Toeside Backroll is a backwards rotation launched from toeside with a back-leg kick, landing either back on heelside or the extra 180 round to toeside.
Also called: Backroll from Toeside · Toeside Back Loop · Back Loop from Toeside · Toeside Back Flip · Toeside Backroll to Toeside · toeside back roll
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
The sources split on when the head goes. IKSURFMAG's toeside back roll grab lists keystone three as "kick off and level but don't turn head", holding the rotation deliberately stalled while you take the grab, then turning head and shoulders over the front shoulder to finish. MACkite and the Kitesurfing Handbook start the head early — MACkite has you look over your back shoulder, throw your hips into the roll and throw your head back with an arched back; the handbook says throw your head into the turn with some gusto and your body will follow. IKSURFMAG's own toeside-to-toeside article sits nearer that second camp, lifting the shoulder and turning the head to initiate. Hand spacing splits too: the handbook wants hands close together at the centre of the bar so you can't accidentally redirect the kite, and the toeside-to-toeside article also keeps them central, while the toeside back loop kiteloop asks you to get your hands further apart for quicker kite response and leverage.
Ideal conditions
No source we cite gives a wind range in knots for this trick. IKSURFMAG says the toeside back roll grab can be banged out in pretty much any conditions once your toeside and back roll are solid. The Kitesurfing Handbook is firmer about power for back rolls in general: good power helps, so don't attempt one in light winds or if your kite is small for the condition. Nothing opened here specifies flat water versus chop for the trick itself, though MACkite's build-up drill is popping off little pieces of chop while riding toeside, and the handbook has you pick a small wave or chop as your ramp.
How to do it
1. Set up the toeside approach
- Put in sessions just popping off little pieces of chop while riding toeside before you try to rotate. If every jump you own is heelside, your muscles are weaker from this angle and you lack the muscle memory.
- Get your weight forward onto the front foot by opening your chest and hips so they face down the board. Sit right back over the tail instead and you sink the board — it drags through the water and slows you down.
- Bent front knee, hips and head dipped forwards, both knees driving forwards.
- Park the kite at 11 o'clock (1 on the other tack) on the edge of the window, and keep both hands on the bar so you can send it properly.
- Build real board speed before you commit. A board that is moving well won't stick, so it comes with you.
2. Send it and kick off
- Send the kite from 11 short and sharp, and stay edging on the board through the approach.
- Check your trim first. If the sweet spot is trimmed too far out you can't send the kite without stalling it, and a stalled kite pulls you up off your edge and makes the take-off very tricky.
- As the kite reaches 12, drop your weight quickly back by moving your hips and extending your front leg. Keep the back leg straight rather than folding it further.
- Keep the back leg pushing against the power as you roll onto the tail. If it goes soft, the kite goes too far back and not a lot will happen.
- Add a bit of back-leg kick, and stamp down against your edge, digging the tail in — that encourages more up and less back.
- Level the bar once you start to go up. Stopping the kite going any further back in the window is the whole job at that moment.
3. Rotate slow and land it
- Keep the bar in on the sweet spot and steer the kite forward slightly, which keeps the rotation slow and gives you time.
- Lift the knees so the board comes closer to you.
- For the grabbed version, look at the tail and reach for it with your back hand while the front hand keeps steering. Looking at the tail stops you turning your head, which stalls the rotation and buys you the time on the grab.
- Unstall it by turning your head and shoulders, looking over your front shoulder towards the water.
- Spot your landing. Where your eyes are looking, the body will follow.
- Release the grab, back hand back on the bar, drop your undercarriage and dive the kite for a smooth downwind landing. Absorb on impact with the board flat and your weight centred over it.
4. Carrying it round to toeside
- Land the basic back loop from toeside on heelside first — up off the water, into a nice slow rotation, landing comfortably off the wind. The toeside exit is built on top of that.
- Redirect the kite forward as you leave the water to give yourself momentum and prevent any uncontrollable spin, then dive it down as soon as you can see where you'll land.
