Backroll hand drag transition?

[PeaBody]

Hi All,

Needs some help on this, I can get the backroll with hand-drag through the water, my back hand is pulling on the right side of the bar but I never have enough power to ride away, tend to land and sink.

Am I pulling in the other direction on the bar too early, or maybe too late. I have looked on you tube for vids but they mostly show body angles and not the kite.

I think I have the move down apart from the kite....

[tautologies]

Do you loop the kite?
You drag the front hand.

I'd say it sounds like you might have a bit low speed. So go with speed, move the kite across the window, as you feel the lift pop the board out and start dragging your hand. The more speed you have the more time you'll have and the slower you can move the kite across....once the the kite moves across the zenith, and then some loop it, the kite will pull you back on your feet and you ride away with speed.

The earlier and faster you loop the kite the more pull it'll have. So in low wind conditions pull harder, and in more wind be pretty careful. Get used to it, and of course it depends on kite etc.

[PeaBody]

Thanks... No, I am not looping the kite, and yes I drag the front hand...

Ok will go for speed first, then try the loop if that fails. I am initiating the pop when the kite hits 12, I guess if I carry more speed try and pop at 11?

[tautologies]

Thanks... No, I am not looping the kite, and yes I drag the front hand...

Ok will go for speed first, then try the loop if that fails. I am initiating the pop when the kite hits 12, I guess if I carry more speed try and pop at 11?

How do you move the kite forward. If you loop the kite it'll will correct your body position and you'll definitely ride off with speed. The loop will determine how much. I'm not sure you'd do it without a loop tho.

If you are already comfortable looping then make sure the first time you get the kite well across before pulling the trigger. Once you get the pull you'll be able to adjust to get the right type of pull. Might want to start in slightly underpowered conditions.

[Toby]

make sure to keep your hand near the center, to not steer it forward too early.
Take a bigger kite in lighter wind, this way it is easier to control the kite, since it is slower.
Make sure the kite is above you while you rotate, and then once finished the rotation, pull on the backward hand for the transition, or even harder for a kiteloop (then you will go to the same direction and not do the transition.

[FLandOBX]

You can do a back roll hand drag transition either with or without a loop.

Either way, make sure you rotate far enough to point your board slightly downwind as you power up in the new direction. Otherwise, you may stall or sink (think about your basic slide transition or waterstart.....you need to point the board slightly downwind to plane away cleanly).

If you loop the kite, you need to continue to turn the kite with the back hand through the loop and back to the new direction. So the kite goes full circle (360 degrees and then some). Initiate the loop sooner with a large (slow) kite, and a later with a small (fast kite). Timing is key.

If you don't loop, you need to aggressively dive the kite in the new direction as you finish your rotation (with board pointed slightly downwind). You won't have as much power coming out of your rotation without the kite loop, so this transition is best if the wind is fairly strong and you can get some lift as you rotate (reaching down to the water to drag your hand).

With or without a loop, this is a very stylish transition. And it feels good to nail 'em.

[edt]

u could be looping 2 late, 2 early, not pulling hard enough, pulling 2 hard going into the loop too slow. if you could take a video we could tell you right away what the problem is. if you can't take a video, remember the timing is a lot like a low backroll kiteloop. for a low backroll kiteloop you pop just off the water, initiate your backroll and when you have your back to the kite pull hard, the kite will loop and pull you around to finish your rotation.

[Mr Harris]

Would agree with tautologies, a bit more speed would most likely help.

If you can keep the kite super still during your rotation, then it's possible without a loop, although you'll need to use your wrist to dive the kite at the end, not just pull with your arm. AND as you rightly suggest pop into it before your kite gets anywhere near 12 o'clock.

That said looping the kite late will make it easier and more consistent, but yet again you need to get that kite turning quick once it's time to pull the trigger. Trimming the sweet spot away helps and like Toby mentioned big kites make it easier to wash/drag your hand for longer.

Might be something in here that helps - http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue37/?page=101

Cheerio...

[Windstoked]

As stated by others, you need to loop the kite for that move unless you're really lit up. You should master a backroll transition kiteloop first, a boost transition kiteloop before that, and a boost kiteloop without transition before that.
The handplant backroll transition is a good example of a trick based around function as well as form. The handplant keeps you low, rotates you gradually around backwards for the roll, and prolongs the hang time and thus delays the kiteloop, making it a smooth, graceful transition.

[FLandOBX]

The handplant backroll transition is a good example of a trick based around function as well as form. The handplant keeps you low, rotates you gradually around backwards for the roll, and prolongs the hang time and thus delays the kiteloop, making it a smooth, graceful transition.

Yes, definitely agree with this. After you're comfortable with the trick, you will also find that you can speed up or slow down your rotation at the end of the trick (once you are at the point of spotting your landing) by using your hand to leverage against the water. Push or pull against the water to change your final rotation speed. This can make your transition more precise.