G'day fellow wind junkies, i need your assistance with strapless airs. I cannot keep the board on my feet, not to sure why. Do you need to carry heaps of speed? Do i need do attempt the jump of the lip of the wave? Any advice would be great.
It helps if it's onshore/cross shore. I find you need to angle the bottom of the board to the wind to help it to be pushed against your feet. I'm no pro at them so someone else has probably got a better method but sort of works for me
Try pushing the board into the wind then slightly downwind for landing. My little jumps off waves often mean that the board leaves one or both of my feet but I make sure it is going in the same direction as I am so I can land on it (gently).
taj burrow did 3 or 4 short vids on how to air on surfline they should be on there video archives 
Im in the same boat, Im thinking its just hard..
Heres a link to show you how much more practice you need before you look like a pro :) www.straplesskitesurfing.com
Select to expand quoteDuff15 said...
G'day fellow wind junkies, i need your assistance with strapless airs. I cannot keep the board on my feet, not to sure why. Do you need to carry heaps of speed? Do i need do attempt the jump of the lip of the wave? Any advice would be great.
I reckon the easiest way is to jump from the top of the wave with lots of speed and do a nose grab with your front hand to start
I'm newly addicted to strapless jumping after a lot of attempts with not much progress. What worked for me was really thinking about the back foot, really kicking the tail out and forcing it into the wind. Before I would try and angle the board with my feet, it wasn't enough. If I concentrate on really pushing the tail hard I can usually keep the board glued solid to my feet. Landing softer is what I'm trying to master now... have fun, it feels really good when it all comes together, especially when you pop a nice floaty one off a steep wave and make it.
The angle of the wind to the chop makes a big difference. I find I need a good little chop or wave to get the board to come up with my feet.
Landing is whats getting me...
I can keep the board on my feet (most of the time) but when I land I tend to get bounced off.
I think as I try to push the board into the wind I tend to rotate and land sideways and get bounced.
Any pointers for a smooth landing?
Thanks for the tips, so bend your font leg and straighten the back leg to angle the board? Can you use apparent wind to hold the board to your feet?
I am also pretty average at them but here's what I have found works best -
For me straight onshore wind riding heel side upwind ( on my good side of course) the waves/ chop is at an angle where if I your riding upwind your riding along the wave, this is the easiest situation to do strapless airs for me, much easier than in sideshore wind riding straight at the wave like a ramp
When all goes as planned it goes something like this-
Riding with decent speed ( doesn't have to be super fast) kite at 45deg.
Only back hand on the bar, spot your ramp and scoop hard so when you launch the board is pointing up into the wind- at the same time sheet in and send it up just a little, if you do get a good bit of height/ airtime it is important to keep the bottom of the board pressed into the wind with your feet , as you start your decent swap hands on the bar ( back hand off front hand on) this helps to direct the kite for landing and rotate your body downwind for the landing, at the same time you will need to press your back foot on the tailpad to rotate the board to land downwind
I have found that getting the technique right is much more important than what sort of a wave you have to launch from. The trick of always making sure the front hand is on the bar for landing has been the biggest step forward in getting my technique right , I saw that on one of the straplesskitesurfing.com tutorials- great website check it out
No expert either, but here is my trial and error:
- if you are going from jumping strapped to strapless, if you load the board to hard you will cause it to stick and flick, you will go high but board won't stay with you. Start small on ramps.
- as you launch try bending your legs up and keep them up, then as described above straighten the back leg to rotate the board so it faces the wind and pivots on the front foot
- keep the legs bent until just before the board hits the water or it will drop away from you, you want to land with the board
- don't be afraid of a bit of speed including when landing, this will keep you in contact with the board
Your board weight and volume will play a part in making this harder or easier as well.
I'd try using both hands on take off and then dropping back hand in the air. It seems to keep you aligned in the air better. Friend of mine was taking off with back hand once to told him to keep front hand on and both hands loading up it fixed many issues. Here's a sequence from my clip. Get that board up against the wind and landing point a bit downwind then back onto heels again. Also wax board to the tip so you don't do the splits on landing. Hope this helps
Impressive stuff, i tried to get strapless airs for a session of two, couldn't, so gave up. Can't be bothered going through all that learning sh1t again.
