Skip to content
KitesurfingOfficial

Unhooked · Expert

Front Mobe

See it in the Trick Tree

Front Mobe is an unhooked front roll where the rider drops the back hand and passes the bar mid-rotation to land heelside, also called the NIS.

Also called: NIS · Non-Inverted Slim Chance

Prerequisites

Front to BlindS-Bend

Unlocks

Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.

Schools teach this differently

Our sources disagree on how the pass relates to the rotation: Kitesurfist teaches an S-Bend-style entry with the legs driven up horizontally, board above the bar and a vertical upside-down moment, with the handle pass done within the rotation flow; kitesurfingtrick.com defines the trick as explicitly NON-inverted (the non-inverted Slim Chance) and has you throw the pass against the rotation, turning head and shoulders back the other way; Alex Pastor likewise describes almost completing the front roll then turning the other way to land wrapped or pass. Difficulty labels split the same way: hardest-of-ten at Kitesurfist versus intermediate at the other two.

How to do it

  1. 1. Setup

    • Park the kite at 11 or 1 o'clock and carve to build speed.
    • Keep the kite low on the approach; it has to sit low enough that you can pass the bar later without excessive vertical pull.
    • Unhook, get your weight back over the tail and stay low; standing tall on the edge is the classic way to lose your pop.
    • Edge hard on your heels and bring the bar in close to your hips before you load up.

  2. 2. Pop and rotation

    • Stamp hard against the back of the board, extending your back leg explosively so you rise off the tail.
    • Turn your head over your shoulder to start the front rotation and let the body follow the eyes.
    • Keep your hands close in so the kite stays parked and can't creep up mid-trick.
    • Coming through halfway, bring hands and knees together; this slows the spin and keeps the board up under you.

  3. 3. The pass

    • Steer the kite down slightly just before or as you pull for the pass; that downward tick is what buys you the slack.
    • Keep the bar as low as possible as your body starts to drop.
    • Release the back hand and bring your hip toward the bar to catch it in the air.
    • Pass in the floaty beat at the top of the drop, the moment before free fall, and catch the bar as close to its center as you can.

  4. 4. Landing

    • Keep your head turning through the pass; staring down at the water is how landings fall apart.
    • Spot your landing and get the second hand back on the bar fast.
    • Bend your knees as you touch down, untwist your bar hand and ride off downwind with the kite.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Passing the bar too early in the rotation

Fix

Wait for the drop; an early pass over-rotates you and the bar never makes it back to your hips.

Mistake

Throwing yourself down into the trick instead of popping up first

Fix

Stamp against the tail and extend the back leg so you rise before you rotate.

Mistake

Standing too upright while edging in

Fix

Stay low with your weight back over the tail so the board actually loads.

Mistake

Kite rises during or after the pass

Fix

Keep your hands close on the approach and steer the kite down before or as you pull the pass.

Mistake

Straight arms in the air

Fix

Keep the arms bent; extended arms cost you control of the rotation axis.

If it goes wrong

  • Once you have popped and thrown the front rotation there is no half-way exit from it, so keep your legs up and send the kite high instead of trying to stop the spin. MACkite teaches this for the unhooked front roll the Front Mobe is built on, and says a bail puts you down on your back.
  • If the kite starts climbing on you as you pull or as you let go, use the beat where you are waiting for the pass and steer it back down, either before the pull or during it.
  • When your free hand finds the bar, take it as close to the middle as you can, because a grab out near the end of the bar can put the kite into a loop. Kitesurfist gives this for the Front Mobe pass, which happens at hip level.
  • When the pass does not come off and you land backwards in the water with the bar still in one hand, let go of it and set the next one up. IKSURFMAG gives this for handle passes in general, and the Front Mobe pass is one of them.

Learn this with a coach, not from a page

This is a high-consequence move. The sources it is built from describe riders getting hurt on it, and every one of them teaches it as a step you earn rather than attempt. Get coaching, build up in stages, ride with people who can help you, and give yourself deep water and clear space downwind.

Find a certified school

Educational reference, not instruction. Kitesurfing is a risk sport: the steps here describe what named schools, instructors and technique libraries teach, and the page lists exactly which ones, but real conditions involve wind, gusts, water state, traffic and equipment behaviour that no written guide accounts for. Schools also teach justified variations — where our sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking one. Judge your own readiness, use the safety systems on your kite, and do not attempt a move because a page made it sound achievable. KitesurfingOfficial accepts no liability for the use of this information on the water.

Questions riders ask

What should I have on lock before trying a Front Mobe?+

A powered unhooked popped front roll is the common floor. Kitesurfingtrick.com wants it landed toeside for preference, plus a shifty to wrapped or shifty 3; Kitesurfist sets the bar higher with the Raley, S-Bend and a surface handle pass first, and recommends knowing the 313; Alex Pastor's school asks for a solid foundation in loading, popping and unhooking.

Where does the kite go?+

Park it at 11 or 1 o'clock and keep it low, low enough that you can pass the bar without the kite hauling you upward. Tilt it down slightly as you go for the pass; that is where the slack comes from.

Is the Front Mobe the same trick as the NIS?+

Alex Pastor's school treats them as one trick, writing it as 'Front Mobe' or 'NIS' (non-inverted slim chance) and noting the real name came over from wakeboarding. Kitesurfingtrick.com files its full tutorial under NIS, the non-inverted variant of the Slim Chance, though that page never uses the Front Mobe name itself.

How hard is it really?+

Depends who you ask. Kitesurfist ranks it hardest of its ten freestyle tricks and calls it one of the four main classic new-school moves, while Alex Pastor's school and kitesurfingtrick.com label it intermediate on the unhooked ladder, well past the front roll. Either way it wants a decent initial boost; short pops end in harsh landings.

Keep reading

Sources

Every step on this page traces to the sources below. Where they disagree or stay silent, the page says so instead of guessing.