Kiteboarding Essentials | Learn to Ride Toeside

Hey guys Blake from MacKite here. Today we are going to go over how to ride toeside. This is an easy trick once you get the feel of rocking the weight from your toes to your heels. Step one: Park the kite As you go into the toeside transition you’ll want to send the kite up to 11 or 1 O’clock to help pull you up as you make the transition. Make sure that your hands are placed in the center of the bar to ensure it moves slowly. You can pull in on the bar as you make the transition if you need more pull from the kite. Try not to send the kite to high or to the other side of the wind window as this will pull you in the wrong direction. Step two: Twist and edge into the wind As you are riding at a moderate speed, start to twist your body and point your board into the wind. Make sure that your weight is back over your heels as you do this. If the board gets flat your fins will catch, so stay on an edge until you switch to toeside. Step three: Front leg pull, Back leg push As you are twisting and edging into the wind, you’ll want to pull up on your front foot and push out with your back foot. This reverses the stance you were in previously and changes it so that you're in the toeside position. Make sure to keep your board on an edge as you do this. Step Four: Transfer weight over toeside edge As you are coming around into your toeside transition, transfer your weight to the toeside edge. If you remove your front hand off the bar it will allow for your shoulders and hips to open more into the wind. Lean against the kite with your shoulders transferring the weight over your toes. The most common mistake happens here where you can lose the power of the kite, keep edging crosswind so that the kite stays powered. Step Five: Square your shoulders with the board Square your shoulders with the nose of the board so that you are facing into the wind. If you twist too much against the kite it can kill the power and send the kite to the edge of the wind window. Lean back against the kite digging your toes into the water. Keeping a consistent edge against the kite will allow you to ride toeside as long as you can hold it. A few notes: -Riding toeside in light winds is more difficult. -If you are still struggling with getting around to toeside, you should get small as you spin around to avoid catching your edge. By getting small to create a lower center of gravity which makes it easier. Do this by bringing your knees as close to your chest as you can.