Strapless Straight Air is a jump on a strapless board, off pure pop or a kite send to 12 o'clock, with the toes pointed to keep the board at your feet.
Also called: Strapless Air · Strapless Jump with Kite
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
Our sources genuinely split on what the kite does during the air. KiteWorldWide teaches two separate methods — a pop jump with no send, and a kite-assisted jump where you move the kite to 12 and hold it there until you land downwind. IKSURFMAG's chop hop deliberately keeps the send short of 12 and leaves it unredirected just forward of 12, so the rider keeps forward momentum to carry through the landing. Parked-at-12 versus short-of-12-and-untouched are competing instructions for the same straight air.
Ideal conditions
Choppy water helps the timing; tiny waves or very small sections of white water work too, and a small wave or piece of chop acts as a kicker. Mirror-flat water makes the timing much harder. No source we cite states an ideal wind-speed range.
How to do it
1. Set up the approach
- Slide your back foot back until it presses right up against the tail pad, and set your front foot slightly wider than your normal stance.
- Ride crosswind with good speed. Speed is what sticks the board to your feet — the induced wind pushes it onto you.
- Keep the kite lowish, below 11 or 1, and edge hard against it. Edging sets the rail, loads line tension, and cuts you through the chop instead of bouncing over it.
- Aim at a kicker: a small wave or a solid piece of chop. It won't push the board up much, but it gives you your cue to launch, and the timing is far harder on mirror-flat water.
2. Send and pop
- Give the bar a short, sharp send toward 12. The kite must not pass it, and if it doesn't get all the way there, that's not a problem.
- Get low, stop carving before you stamp, then stamp down hard off your back leg as the nose of the board starts to rise up the chop. Back leg straightens, front leg stays bent.
- Pull the bar in at the same moment you stamp, so the kite pulls you up and onto the board.
- Point your toes as you leave the water so the nose turns slightly into the wind and the bottom of the board is faced into the wind.
3. Hold it together in the air
- Lift your front knee into your chest, push your chest forwards and down, and bring the back leg up after the stamp so both knees are bent.
- Keep the bottom of the board facing into the wind for the whole flight. If the upwind rail drops low enough for wind to hit the top of the board, the board flies off your feet.
- Take your back hand off the bar. It makes it easier to rotate your body into the position that gets the board's bottom up and facing the wind, and it pulls your body weight downwind of the board.
- Push the bar away to sheet the kite out, and leave the kite just forward of 12 where you sent it — don't redirect.
4. Land downwind
- As gravity takes over, extend your legs to keep the board in contact with your feet for as long as possible.
- Land downwind, and treat the touchdown like you would a normal strapped jump.
- If the kite is parked at 12, steer it down as you land. If your send stayed short of 12 you still have forward momentum to carry you through — sheet the bar in and dive the kite to ride away.
- Your feet will have shifted, so put them back in the center of the board, between the rails, for a stable landing.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
The board spins down and away from your feet mid-air.
Fix
Wind is hitting the top of the board. Keep the bottom faced into the wind — push the board with your toes into the wind and hold that toe pressure the whole flight.
Mistake
Sending the kite too far past 12, which sends you backward off the board.
Fix
12 o'clock is plenty and it doesn't even need to go that far. Short and sharp — and don't wait to feel the kite lift before popping, or it'll be way too far back.
Mistake
The board turns away downwind as soon as you get into the air.
Fix
Three causes: not letting the bar out when you send (you get pulled downwind and the board wraps around you), waiting too long after the pop before pulling the kite in, and not opening your shoulders as you carve. Let the bar out on the send, pull in promptly, keep the shoulders open.
Mistake
Trying to learn the timing on mirror-flat water.
Fix
Chop helps with the timing. Tiny waves, or even better, very small sections of white water, work fine too.
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
What do I need before trying a strapless straight air?+
You should already be riding with straps, and be happy riding upwind with a bit of speed and a decent edge on the board. The straight air is where strapless freestyle starts — it's the trick every other strapless trick builds off.
Should I learn the pop jump or the kite-assisted jump first?+
Pop first. The KiteWorldWide progression teaches the strapless jump with pop in episode one and only adds kite assistance in episode two, and IKSURFMAG calls the chop hop the best place to work on all the necessary ingredients.
What actually holds the board on my feet without straps?+
Wind pressure on the bottom of the board. Point your toes so the nose turns slightly into the wind and the bottom faces the wind, and carry speed — the induced wind pushes the board onto you. The moment wind hits the top of the board instead, it's gone.
Wax or a deck pad, and what board size?+
Both work, and pads give you consistent coverage. If you're new to riding a directional, go a bit bigger — it's more stable. Smaller boards are quicker, snappier and more maneuverable once you're into strapless freestyle.
Do I need waves to learn it?+
No. Chop is enough, and tiny waves or very small sections of white water work fine too. A small wave or a piece of chop just acts as your kicker. Mirror-flat water is where the timing is hardest.
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.