The strapless toeside jibe is a downwind carve: the rider swaps feet before the turn, enters it toeside and carves to heelside to exit in normal stance.
Also called: toeside gybe · jibe with prior footswap · change of feet and jibe
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
Our sources disagree on when to swap feet: IKSURFMAG teaches the swap after the carve first and files swapping before the turn as its follow-up lesson, while Alby Rondina and Tabula Rasa call the swap-first, toeside-entry version the easier one to start with; Tabula Rasa adds that many riders pick a different order per tack, so coaches end up recommending both.
Ideal conditions
Flat water and a comfortably powered kite for learning: ProKite Alby Rondina teaches the basic strapless moves on a flat, shallow lagoon and notes jibes are easier when well powered; Tabula Rasa adds that a downloop supplies the missing exit power even in light wind.
How to do it
1. Set up the approach
- Park the kite higher in the window and bleed off a little speed before anything else moves.
- Keep enough board speed that the hull stays stable under you; a dead-slow board wobbles the moment your feet start walking.
- Learn it on flat water with a comfortably powered kite, because an underpowered kite is why riders stall and sink after the turn.
2. Swap your feet first
- Slide your back foot up the centreline to the middle of the board, then bring it right beside your front foot until your toes almost touch.
- Step, never hop: keep both feet in contact with the deck and take small steps while you are learning.
- Bend your knees and hang your weight forward in the harness so the kite carries you through the unstable side-by-side moment.
- Shift your weight onto the foot you just brought forward, then swing the old front foot back toward the tail.
- Settle into a comfortable toeside stance and keep riding toeside toward the turn.
3. Carve from toeside to heelside
- Steer the kite toward the new direction first, slowly through 12 o'clock; the kite has to lead the carve, never trail it.
- Edge a touch upwind just before you commit to the carve, which buys back the traction you would otherwise lose at the exit.
- Roll your weight off your toes and onto your heels to carve the board through a downwind arc.
- Let the board come all the way around so you exit heelside in your normal stance.
4. Power up the exit
- Fly the kite into the power zone on the new tack to rebuild speed.
- If you keep sinking off the exit, downloop the kite instead of steering it back overhead.
- Commit to the loop with the bar pulled in, tight and fast; a slow, timid loop dumps extra power at you.
- As the loop finishes, push the bar out so the kite does not backstall, and bear off slightly downwind to absorb the surge.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
The kite follows the carve instead of leading it, so you lose traction mid-turn.
Fix
Send the kite through 12 toward the new side before the board turns. Kite first, board second.
Mistake
Losing traction and sinking as you come out of the turn.
Fix
Edge slightly upwind before entering the carve, stay well powered, and add a downloop once the basic turn works.
Mistake
Swapping feet with a jump or one big shuffle.
Fix
Keep both feet touching the deck and take small steps: back foot up beside the front foot, weight across, then the front foot back.
Mistake
Stumbling mid-footswap because your legs are too straight.
Fix
Flex your knees more and let the kite hold your weight through the harness.
Mistake
Stepping the new back foot too far toward the tail and missing the board.
Fix
Place it just behind the other foot first, then slide it further back once you feel stable.
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
Do I swap my feet before or after the carve?+
Both orders exist and both are worth learning. In the toeside jibe you swap first, carve toeside, and exit in your normal stance; many riders find this order easier, and plenty settle on swapping first on one tack and after the turn on the other, depending on which foot they prefer in front.
What should I be able to do before trying it?+
Ride confidently in both normal and toeside stance without thinking about it, and have the slow, step-by-step footswap working on flat water. The jibe is the first direction change to learn on a surfboard, since the downwind turn is easier there than the upwind tack.
Why do I sink when I exit the turn?+
Usually the kite trailed the carve, or you started underpowered. Send the kite across the window before the board turns, edge slightly upwind on entry, and if the exit still feels dead, add a downloop for extra pull.
Is the downloop in the jibe dangerous?+
No. Done in the jibe phase it is a controlled shot of power, and the counterintuitive part is that a tighter, faster loop releases less power than a slow one. Keep the loop at the edge of the window, bring the kite straight back up, and bear off slightly downwind to absorb the pull.
What conditions make learning easiest?+
Flat water and a comfortably powered kite. Alby Rondina's school drills the basic strapless moves on a flat, shallow lagoon, and he notes jibes come easier when you are well powered so the kite still pulls after the turn. In lighter wind, the downloop covers the exit.
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.