I can see your advice working. It might turn out though that you should have released as soon as you could and taken the risk of those injuries, rather than the result you end up with.


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