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"We have been working with Martin Kirk and Kiteboarding School of Maui (KSM) since Martin began his business in 1999. I also have had the pleasure of a long term working relationship with Martin for many years now and aspire to continue to work with his company for many years to come."

Cary Ritt
Owner/Manager-Maui Vacation Advisors

Kiteboarding Questions

What are the terms and names for kiteboarding tricks?

The below list of terms and names used to describe kiteboarding tricks, albeit extensive and from wakeboarding, is by no means complete. New tricks are frequently invented and will be added as they become known.

General Terms

Backside - A backside rotation is where the rider rotates with the back of their body towards the kite first. Sometimes mistakenly referred to as a "blindside spin." Tip: Backside handlepass Rotation is when you pass the bar from your front hand to your back hand.

Blind - The rider does not pass the bar so he lands with the bar behind his back with his back facing the kite. Referred to like a "Tantrum to Blind", or "Front Flip to Blind." Sometimes backside spins are mistakenly referred to as "blind" spins

Bone - To bone out a grab or bone out your leg means you straighten it all the way out

Nosebone - Bring back of board to your body by bending back leg & stretching front leg

Tailbone - Bring front of board to your body by bending front leg & extending back leg

Kiteloop - When the rider loops the the kite while in the air

Downloop - When the rider loops the kite down while riding and pops out of the water when the kite is passing the powerzone

Flip (F) - The term can be interchanged with "Invert" but in kiteboarding a Flip is usually a term used to define a tip over tail upside down rotation (there are a few exceptions though)

Frontside Spin - A frontside rotation is where the rider rotates with the front of their body towards the kite first. Tip: Frontside Handlepass Rotation is when you pass the bar from your back hand to your front hand.

Goofy Foot - Riders who ride with their right foot forward

One Foot - When the rider takes one foot out of is board, extends the leg in one direction and puts the foot back in

Board Off - When the rider takes the board off of his feet and puts his feet back in the footstraps on the board

Grab - While in the air, if the rider reaches down to the board and clasps his hand on it, it's a "Grab". There are lots of different types of grabs that can be done alone or added to other tricks.

Handle Pass - It's usually only used to refer to when the rider passes the bar behind his back

Invert - When the rider goes upside down while in the air

Mobe or Mobius - An invert that also contains at least a 360 degree spin in it. Mobes refers to the kite at 45º or lower

Off-Axis Spin - When a rider does a spin but goes off the vertical axis so the board usually gets up to shoulder level or above

Progressive Edge - When the rider builds the edge on approaching the jump so that the hardest edge is right before sending the kite

Raley-Based Tricks - Tricks built around the Raley are all tricks with your body extended back with the board above your head, but aren't inverted flips.

Regular/Natural Foot - A rider who rides left foot forward

Revert - You land revert when you had an 180 rotation to some trick. A Roll To Revert is a Back Roll with a 180 causing the rider to land backwards, or Revert.

Roll - An invert where the board travels in an edge over edge rotation. However, some tricks that follow that rotation aren't called Rolls, and a Back Roll has a tip over tail rotation, so it's very confusing.

Spin - A spin is when the rider and board rotate around on a vertical axis

Standing Tall - When the rider is about to pop they want to stand tall, which means extending at the hips and knees so they don't absorb the energy.

Stomp - When a rider lands a trick in a smooth or clean manner, they have "stomped" the trick

Style - Style usually equates with exceptional technical mastery. Tricks usually considered stylish are well-held grabs, smooth landings, tweaked out tricks, etc.

Surface Trick - A trick performed with the board on the water the whole time

Trick List & Definition

Grabs:

Canadian Bacon - Rear hand, toeside grab, between feet, through legs

Chicken Salad - Front hand, heelside grab, between feet, through legs, arm is twisted, lead foot is boned out

Crail - Rear hand, front toeside grab, back leg is boned out

Indy - Rear hand, toeside grab, between feet

Indy bone - Do a nosebone or tailbone with an Indy grab

Japan Air - Lead Hand grab in front of front foot while board is brought up so it's perpendicular to the water

Lien Air - Lead hand, heelside grab, board pushed in front of rider, back leg boned out

