Style Clinic
Incorporate grabs into your riding for strength and style
Adding grabs to your riding not only adds style, it strengthens your abdominal muscles, and they're fun to do. The key to any good grab is to know exactly where you're going to grab before leaving the water. If you are sending the kite, focus on your pop and release to ensure height. Once you execute a proper takeoff, you will have the time and balance to grab wherever you want.When you first start to grab the board, practice pulling your knees up to your chest to bring the board closer to you. It's a lot easier to grab with the board easily in reach then having to try and stretch down, over your harness, to get to it. In most all grabs, you will be pulling your board up to you for the grab.
Once you get used to bringing your knees and board up, start taking one hand off the bar and bringing it down to your side when you jump. You might just be touching or slapping the board at this point, but really try and GRAB it! This will be a lot easier if you get that board up to you.
For wake style grabs, be sure to load your edge and get as much pop as possible. As soon as you pop, bring your legs up, make your grab and spot your landing to ride away. This is a very quick and aggressive grab style that requires swing momentum of the board and a quick response!
For big air grabs, you will have more time to grab, but will also have to more efficiently control the kite more while you're performing the grab. You will be using the kite to jump, as well as to smoothly land. First, send the kite to jump. Make sure you have your hands at the center of the bar, so that when you take one hand off to grab, you can still control the kite. Just at the apex of the jump, bring the board up, take your hand off the bar (making sure the other hand is centered on the bar) and go for the grab. As you grab, start putting forward pressure on the bar (turning it down or to the front) to start your descent and landing. Keeping enough front-hand pressure on the bar will keep you from landing bomb-drop style (dropping straight down into the water) versus a smooth forward-moving downwind landing.
Grabbing is the best way to make any of your jumps look smoother, add style and impress all your fans on the beach.
180 Mute grab:(Rider has rotated in the air 180 to grab, grabbing with her front hand off the bar, and is facing upwind in this photo.)
Kiteboarding Grab Vocabulary, in order of (subjective) difficulty:
Tindy: A natural grab between a tail grab and an indy that doesn't get any respect in any boardsports. Try to avoid this grab.Indy: Grabbing the center of the board, toeside, with your backhand.
Mute: Grabbing Indy with your front hand
Tail Grab: Grabbing the tail of your board with your back hand.
Nose Grab: Grabbing the nose of your board with your front hand.
Stalefish: Grabbing the heelside of the board behind your back foot, with your back hand.
Melon: Grabbing the heelside of the board behind your front foot with your front hand (reaching between is a Roast Beef, see below.)
Seatbelt: Reaching across the front of the body to grab the toeside tail of the board.
Method: Grabbing the center of the board BEHIND your front foot's heel and turning the board 90 degrees to your backside.
Nuclear: Grabbing across the body and both legs with your backhand to the heel side edge of your front foot.
Roast Beef: Grabbing the center of your heelside edge, by reaching between your legs, with your back hand.
Chicken Salad: Grabbing Roast Beef with your front hand.
Bacon: With your back or front hand, reach behind, then through the legs to grab the toeside edge.
For more detailed instruction on grabs, study one of the great styley grab masters -- Jason Slezak -- in the Bonus Section of Real Kiteboarding's Joyride DVD -- the Slezy J Grab Tutorial. And while you're at it, be sure to check out the rest of the DVD. This DVD is a great step-by-step video tutorial that covers everything from basic back rolls to more technical unhooked maneuvers and multiple rotation tricks.
