This is awesome stuff thanks a lot ! Actually yeah a major complaint that I have is my upwind. It's not horrible, but I am not the best. I can hold down speed better than most people on kite beach, but upwind is meh. I was (almost) convinced it was the board.nothing2seehere wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 1:55 pmI am currently riding a Ronson for my day to day board, previously on a ultrasonic and gintronic. I have ridden the Monk but not owned one.
If you watch Anton's first Learning to fly tutorial* - he goes into what he calls power stance. This is all about getting a fairly even weight distribution between you front and rear foot (look at videos of Aaron Hadlow to see a good example of this). The Monk is great board that works nicely with a rear weight bias, but I always thought it really came alive with this power stance. I'm afraid its not the board holding you back. Its a great board. I am only really on the Ronson as its more boots compatible and the landings are a little softer. If anything, I'd say the Monk could probably hold the most power of any board in the range (maybe the Bronq is a little better?)
The even weight bias is good because the board cuts through the chop better allowing you to hold more power in comfort. Have a look around next time you kite. If you aren't going upwind higher than pretty much everyone else on the beach you probably aren't engaging the edge fully. The only downside is you will get way more spray in the face from your board.
* I probably sound like a sales rep for Anton here but it probably made the quickest improvement to my riding than anything I have otherwise watched and its cheaper than an hours private tuition
It's hard to describe exactly because you have to feel your way there, but I will try.grtlakes wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 5:06 amEmbarrassed to ask, I have been kiting for a while. When I slow down I do so by edging hard and heading up wind. I hear so much about edging in order to jump. What is different, starting with board flat and then digging in on same heading? I feel I’m missing something basic.
Well explainedFaxie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 4:37 pmYou're on a kite, not on a cable. A cable keeps going forward when you edge, a kite doesn't initially. When you edge, you are moving your wind window forward, having the kite basically move away from the edge. But because kites fly forward, it will go towards the new edge, producing it's own apparent wind and so more power and responsiveness, and that's the moment when you send the kite up. In lighter winds, where the apparent component counts for more, the technique gets more important.
Enlighten me...guess you are talking NL hereFaxie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 4:37 pmthere is one spot over here where it's never crowded, and you're behind a sandbank where the kickers are very clean and don't break, plus smooth water untill you're at the kickers... but it depends a lot on the wind direction and tide, so the good conditions are rare there... but when they are, it takes no effort at all to make good jumps.
There's this old village somewhere....Kitemenn wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 7:35 amWell explainedFaxie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 4:37 pmYou're on a kite, not on a cable. A cable keeps going forward when you edge, a kite doesn't initially. When you edge, you are moving your wind window forward, having the kite basically move away from the edge. But because kites fly forward, it will go towards the new edge, producing it's own apparent wind and so more power and responsiveness, and that's the moment when you send the kite up. In lighter winds, where the apparent component counts for more, the technique gets more important.
Enlighten me...guess you are talking NL hereFaxie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 4:37 pmthere is one spot over here where it's never crowded, and you're behind a sandbank where the kickers are very clean and don't break, plus smooth water untill you're at the kickers... but it depends a lot on the wind direction and tide, so the good conditions are rare there... but when they are, it takes no effort at all to make good jumps.