Method - Lead hand, heelside grab, between feet, board is brought up to waist

Mute - Lead hand, toeside grab, between feet

Nose - Lead hand, grabbed on tip of the board

Nuclear - Rear hand, front heelside grab, back leg boned out

Palmer - Lead hand, front heelside grab with a twist

Roast Beef - Rear hand, heelside grab, between feet, through legs

Seatbelt - Rear hand grabs the nose of the board across the riders body

Slob - Lead hand, front toeside grab, back leg boned out, board rotated 180 while in the air

Stalefish - Rear hand, heelside grab, between feet

Stiffy - Board is brought out flat in front of the rider and typically done with an Indy or Roast Beef grab

Tai Pan - Lead hand, toeside grab, between feet through legs

Tail - Rear hand, grabbed on tail of board

Spins:

Backside (BS) - A spin where the rider rotates with the back of his body towards the direction of travel first. For example, if you are riding in a normal stance with your right foot forward, an anticlockwise rotation will be a "backside rotation." Backside rotations are often times mistakenly referred to as blindside spins. Tip: Backside handlepass Rotation is when you pass the bar from your front hand to your back hand.

Baller - This is a term used for when a rider does the handle pass of their spin by passing the bar between their legs

Flatline Spin - A spin where the rider goes over their lines instead of passing the bar

Frontside - A spin where the rider rotates with the front of their body towards the direction of travel first. Eg: In the normal stance with the right foot forward, rotating clockwise. Tip: Frontside Handlepass Rotation is when you pass the bar from your back hand to your front hand

Osmosis - When the rider performs a spin by tossing the bar from one hand to the same hand again, bypassing the other hand. A spin where the rider does a shifty one way, then back the other, then spins back in the direction of their initial shifty

Shifty - Board is shifted 90 degrees in one direction and then shifted back in the opposite direction

Inverts:

Big Wurm - A toeside Front Roll with frontside 540. Handle is rotated above the head

Blender - A Heelside Backroll to Blind

Crook - Whirlybird with a rewind 180 to fakie

Diesel - A toeside Front Roll with a frontside 360. Handle is rotated above the head

Double Back Roll - A heelside double Backroll

Elephant - A Scarecrow with a rewind 180 back to forward

Front Flip - An end over end cartwheel style flip

Front Flip to Fakie - Front flip with a frontside 180

Heelside Backroll - Board and rider perform what is most easily described as a "reverse cartwheel". Imagine the board is riding all the way around the inside of a pipe

Iron Cross - A Moby Dick to Blind

Mexican Roll - A Heelside Backroll where the rider throws his head and body down instead of to the side. It's normally considered an uglier version of a Backroll, but it's the rotation style used for a Roll To Blind or KGB. It's sometimes referred to incorrectly as a heelside Front Roll.

Orbital - An over the line, inverted, backside 360

Orbital 540 - An over the line, inverted, backside 540

Remix - A wrapped front flip with a frontside 360 to Blind

Roll to Revert - Backroll with a frontside 180. AKA "Backloop to Toeside." From heelside make a backloop & an extra 180 on the end to land fakie

Scarecrow - Front roll with a frontside 180

Slurpy - Rider loads with both hands behind back and performs a toeside backroll with a backside 360

Special K - A Toeside Backroll to blind approached with both hands behind the back

Speedball - Heelside double Front Flip

Spiderman - A heelside tantrum with a backside 360. Handle rotated over the head with the backhand. Basically a whirlybird with the back hand on the handle

Tantrum - A heelside backflip

Tantrum to Fakie - Tantrum with a frontside 180

Temper Tantrum - A double Tantrum

Toeside Backroll - A toeside backflip

Toeside Roll To Revert - A toeside backflip with a frontside 180

Toeside Front roll - Rider throws their head and body down in a somersault fashion

Whirlybird - A tantrum with a backside 360. Handle rotated above the head

Whirlybird 540 - A Tantrum with a backside 540. Handle rotated above the head

Whirlybird 720 - A Tantrum with a backside 720. Handle rotated above the head

Wrecking Ball - A tantrum with a backside 360 to blind. Sometimes referred to as a Whirlybird to blind

Surface Tricks: (Any move where the board doesn't leave the water)

Backside Butterslide - Rider turns the board backside 90 degrees and grinds the water

Backside Butterslide 180 - Rider turns the board backside 90 degrees and grinds the water. Rider then grabs the bar with opposite hand and does another 90 degree turn in the same direction

