A jump with grab is a straight air with board contact: once the jump is stable, one hand comes off the bar and grabs the board in flight.
Also called: grabbed jump · straight air grab
Prerequisites
Schools teach this differently
Schools time this grab differently. Elite Watersports teaches grabbing at the apex of the jump, while IKSURFMAG's nose grab tutorial has you get the grab in on the way up, before redirecting the kite, with the back hand coming off soon after take-off. The earlier reach is specific to the harder nose grab, so both timings stand as taught.
How to do it
1. Setup: before you try a grab
- Get your basic jump solid first. Adding grabs to your tricks is the next step in progression after learning the basics — once you have a jump dialed in and feel comfortable, it's time to start grabbing the board.
- Rehearse the grab mechanics with your board stationary before trying them airborne — in the sand or on a rug at home.
- Start from a simple hooked-in kiteboarding jump and learn back-hand grabs first — they are the easiest to learn.
- The kite work stays your normal jump — no new technique: send the kite up, then redirect it forward so you land going a bit more downwind.
2. In the air: get compact
- As soon as you're airborne, stay low and get small — crouch, don't bend at the waist.
- Bring the knee on your grabbing side up closest to your chest — for a tail grab that's the back knee.
- Take your back hand off the bar and bring both knees to your chest; split the bar with your front hand for better kite control.
- Don't reach down for the board — bring the board up to your hand.
- Taking your back hand off puts a little pressure on the front hand, so from noon the kite comes forward and pulls you along your direction of travel — setting up the downwind landing.
3. Make the grab
- Time the grab for the apex of your jump (or after you complete a rotation, if you're combining them).
- Tail grab: pull your back leg back — as you pull your knee up, the tail of the board comes closer to your hand — then take your back hand off the bar and grab the tail.
- Grab the board in the middle of the tail, not on the edge.
- Indy grab: bring both knees up into your chest, then reach your back hand in front of your back leg to the toeside edge and grab between your feet.
- Tweak it for style: the more you bend that back leg and straighten (poke out) your front one, the more stylish it is.
4. Release, land and ride away
- Release the grab and put your hand back on the bar before you touch down, then land smoothly and ride off.
- On the way down let your legs fall underneath you and dive the kite with two hands on the bar, keeping the power on by keeping the bar in.
- Aim to land tail first with the board pointing quite downwind, then carve back onto your edge.
- Start small with a simple tail grab; with time, as you get your timing right, bring the tail closer to your hip and poke the front leg for style.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Reaching down for the board with your grab hand.
Fix
Refrain from reaching down — bring the board to your hand by tucking your knees to your chest.
Mistake
Oversending the kite once your back hand comes off the bar.
Fix
Put your back hand on the front of the bar before the grab — keep two fingers on the front of the bar for leverage to redirect the kite into a good landing.
Mistake
Bending forward at the waist to reach the board.
Fix
Crouch, don't bend — stay low, get small and compact with the knee coming up to your chest.
Mistake
Missing the grab because you go for it too late or reach forward for it.
Fix
Get the back hand off soon after take-off, then lean back and twist round for the grab instead of reaching forward; on the nose grab, over-tight footstraps can also stop you lifting the front knee, so check them.
Mistake
Getting pendulumed and crashing onto your back after take-off.
Fix
Calm the send down a notch and keep your edge until lift-off — losing your edge or letting the bar out early lets the kite fly too far back.
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 schoolEducational 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
Which grab should I learn first?+
Back-hand grabs are the easiest to learn, and the tail grab is the easiest one and the place to start: bring the tail up into your back hand, grabbing the middle of the tail rather than the edge.
Which hand comes off the bar?+
The back hand does the grabbing on the beginner grabs (tail, indy, stalefish), while your front hand splits the bar for better kite control.
Do I have to change my jump technique to add a grab?+
No — the kite positioning is kept the same as a basic jump: send the kite up, redirect it forward and land downwind. The grab is added on top of the jump you already know.
Where on the board should I avoid grabbing?+
Avoid the no-grab zones: the areas near your fins, between the tail and your foot straps. The actual nose, tail, or between the feet will always be the most stylish places to 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.