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Airstyle · Progressing

Indy Grab

See it in the Trick Tree

Indy Grab is a jump where the rider pulls both knees to the chest and grabs the toeside edge of the board between the feet with the back hand.

Also called: Indy · Popped Indy Grab

Prerequisites

Basic Jump

Unlocks

Seatbelt Grab

Helps to know first

Jump with Grab

Schools teach this differently

Our sources split on how you leave the water. Elite Watersports teaches a sent jump: edge hard upwind with the bar sheeted out, send the kite quickly to 12, then pull the bar in and hold it. IKSURFMAG's popped Indy sets the kite at 11 or 1 and tells you specifically not to pull the bar during the pop, so the height comes off the edge instead. Same grab once you are in the air, two different ways of getting there.

Ideal conditions

Flat water, ridden at the top end of your kite's wind range so you are powered without being overpowered. Elite Watersports puts the starting window around 18 to 22 knots on your standard kite and calls 20 to 24 knots the ideal learning zone for jumping, with a 170 lb rider on a 12 m in 20 to 24 knots or a 9 m in 24 to 28. IKSURFMAG teaches the popped version on flat water, because flat water helps with anything popped.

How to do it

  1. 1. Setup and approach

    • Ride at the top end of your kite's wind range, powered but not overpowered. Elite Watersports' starting window is around 18 to 22 knots on your standard kite.
    • Do not force it when you are underpowered. On a 12 m in 15 knots you have to send the kite hard just to leave the water, and that is where people get hurt.
    • Learn it on flat water. Flat water helps with anything popped.
    • Slide both hands in near the middle of the bar, butted up against the depower line, so letting go with one hand later does not steer the kite.
    • Build speed and edge hard upwind with the bar sheeted out, loading tension into the lines.

  2. 2. Send and pop

    • On a sent jump, load by edging, then send the kite quickly up to the 12 o'clock position.
    • Once the kite is up there, pull the bar in and hold it.
    • On a popped jump, set the kite around the 11 or 1 o'clock mark, ride with the nose slightly higher than usual and your weight back.
    • Stamp your back heel hard against the edge by explosively straightening the back leg.
    • Go from the carve straight into the pop. You cannot carve for long or you just stop.
    • On that popped take-off the bar stays out. Pull on it and the kite pulls against you.

  3. 3. The grab

    • Bring both knees up into your chest and let the board come to your hands. Reaching down at it is why the grab never arrives.
    • Concentrate on lifting the front knee. That is what brings all of the board closer.
    • Release the back hand and leave the front hand on the bar, so the kite keeps getting pushed forward in your direction of travel.
    • Reach in front of your back leg to the toeside edge and grab between your feet.
    • Turn your head back so you are looking behind your centre line.
    • Get your fingers under the board to make it count, and hold the grab through the highest point of the jump.

  4. 4. Release and land

    • Release the grab about a quarter of the way down and get ready for the landing.
    • Put both hands back on the bar and spot your landing zone.
    • As you come close to the water, redirect the kite in the direction you want to ride away in. With tension on the lines it powers up, drops back into the window and pulls you forward.
    • Point the board downwind before it touches.
    • Keep the bar pulled in until you touch down.
    • Relax and let your legs and board drop under you, and use your knees to absorb the impact.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

You reach down at the board and your fingers never make it to the edge.

Fix

Bring both knees up into your chest and bring the board to your hands. Crouch, do not bend, and get small.

Mistake

Your hand lands near the back foot, so you come home with a Tindy instead of an Indy.

Fix

Concentrate on lifting your front knee. That is what brings all of the board closer, middle of the toeside edge included.

Mistake

The kite wanders off course the moment you let go with the back hand.

Fix

Butt your hands up against your depower line, near the centre of the bar, before take-off, so flying it one-handed does not turn it.

Mistake

The board feels heavy and far off at the top of the jump.

Fix

That is the kite lifting and supporting you. Set it around the 11 or 1 o'clock mark for a popped take-off.

Mistake

You barely leave the water, then send the kite harder to compensate.

Fix

Go out at the top end of your kite's range instead. Elite Watersports puts a 170 lb rider on a 12 m in 20 to 24 knots, or a 9 m in 24 to 28.

If it goes wrong

  • Release the grab about a quarter of the way down and prepare for landing.
  • Once you start coming down, put both hands back on the bar and spot your landing before you get near the water.
  • To come down gently, keep the kite parked at 12 o'clock and let it lower you. Elite Watersports calls this the helicopter landing and rates it the most beginner-friendly option.
  • Stick to steady wind and avoid gusty or stormy conditions. Give yourself room downwind and stay away from crowds.

Learn this with a coach, not from a page

This guide explains what the move is and what riders get wrong, so you arrive at the session knowing what you are trying to do. It cannot watch your kite, read the gust coming, or stop you committing to something you are not ready for — a coach or instructor can.

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

How much wind do I need to jump into an Indy?+

No source we cite publishes a wind range for the Indy itself. Elite Watersports' general jump guidance is to ride the top end of your kite's range: start around 18 to 22 knots on your standard kite, with 20 to 24 knots the ideal learning zone. Their sizing example is a 170 lb rider on a 12 m in 20 to 24 knots, or a 9 m in 24 to 28.

What do I need to be able to do before I try it?+

Elite Watersports wants consistent waterstarts, riding in both directions, board control and edging, and kite control you no longer hesitate over. Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook wants your jumping sorted and an invert in the bag first. inMotion builds its grab tutorial on top of riding upwind and jumping. IKSURFMAG's popped version files under intermediate and assumes you have already practised the pop.

Which hand grabs, and where on the board?+

Back hand, on the middle of the toeside edge, between your feet, reaching in front of your back leg. The back hand is the one you free because the front hand stays on the bar, pushing the kite back forward in your direction of travel and helping you land, which is why Peter's handbook says grabs are easiest that way.

Why can't I reach the board?+

The sources name three causes. You are reaching down instead of bringing the board to your hands. Your front knee is not coming up, and lifting it is what brings all of the board closer. Or the kite is lifting and supporting you, which IKSURFMAG says makes the board feel heavy and far off.

Is the Indy a beginner grab?+

Elite Watersports lists it under beginner back hand grabs and calls it another very easy grab. Peter's handbook calls it the next easiest grab after the tail. MACkite calls it essential to learn before you move on to other grabs. IKSURFMAG files its popped Indy as intermediate, since that version wants a dialed pop before you add the grab.

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.