But it I love watching it, Impressive skill set to develop if you have the patIence.
1st thing is to practice an ollie. Don't worry about the kite just keep it at 45 one hand or two doesn't really matter.
Like on a skateboard keep your weight on your front foot then rock your weight back, jam your back foot down and at the same time lift your front foot up. then lift your back foot up. When you do this on the flat with no chop you won't get higher than a few inches and the board will drop away but you should still land back on it. Its important to get the feel of the board coming up off the water like your feet a sucking the board up.
when you start getting the feel of it try it off some small chop and angle the front of the board into the wind. The longer you hold the bottom of the board into the wind the better it pushes back onto your front foot. AS you get better jump higher off the chop try to get the board as vertical as possible. DO this by lifting your front foot as high as possible (get your knee up onto your chest). Remember the bottom of the board needs to face into the wind so it sticks to your feet.
Progress to a wave and its the same ollie. When you start getting some height you can soften the landing by sending the kite. I jump goofie and sometimes let go of the bar with my front hand to balance my landing which makes it really hard to send the kite which often means a hard landing. Try not to lean back on the landing. keep the board really waxed up so your front foot doesn't slip out.
Start small and get the technique right first.
Select to expand quoteeppo said...
Impressive stuff, i tried to get strapless airs for a session of two, couldn't, so gave up. Can't be bothered going through all that learning sh1t again.
But it I love watching it, Impressive skill set to develop if you have the patIence.
Got heaps of strapless airs tonight
Just left the board behind
I slapped my ollies too
Was screaming at everything in my frustration, good fun though
Calmed down and soaked in the sun set with a cold one, 
It's a tough gig up here
If you want to do it like the pros - youll be needing sticky board wax, look it up... Avracadabra
Keahi gave me a few tips,number 1 mistake he said most people make is to send their kite,he said keep kite high and do all your popping off your fins,also it is way easier when wind is at least good 20-25 knts everything falls into place and the board just sticks and landings are softer..just like a skateboarding its all about momentum and like Rich said dropping the back hand off the bar rotates your body into a good position so board stays into the wind
Select to expand quoterichierich said...
I'd try using both hands on take off and then dropping back hand in the air. It seems to keep you aligned in the air better. Friend of mine was taking off with back hand once to told him to keep front hand on and both hands loading up it fixed many issues. Here's a sequence from my clip. Get that board up against the wind and landing point a bit downwind then back onto heels again. Also wax board to the tip so you don't do the splits on landing. Hope this helps
Impressive photos mate, you make it look easy. I have it mapped out in my head just need to practice now.
I hadn't really noticed but I drop the back hand as well. (photo by truespirit, Gordon can make anyone look good)
Plenty of good advice thanks. Was out at somers yesterday, was very gusty and blowing around 30knots. So im at the point i feel like in the air but its hard to tell if the tail of the board is dragging along the water. So my next question is how to i get more height? Is it speed and pop? Thanks
This is the board i am using. Obviously the main reason i got this board is the graphics haha.
Pop is the answer, can you pop with a twin tip? It's pretty much exactly the same. Go on your natural upwind tack (ie left if you are regular, right if you're goofy) and keeping the kite at 45 degrees. Look for a piece of chop or wave as your ramp. Point board for a second a bit more downwind and then dig in with back foot more upwind than your upwind tack to build tension in lines and to stay in water long as possible until you POP. I wouldn't use the kite for lift at all just do 10 pops on one tack till you get the board on the right angles.
I bought a pair of boothies with built in suction caps installed underneath 
They work a treat
Only way I could do big unstrapped airs 
Jack here is another one of you from my blog.
www.ironbark.woofess.org/2016/08/28/scarborough-beach-28-08-2016-part-2/
ironbark
Select to expand quoteSaveTheWhales said...
If you want to do it like the pros - youll be needing sticky board wax, look it up... Avracadabra
FuWax from Brasil Guaruja Best wax in the world
