Tackeling the legit S-bend

Spike · Since 13 May 2007 1414 Posts Alameda Spelling Expert

wakeboarding and kiteboarding are not the same thing. I could care less if my orangatang-style kite railey isn't a "legit" wakeboarding railey, its fun.

Kataku2k3 · Since 14 Aug 2005 3754 Posts PDX-LA Videographer

Spelling Expert... R-A-L-E-Y

wakeup · Since 11 Sep 2005 328 Posts always Obsessed

umm ok mr strap on penis on my little ponies forehead

Rolling Eyes

not talking smack, that is just how we roll
and if you think i'm hardcore, oh well, that is your opinion
again, i am just glad people are recognizing the difference

you wanted to know how to do it legit and i was just letting you know, rather than you taking advice from some dude who starts with his kite at 11 oclock, or doesn't know if he should start the rotation before or after or whenever

come on out to the hood and i will give you first hand advice, and walk you through it if you like. i would love to see more people throwing down, legit, and would love to help.

pdxmonkeyboy · Thu Jun 19, 08 10:00 am

Sounds good to me, I'll send you a PM next time I'm heading out to the sand bar. I would love some more advice as I am just starting to learn some wakestyle shiet. Blindly trying to "bust some shit out" hasn't worked all that well for me.

I'm kinda bummed though, I was hoping that I could sport my big pink unicorn strap on. But, if your a little uneasy about your sexuality, I understand. Smile

perhaps a smaller strap on would be less intimidating?

slacker · Since 26 Apr 2008 32 Posts Hood River

make sure to wipe the crap off the tip before you come

scottm · Since 12 Jun 2006 108 Posts Stoked

Here are a few tips for working on raleys and s-bends. I can do legit s-bends, just ask bambam or some of the other guys who have seen them.

When you unhook, keep the bar low and near your front hip. Turn slightly downwind so the board is completely flat (this also drops the kite a little deeper into the power zone). Keep the kite pretty low but not super low - around 30 degrees off the water and angled slightly up - lower than that and you get less boost and harder landings - higher than that and you end up doing an unhooked dangler jump. Do a quick edge-load-pop, don't edge as hard as you can. As you go airborne, start extending your body. Near the apex of the jump, pull pretty hard with your front hand so the kite is diving toward the water - this gives you a little more boost and ensures a softer but hotter landing. As you're coming in for the landing, pull the bar back down by your front hip. Starting and ending the raley/s-bend with the bar at your front hip is proper wakestyle, and it makes it a lot easier to get fully stretched out and bring it back in for the landing. Let go with your back hand if you need to for balance - I usually hold on.

For an s-bend, I pop a little less aggressively than for a raley and look around my back armpit (not tipping my head up or down) and bring my front shoulder forward a bit (not dropping it, just starting the rotation before leaving the water). To get inverted, it helps to kick up and back a little with your back foot after leaving the water and before getting fully stretched out mid-spin. And as others have said, when the S-bend goes wrong you are going to eat $h!t something fierce.

pdxmonkeyboy · Thu Jun 19, 08 10:37 am

jimmyc · Since 04 Aug 2005 74 Posts Cape Cod, MA

pdxmonkeyboy · Thu Jun 19, 08 11:43 am

What he is trying to say is that a legit s-bend is one where the board is actually higher than your head when you do the rotation. One your just spinning all stretched out that is just an unhook front roll.

forrest · Thu Jun 19, 08 12:19 pm

You'll see the light someday. You'll start to notice that everyone can boost, even people that have been kiting a few weeks. You'll long to do something better than the new comers. This is when you'll start to get the itch.

Wakestyle is all about pop. Popping hard when you're hauling ass is way more fun than boosting. Eating shit is part of the fun too, reminds you that you're a man and not a mouse. At the end of the day, knowing that you went for it is reward enough.

Boots are not required at first, but once you start going bigger, you'll find they're the right tool for the job.

jimmyc · Since 04 Aug 2005 74 Posts Cape Cod, MA

genek · Since 21 Jul 2006 2165 Posts East Po KGB

Board should be higher than head for part of the rotation. No one claimed it has to be the entire rotation.

magicmaker · Since 29 Oct 2006 895 Posts da Hood Opinionated

how to get there, learn to edge hard against your board while you are hooked in, load and store lots of power in your board while you're still hooked in, unhook, keep your bar pulled in, bare slightly upwind with your back foot to give you even more pop (sometimes i bear downwind first and then edge hard with my back foot for pop) and come off the water without moving your kite. at this point you shouldn't be trying to kick your feet into the air, if you had good pop it will be a natural feeling to swing your feet up and back, for a raley, and at the same time, look back with your head, and push down with your front elbow, maybe your front hand too and spin. sometimes i feel like i am diving into my rotation after i swing my feet up. i have no idea how legit i look or not, but i keep the kite low and powered (most of the time, sometimes i mess it up and do the s-bend to dangle).

the way you can cheat with a kite is to pull your kite up a little higher and use it for boost isntead of legitimately popping with your board. i think another point for it being a legitimate s-bend is that you have to keep your kite low and powered, IMO.

stringer · Since 31 Jul 2007 694 Posts Chucktown Flying Tomato

Brian,
Are you able to front roll unhooked with the kite low and powered?
Once you have that down, start throwing a raley in with it, then try to make it look like an s-bend.
That's about where I am.
I can get the raley front rolls, and now I'm trying to make them look like s-bends.
Plus learning this way you can take one hand off the bar on the front rolls and call it a tantrum.

Forrest is right about it being all about pop.
That's where I suck most.
My pop is pretty inconsistent, so its hard to get tricks

Any tips on how to get more inverted?

magicmaker · Since 29 Oct 2006 895 Posts da Hood Opinionated

genek · Since 21 Jul 2006 2165 Posts East Po KGB

Letting go with one hand during S-bend doesn't make it into a Tantrum. The axis of rotation is different. You can look up the definition for most tricks online if anyone's interested. Even wikipedia has a bunch under kiteboarding.

Spike · Since 13 May 2007 1414 Posts Alameda Spelling Expert

All this talk about unhooked rolls and RALEY's is getting me stoked for this season. I'm currently in the process of getting my board over my head on teh raley...

I LOVE KTEBOARDING Very Happy

!!!