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Tail Grab

See it in the Trick Tree

Tail Grab is a jump where the rider tucks the knees up, takes the back hand off the bar to grab the tail of the board, and lets go again before landing.

Also called: Jump with Tail Grab

Prerequisites

Basic Jump

Unlocks

Seatbelt Grab

Helps to know first

Jump with Grab

Schools teach this differently

Our sources disagree on two points. On where to take the board: Elite Watersports says grab the middle of the tail and specifically not the edge, while inMotion Kitesurfing tells you to start by grabbing whatever part of the board feels most comfortable. IKSURFMAG's heelside-edge instruction is a third position, but it belongs to the tail-grab board-off, where the hand is there to pull the board off rather than just hold it. On timing: Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook puts the grab at about 75% of the way up and the release at about 25% of the way down, while inMotion has you take the back hand off as soon as you are in the air with the kite overhead, and hold through the highest point.

Ideal conditions

Elite Watersports tells beginner jumpers to start around 18–22 knots on a standard kite and to aim for the top end of your kite's wind range, so a 12m rated 15–25 knots sits best around 20–24. The same guide lists what light wind buys you instead: hard landings, uncontrolled crashes, and slack lines mid-air that kill kite control. Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook adds the site rule — a clear zone of 50m downwind and 30m upwind, and never in shallow water.

How to do it

  1. 1. Set up the approach

    • Check your zone before you commit. You want a clear 50m downwind and 30m upwind, and never jump in shallow water.
    • Ride fast and upwind, edging hard, and think of carving a J-hook shape just before the jump.
    • Don't pull the bar in yet — keep it sheeted out during the load.
    • Hold a good solid edge so the kite moves up the window and not across it.
    • Slide both hands in toward the centre of the bar, so you don't turn the kite once one hand comes off.

  2. 2. Send and pop

    • Cruise with the kite at around 60 degrees, then send it quickly up to 12 o'clock as you finish loading.
    • Keep the bar angled gently back, so the kite won't go much past 12 o'clock.
    • Keep edging and let line tension build. When you feel overpowered, release the edge by flattening the board.
    • Pull the bar in and hold it in through the whole flight — pushing it out early costs you lift.

  3. 3. Tuck and take the tail

    • Elbows to hips, knees to elbows — the same shape as a standard jump.
    • Crouch and bring your knees to your chest. Bring the board to your hands; do not reach down for it.
    • About 75% of the way up, bring your back hand off the bar and grab the tail.
    • Grab the board in the middle of the tail, not on the edge — and beware of sharp fins.
    • Poke your front leg out a little. It makes the grab easier and it looks better.
    • Hold the grab as long as you can, and preferably through the highest point of the jump.

  4. 4. Release and land

    • About 25% of the way down, release the grab and get your back hand back on the bar.
    • Spot your landing on the way down.
    • Once you are close to the water, redirect the kite in the direction you want to ride away in. Keep it turning in your direction of travel, or you swing right under it and it stalls and loses power.
    • Land with your rear foot down first, board aimed downwind, knees bent to absorb the impact.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Reaching down for the board with your legs hanging under you.

Fix

Bring the board up to your hands instead. Elbows to hips, knees to elbows, knees to your chest — Peter's Handbook says that once you've brought your knees to your elbows the board should be easily within reach.

Mistake

Grabbing the edge of the tail, which also puts your hand near the fins.

Fix

Grab the board in the middle of the tail, not on the edge, and beware of sharp fins.

Mistake

Hands spread wide on the bar, so the kite turns the second your back hand leaves.

Fix

Keep your hands closer to the centre of the bar so that you don't turn the kite once you take one hand off.

Mistake

Leaving the kite parked while you come down.

Fix

Back hand on the bar and keep the kite turning in your direction of travel, otherwise you swing right under it and it stalls and loses power. Grabbing with the back hand is what leaves your front hand free to push the kite forward and help you land.

Mistake

Forcing a tail grab into a front roll.

Fix

Pair it with a backroll instead. MACkite's Blake says a tail grab stops your rotation on a front roll, but goes very naturally with a backroll — the indy is the one that works best with a front roll.

Mistake

Coming into the takeoff travelling too quickly off an aggressive send.

Fix

Quality over quantity — an up-and-down jump rather than a downwind swinger.

If it goes wrong

  • Don't jump without the safety zone: 50m clear downwind, 30m clear upwind, and never in shallow water.
  • If you're travelling too quickly as a result of your take off, back it off — concentrate on quality over quantity, an up and down rather than a downwind swinger.
  • If you're getting pulled onto your side, the kite is flying too far forward. Send it a bit further behind you before take off.
  • Don't push the bar out early while you're in the air. The kite races ahead and you lose lift.
  • Skip boosting in light wind. It buys you hard landings, uncontrolled crashes and slack lines mid-air.

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 be able to do before I try a tail grab?+

Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook sets the gate at jumping sorted plus an invert. Elite Watersports lists the ground floor underneath that: consistent waterstarts and riding both directions, board control and edging to build tension, the load-and-pop foundation, and kite steering you don't have to hesitate over. On flexibility, IKSURFMAG's line is about the tail grab board-off specifically — it requires the least flexibility of the board-offs, so even if you can't touch your toes but can do a one-foot, you're ready for that one.

How much wind do I want?+

Elite Watersports tells beginner jumpers to start around 18–22 knots on a standard kite and to aim for the top end of your kite's rated range, so a 12m rated 15–25 knots is best around 20–24. The same guide is blunt about the alternative: boosting in light wind gives you hard landings, uncontrolled crashes, and slack lines mid-air that kill kite control. None of the sources we cite give a wind range for the grab itself as opposed to the jump.

Which hand grabs, and can I use the front hand instead?+

Back hand. Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook states flatly that all grabs are easiest with your back hand, because grabbing with the back hand leaves your front hand on the bar, pushing the kite back forward in your direction of travel and helping you land. Front-hand grabs exist, but Elite Watersports files nose, mute and melon in an intermediate tier — the demand is kite control, since you have to fly the kite and avoid oversending it while making the grab.

Where exactly on the board am I grabbing?+

The tail, with the back hand. Elite Watersports is specific: bring the tail up into your back hand and grab the middle of the tail, not the edge. inMotion Kitesurfing is looser for a first attempt and says to just grab the part of the board that feels most comfortable to you.

Which rotations does the tail grab go with?+

Backrolls. MACkite's Ride with Blake puts it plainly: on a front roll a tail grab is harder than an indy because it stops your rotation, whereas on a backroll a tail grab is very natural and goes well with it. The indy is the one Blake says works best with a front roll.

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.