It has taken me hundreds of attempts and I am still far from perfect at it, but I get most of them now at least in steady wind and flat water. I am riding the 2010 North LTD race board.
I do the tack shown in the Bjorn Jensen short video that Peter Frank posted above. I come out of it with no twists in my lines. The other tack method is to follow your board around and you come out with your lines twisted.. I am told this is more difficult and if you screw it up, you will be in a worse position in the water.
Anyway here are some tips:
- loosen your feet in the straps
- bring your kite straight overhead (your lines should be vertical) while carving a bit upwind
- as you slow down suddenly carve very hard upwind ..kick the board around ..push with your back foot and pull with your front
- pull your feet out of the straps quickly ..the back one first ..and rotate your body to face the wind and then even farther to the new direction
- your back foot will instinctively try to step to the front area of the board
- your front foot is coming out and will then instinctively step to the rear area of the board
- be sure to keep pressure on your back hand throughout the move (it then becomes your front hand)
Sometimes the foot switch is more of a small jump than stepping. It is definitely easier to do in strong wind than light wind. I put surf wax all over the front of my board because my foot often lands in front of the front foot pad.
Timing is everything. If you fall past your board, you kicked the board around too soon.
Have fun.
CG