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Inverted Frontroll

See it in the Trick Tree

Inverted Frontroll is a forward rotation where the rider throws the head back and arches, passing upside down under the board, then lands downwind.

Also called: Front Roll Invert · Inverted Front Loop · Inverted Front Roll · Inverted Grabbed Front Loop

Prerequisites

Frontroll

Unlocks

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

Schools teach this differently

Our sources genuinely disagree on when the head goes back. IKSURFMAG teaches a two-stage head movement: thrown forward towards the nose of the board off the pop, then reversed at around the 180 degree mark into the back-arching throw. Blake Olsen's MACkite breakdown puts the head back straight off the take-off and calls it "the secret to turning a normal front roll into an inverted one". MACkite's Big Air Basics episode presents the split openly as two routes: a cartwheel version where you look forward and down over your front foot and duck the head down over the front shoulder, and a backflip version where you lean the head back and look for the water at roughly 90 degrees of rotation.

How to do it

  1. 1. Speed and the send

    • Have three front rolls in a row dialled before you try to invert one.
    • Sit the kite around 45 degrees and build board speed, working the kite and bouncing the board a little before you pop to break the surface tension of the water.
    • Send the kite up and let it travel past 12 before you commit to anything else.
    • Move forward for a beat to release the tension on the lines, then cut upwind hard by edging.
    • Pop once the kite has gone over 12, leaning back and digging the back leg as hard as you can.

  2. 2. Getting upside down

    • Keep the bar pulled in off the take-off. If your arms are straight and the bar is above you, you cannot throw your weight forward.
    • Drive the front knee up into your chest and let the back leg follow it.
    • Dip the front shoulder down towards the water and throw your head back, looking for the water underneath you.
    • Slide the front hand to the small of your back and arch.
    • Kick the legs straight up after the shoulder dip, and stretch them at the top of the rotation — that slows the spin and makes the position more inverted.
    • Keep the back hand on the middle of the bar and hold tension on the lines the whole way round.

  3. 3. The tail grab (styling, not required)

    • Let go with the back hand as your head goes back and take the tail of the board.
    • Push the feet up to bone the grab out.
    • Because you throw the head back instead of looking for the landing, the rotation slows down and you hold the grab and the inversion for longer.
    • Leave the grab out on the first attempts and just concentrate on getting the board up.

  4. 4. Coming down

    • Lift your head and bring your chin onto your chest so you roll forward and the weight of the board pulls your feet back down.
    • Spot your landing before you touch down — you are already looking over your shoulder, so it should not be hard.
    • Keep the kite at noon until you hit the water, then dive it down in your direction of travel, redirecting with the front hand.
    • Land downwind with the knees bent to absorb the impact, then edge back upwind for a smooth finish.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Popping before the kite has travelled past 12.

Fix

Wait long enough for the kite to pass 12, otherwise you do not get enough upward lift. Load the edge and pop after it goes over, not while it is still climbing.

Mistake

Sending the kite back down too soon after take-off.

Fix

Hold the kite at noon until you hit the water and only dive it for the landing. Bringing it down early is what makes you hit the water too hard.

Mistake

Hunting for the board or the grab with your head, so the invert never really happens.

Fix

Do not look for the grab with your head. Throw the head back first, then lift the board with your legs until you can see it. Keep the bar in as you throw your head forward.

Mistake

Under-rotating and not completing the front loop.

Fix

Drop the grab and the board sooner, then turn your head hard to bring your shoulders around.

Mistake

Landing with too much speed and the kite diving hard.

Fix

Send the kite enough on take-off, keep the front hand butted up to the chicken loop, and do not try to pull yourself around the slow front loop on that hand.

If it goes wrong

  • On early attempts, slow it all down, be gentle and do not jump too high. Going upside down disorientates you on its own, and a low, slow miss is the cheapest one to have — which is why IKSURFMAG teaches the gentle version first.
  • If you feel you have already over-cooked it on the front hand, let the bar out to avoid a super fast reception.
  • If the rotation is coming up short, drop the grab and the board sooner, then turn your head hard to bring your shoulders around.

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

What should I have dialled before trying an Inverted Frontroll?+

A front roll you can land without thinking about it. Blake Olsen's rule is three standard front rolls in a row before you try inverting one. MACkite's Big Air series says you need to be doing front rolls smoothly and consistently first, and Kitesurfing Lanka pitches the trick at riders who have already mastered their first back and front rolls.

Is the inverted front roll harder than the inverted back roll?+

The other way round. Global Kitespots states plainly that the front roll invert is easier than the back roll invert. The same writer notes you spot the landing much sooner with a front roll than with a back roll, which is a large part of why it feels more controllable.

Where does the kite go through the trick?+

Start it around 45 degrees and send it up so it passes 12 before you pop. Kitesurfing Lanka is blunt that popping early costs you the lift you need. Blake Olsen keeps the kite at noon until you hit the water, then dives it in your direction of travel. IKSURFMAG recommends sending the kite well on take-off, because with a front loop you are likely to release the edge early and need the extra oomph for height. Bar in, hands close to the centre.

Do I need the tail grab?+

Not to land it. Global Kitespots says the trick is normally combined with a boned out tail grab, and Kitesurfing Lanka lists it as a bonus tip once you have mastered the rotation. IKSURFMAG's advice for first attempts is to leave the grab out and just concentrate on getting the board up.

How high should I go on the first attempts?+

Not high. IKSURFMAG tells first-timers to slow it all down, be gentle and not jump too high, because it is stunning how going upside down can and will disorientate you. Board speed is a different question: Blake Olsen wants you popping with a lot of speed, since that is what builds the momentum through the invert.

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.