Body Slide - Rider lies back onto the water

Butterslide - Rider turns the board frontside 90 degrees and grinds the water

Butterslide 180 - Same as regular butterslide but with an additional 90 degree rotation in the same direction

Perez - Rider slides into a surface 360

Potato Peeler - Body Slide with fin release

Powerslide - Board is turned backside 90 degrees. Fins are broken loose

Surf Carve - Rider cuts back and forth in a surf-carving fashion

Surface 180 - A 180 degree turn on the surface of the water

Surface 360 - A 360 degree turn on the surface of the water

Tumble Turn - Rider lays back on water, board is taken out of water and above the head, body is spun around backside and the rider stands back up onto feet

One foot & Board off tricks:

One foot or Judo Air (1F) - When the rider jumps and takes one foot out of the board

Superman (SU) - Jump taking both feet out holding the board at the rail or at a handle

Wizard (WI) - Jump taking board by handle to 360c° spin

Board pass (BBB) - Jump taking board off passing it behind the back

Varial (VAR) - Jump taking board by tail/fins rotate to rail

Tic Tac (TIC) - Jump taking board by rail spin 360c° to same rail

Railey-Based tricks:

313 - Heelside Raley with a frontside handle-pass 360

313 5 - Heelside Raley with a frontside handle-pass 540

90210 - Toeside Raley with a frontside handle-pass 360

911 - A shifty Raley

Air Raley - Board is thrown out behind the rider and above the head in a "Superman" fashion. Body should be more or less horizontal during the move

Batwing - Toeside Raley with an Indy grab

Batwing to Blind - Toeside Raley with a backside 180

Bee Sting - A Vulcan where the rider grabs melan like a Hoochie Glide on the way down

Blind Judge - Heelside Raley with a backside 180 AKA Railey to Blind

Hoochie 313 - Hoochie glide with a frontside 360

Hoochie Glide - Heelside Raley with a Method grab

Hoochie Krypt - Hoochie glide with a frontside 180. AKA hooch to fakie

Hoochie to Blind - Hoochie glide with a backside 180 landing blind or passing the handle

Indy Glide - A 911 with an Indy grab

Krypt - Raley with a frontside 180

Oriental - Heelside Raley with a Slob grab

OHH - Heelside Raley with a Stalefish grab. AKA Other Handed Hoochie Glide/Hoochie Overhand

S-Bend (Sbend) - Heelside raley with an overhead backside 360. Both hands over head

S-Bend to Blind - S-Bend with a backside 180

S-Bend 720 - Heelside Raley with two overhead backside 360's. Both hands overhead

S-Mobe - An S-bend with a frontside handle-pass 360 on the way down

Vulcan - S-Bend with a frontside 180. AKA S-Bend to fakie

Handlepass-Inverts or Mobes: (Handle passes performed with the kite low are a lot more difficult. High handle passes grabbing both hands are more difficult than grabbing just one hand and looping the kite.)

Blind Pete - A toeside back roll with backside 360

Crow Mobe - A toeside front roll with frontside 360

Crow Mobe 540 - A toeside front roll with frontside 540

Dum Dum - A toeside front roll with backside 360

Dum Dum 540 - A toeside front roll with backside 540

Flavor Flip - A toeside front flip with a backside 360

Fruit Loop - A toeside front flip with a backside 180

KGB - A heelside backroll with a handle-pass backside 360

KGB 540 - A heelside backroll with a backside 540 (landing blind)

Mobius - A heelside Backroll with a frontside 360.

Mobe 540 - A heelside Backroll with a frontside 540

Mobe 720 - A heelside Backroll with a frontside 720 landing wrapped or passing the bar in the air, we consider more difficult to pass the bar in the air

Moby Dick - A tantrum with a backside 360

Pete Rose - A toeside back roll with frontside 360. Typically done with a slob or method grab

Pete Rose 540 - A toeside back roll with frontside 540

Slim Chance - A heelside front flip with a frontside 360

Slim Chance 540 - A heelside front flip with a frontside 540

Front Mobe - A heelside front flip with a backside 360

Tantrum to Blind - A tantrum and a backside 180

Toeside Roll to Blind (G-spot) - A toeside back roll with a handle-pass backside 180 (landing blind)

Tootsie Roll - A toeside front roll with a backside 180