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Unhooked · Expert

KGB

See it in the Trick Tree

The KGB is an unhooked back roll with a backside 360 handle pass, the bar passed late in the rotation so the rider lands heelside instead of blind.

Prerequisites

Back to Blind

Unlocks

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

Helps to know first

Blind Judge 3

Schools teach this differently

Our sources split on how the second half is steered: IKSurfMag teaches one continuous head-led rotation with eyes up hunting the landing (the pass is deliberately not the focus), while Kitesurfist describes inverting the rotation mid-way by turning head and hips the opposite direction while passing front hand to back hand. The recommended prerequisite ladders also differ: back to blind with air pass plus Blind Judge 3 (IKSurfMag) vs unhooked back roll, back roll to blind, backside 3 (Kiteboarding St Petersburg) vs Riley, back loop and surface handle pass (Kitesurfist).

How to do it

  1. 1. Setup: bear away and unhook

    • Bear away well off the wind before you unhook; coming in off the wind is what buys you pop and a slow enough rotation.
    • Park the kite slightly higher than you would for a back roll to blind while you learn it, then flick it down right before or after unhooking to throw slack into the lines.
    • Keep both hands centered on the bar so you don't steer the kite once you're off the hook.
    • Lean back over the tail of the board and hold that weight there into takeoff.

  2. 2. Pop and inversion

    • Stamp hard against your back foot to launch.
    • Lock your elbows in from the first moment and pin the bar in close to your waist.
    • Keep your head square to your shoulders and look forward, not over your front shoulder.
    • Pull your knees up and in as the board rises so the board moves with you, and let the lean-back tip you inverted.
    • Get properly upside down; the inversion is what brings the bar to your hip so the pass is reachable.

  3. 3. The pass

    • Hold the rotation to the high point, where the lines loosen; when it feels like you've left it too late, that is your cue to go.
    • Turn your head to start the pass and look up, never down at the water.
    • Stretch your chin out in front of you with eyes up; the head leads the entire move while your focus stays on spinning head, body and board, not on the pass itself.
    • Release the back hand and pass the bar; your weight transfers onto the front hand as you let go.
    • Keep the front knee bent and tucked tight through the pass so the landing foot comes with you.

  4. 4. Landing heelside

    • Stay tucked after the pass with the front knee still bent; that tuck carries you past blind and around the full 360.
    • Let the board finish its loop ahead of you so you drop onto it moving forward rather than falling backward.
    • Spot your landing early to get both feet back under your body, and touch down heelside to close out the move.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Feet drop out of the back loop before you can pass

Fix

You need more inversion: lean harder back over the tail on takeoff, keep the elbows locked, and drive the knees up higher.

Mistake

Fixating on the bar pass, stopping at 180 and landing blind

Fix

Shift your focus to spinning head, body and board until you can see the landing; concentrate only on the pass and you'll drop down without turning the full 360 to heelside.

Mistake

Passing too early or pulling the bar in weakly

Fix

Wait for the high point of the rotation when the lines loosen up, and pull the bar with enough force to bring it down to your hip.

Mistake

Riding overloaded with power to buy height

Fix

Generate the power through effective technique before the pop instead of riding overpowered, and aim bigger and higher than a normal back roll to blind.

If it goes wrong

  • Rig the exit before you ride out. For air-pass moves in general, IKSURFMAG has you trim the bar down to the chicken loop and put the leash on the side you pass from: right side if you pass right hand to left, left side if you pass left to right.
  • When the bar feels too far away and you start thinking the pass is gone, keep your front hand on it. IKSURFMAG says this about the Blind Judge, an unhooked air pass from the same family: you turn around that front arm, and if you let go because you think you will not make it, you will not.
  • Once the bar is in your back hand, bring the kite down a little with your wrist. Kitesurfist writes this into its KGB steps so the kite does not loop on you at the end of the jump.
  • Coming down short of heelside, MACkite's blind-landing guide gives you two ways out: let go of the bar and ride downwind, or, if you are going in anyway, scoop out, throw your legs up and take the body flop instead of catching an edge.

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 land consistently before trying a KGB?+

A back to blind with an air pass, stomped reliably — IKSurfMag calls the KGB tweaking and polishing from there, and says a nailed Blind Judge 3 helps a lot because you've already built the muscle memory. Kiteboarding St Petersburg teaches the ladder unhooked back roll, then back roll to blind, then backside 3. Kitesurfist wants the Riley, the back loop and the surface handle pass dialed first.

How is a KGB different from a back to blind with air pass?+

The KGB adds a final 180 of rotation: instead of landing blind, you keep the spin going after the pass and land heelside, completing the move.

Where do I put the kite?+

Don't be afraid to fly it a tad higher than for a normal back roll to blind while you're learning, then flick it downwards right before or after unhooking to create the line slack the pass needs.

How much unhooked experience do I need first?+

Mackite's unhooked course keeps unhooked riding off the first-year menu — kite skills and safety come first. Then drill the unhooked pop and the surface pass, because those two drills set the muscle memory for every other trick.

Do I need more height than for a back roll to blind?+

Yes. Go bigger and higher than a normal back roll to blind — but build that height with technique before the pop, not by riding overpowered.

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.