- Look almost upwind as you come down. Look where you want to go.
- Pull the back knee and leg through under the bar, and drop your front shoulder down and upwind.
- Land with speed, on the tail of the board, but with your weight forward.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
You send, you leave the water, and nothing rotates — or you flop back and launch out of the straps.
Fix
Build board speed and edge quality first, because a board that's moving well won't stick and will come with you. On the toeside back loop the same symptom also means the kite travelled too far back before take-off: start with it lower and send with more conviction.
Mistake
The back leg goes soft as you drop your weight back.
Fix
Keep it pushing against the power as you roll onto the tail. If it goes soft, the kite goes too far back and not a lot will happen.
Mistake
You get almost no air off the toeside edge.
Fix
Trim the sweet spot so you can give the kite a positive send without stalling it — stall it and it pulls you up off your edge. More entry speed helps too, so the board edges instead of sticking and you can send more aggressively.
Mistake
You over-rotate and lose track of where you are.
Fix
Over-rotation is a common error: try not to rotate too fast or you will become disoriented. On the toeside-to-toeside version, spinning past the landing means the kite is too high — bring it forward as soon as you take off and start diving it as soon as you can see where you'll land.
Mistake
You bounce and stop on touchdown.
Fix
You need more forward speed and/or more weight forward as you land. Have the kite moving forward and give it a healthy dive before landing.
If it goes wrong
- Clearance first. Make sure you are clear of obstacles forward and downwind, and keep well clear of others while you're learning — that's step one of the handbook's back roll sequence, and it warns that back roll attempts can lead to disorientation and crashes.
- If you get a big yank from the kite, let go of the bar.
- If you're having trouble, do the trick without lifting up into the air: keep the board on top of the water and complete the rotation there.
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 should I already be able to do before I try a toeside backroll?+
The Kitesurfing Handbook is explicit: you should be staying upwind, be able to jump and ride toeside before attempting it. MACkite adds real time spent popping off little pieces of chop from the toeside edge, because if you only jump heelside your muscles are weaker from that angle and you'll lack the muscle memory. IKSURFMAG's grabbed version publishes no checklist, but tells you your toeside will dictate how well the rest of the move goes, and that if you're well versed in the art of tail grabbing the grab itself should feel natural.
How much wind do I need?+
None of these sources gives a number in knots. The Kitesurfing Handbook is clear that good power helps and tells you not to attempt a back roll in light winds or on a kite that is small for the condition. IKSURFMAG says the toeside back roll grab can be banged out in pretty much any conditions once the underlying skills are solid.
Where does the kite go, and what do my hands do?+
11 o'clock on one tack, 1 o'clock on the other, out on the edge of the window, with both hands on the bar so the send is short and sharp. Level the bar as soon as you start going up, because it's super important to stop the kite going any further back in the window. The Kitesurfing Handbook also has you position your hands close together at the centre of the bar so you can't redirect the kite by accident.
Why does the kite keep pulling me backwards instead of up?+
IKSURFMAG's answer is that the kite travelled too far back in the window before you left the water. Start with the kite lower and send with more conviction, and keep the back leg pushing against the power as you drop your weight back — if it goes soft, the kite goes too far back and not a lot will happen.
What do I do if it goes wrong mid-rotation?+
The Kitesurfing Handbook is blunt: if you get a big yank, let go of the bar. It also warns that attempting back rolls can lead to disorientation and crashes, which is why clearance is step one. If you're having trouble, do the trick without lifting into the air — keep the board on top of the water and complete the rotation there.
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.
- IKSURFMAG — How to Back Roll Grab from Toeside (Intermediate technique)
- IKSURFMAG — How to Back Loop From Toeside to Toeside (Intermediate technique)
- IKSURFMAG — How to Back Loop Kite Loop from Toeside (Intermediate technique)
- MACkite — Toeside Backroll Transition (Downloadable Trick Tips)
- Kitesurfing Handbook — Back rolls
- IKSURFMAG — 6 Backroll Variations You Should Try (Steven Akkersdijk masterclass)