What am I doing wrong while mid-air? (video link)

[Hugh2]

All the info about sheeting in& out is great but
He needs to go higher for that to work.
First get the small jump timing down, then you can think about the finer points of sheeting for a softer landing.
Just sayin’

Agreed, indeed one way to get smoother at jumps is to do one smaller jump after another, endlessly, refining your landings till you can land smoothly and go straight into another smallish jump, over and over. In Cape Town one of the neat things is to jump off successive waves, with each re-direction and saving of the kite immediately leading into the next jump, sometimes you can get up to five jumps in a row on one reach out from the beach. Obviously these are not Langaree-style jumps, but still in the 5-7m range. Downwinders are obviously good for this kind of practise.

[1234567Simon]

Your not doing so bad…
First „jump“ is the best.

Nice pop, nice spray, nice lift oft, not too early. Actually even going upwind.

You are pulling up your legs, because you think it is safer to land on the but. Because you think you are landing with 60 mph. Just land on your feet.

Do not worry about sheeting out or in. Just stay sheeted in. And redirect harder .

Most other jumps are going downwind, which is not good.

Try riding upwind before jumping… you will get the feeling fast.


Good take of…at second 2

[Herman]

Re the redirect:

For me it is not a question of whether I should be sheeted in or not - that depends on kite trim anyway. If you crank harder, one side of the kite will be more sheeted in and the other more sheeted out. Só crank harder and if the kite is slow ease the rear line tension, or trim the kite in a little before your jump session to compare the feeling. It is all done by feel not formulae of in or out.

Re the send:

Being more powered and using a smaller send will make timing of the pop with max vertical line tension, ie the sheet hard in, much easier. However, if you are using a big send crank hard then relax the cranking pull to where you are not oversheeted because you want the kite flying fast. Then hopefully it will still be flying fast when it gets overhead and slightly behind you, sheeting hard in will then stop the kite overflying the window and generate the biggest component of vertical line tension.

With small jumps you don’t have time to think sheet in or out it is all done by feeling whether the kite is fast or choked imho. Having sent the kite slightly behind you puts it in a good position for the immediate redirect.

[windrider1]

One important thing, stop pulling your legs up so high after the jump it changes your center of gravity in a way that makes u swing under the kite and leaves no time to adjust your stance for landing . your solution is not about sending the kite harder or faster or pooping harder your problem is your stance in the air and redirecting for landing your jumps. dont pull your knees up so high and continue to practise your jumps paying attention to redirect the kite . Use a bigger kite in lower wind that helps alot as everything is slower and can be timed better. and you should see a difference.

[Herman]

Re stance in the air:

If the kite is above you it does not matter much what you do with your legs eg deadman etc. But if you are swinging under the kite out in front of you, swinging your legs forward like a trapeze artist is not going to help unless you are trying to swing under the kite faster! Tucking your legs up as in a grab would be better. But whatever you do in the air for the landing point the board mostly towards the kite and, normally, land a little rear foot first. For small jumps it’s turn away from the kite for the pop and then let the pull turn you back in te air a little over 90° back towards the kite for the landing imho.

[mass898]

I appreciate the feedback. To summarize suggestions:

Build more energy with better edging
Send kite up faster to maintain energy in lines
Stronger pop
Immediate, strong redirect.
Ensure the board is pointed more downwind for landing

One thing I've gotten conflicting advice on is sheeting out the bar after lift off. Some say keep it ALL the way in the entire time, some say sheet out SLIGHTLY to improve the redirect. It feels like whenever I do sheet out, even a bit, I actually lose maneuverability and drop like a rock.

Also for clarification, I'm not trying to pick up my legs/board over my head, but maybe leaning back too much and just end up pivoting that way; I don't have a woo.

i went through this issue of "jumping and landing on my ass". To fix this its quite simple. Its about your body position. Pull your shoulder blades back and keep your body stiff. (actually the video of Anton is all about this) That's it. It will open your chest, the pelivs will come forward, you will get super efficient to go upwing and it will allow to build tension. Landing, redirecting etc, will come naturally. You will land like a feather. You might think position is not related to your landing, but it is. Finding out this, changed my life. After few sessions i jump 5m high, backroll, jump transition, etc.