We’ve been covering a lot of intermediate tricks recently so here’s one for you all you advanced riders getting started with unhooked riding.
The Back to blind is a trick that seems to be a staple of riders progressing up the unhooked range of tricks. It’s your next step on from the back roll and then you have incremental steps taking you all the way up to the KGB. If you’re unclear of the progression, or what any of these tricks really are, then this Trick Progression video should help:
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeF6Y6J7mTY 610 340]
So the back to blind is our first step – an unhooked back roll with a backside 180, landing blind.
This main charactistrics of this series of tricks is when you change the bodies direction – about 3/4 of the way around the back roll, the backside rotation is initiated, spinning the body in the opposing direction.
A few tips to help with this movement:
- Try and get a slightly inverted back roll, which will balance the body at the apex of the back roll and allow you to naturally fall into the backside 180 with less effort.
- As always with the handle passes you want to being pull the bar in towards your hips. With this move as you get round 3/4 of the back roll you want to first pull the bar into towards your front hip, then as you let go imagine drawing a semi circle from that position to the small of your back. Then lean forward and push down on the bar to force it behind your back.
- Then we need the board pointing downwind for landing – check out the following short exert from the KGB video, part of the Progression Kiteboarding Professional Collection/DVD:
So to re-iterate – You need to be getting the board pointing downwind for landing. So bring your legs into your body, before letting go of the bar. Then as you drop extend your legs and kick your back legs around to the front.
This exert is just a very short section taken for the full 15 minute video covering back to blind, back to blind with an airpass and then the KGB. You can download the full video through the Progression Player or as part of the Professional DVD.
Once you have the Back to Blind under your belt, you can try and pass the bar before landing and add some grabs that inject a little bit of extra style, before moving on to the KGB…