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Wave · Advanced

Top Turn

See it in the Trick Tree

The top turn redirects the board off the lip of the wave and back down the face, the answer to a good bottom turn.

Also called: snap · off-the-lip

Prerequisites

Bottom Turn

Unlocks

Backside Wave RidingTop Turn Tail Release

Schools teach this differently

Schools handle the kite differently here: KITEKAHUNAS sends it to the other side of the window with one strong pull before the wave and then pushes the bar out, Reo Stevens keeps it parked low and depowers mid-turn, and IKSURFMAG turns the kite first but slowly on the cutback side. All three agree on the point that matters: the kite must not be pulling you during the turn itself. The back-leg cue splits too — straighten it hard (KITEKAHUNAS) or keep the knee bent (Reo Stevens); one reads as a snap turn, the other as a drawn-out carve.

Ideal conditions

No source prescribes minimum conditions for the top turn. Reo Stevens' demonstration sequence was ridden in 25-knot side-shore wind on a 9m kite. In light wind, with less speed coming at the wave, KITEKAHUNAS says to put even more emphasis on the body movements to compensate for the reduced speed and momentum.

How to do it

  1. 1. Set up off the bottom turn

    • As you finish your bottom turn and approach the lip, read the wave — when it's best for an open-face turn, start your turn about halfway up the face.
    • Keep the kite low enough to edge against on the run-in — no higher than 11 or 1 o'clock.
    • Before you reach the wave, steer the kite with one strong, determined pull into the other side of the wind window, flying it low and away from the wave. Timing is critical: pull too early and the kite pulls you away from the wave before you reach its pocket; too late and it can pull you over the wave.
    • Then push the bar out, so the kite stops pulling and you can concentrate fully on the top turn without the kite interfering.
    • Aim for the crease where the wave is about to break, right in front of the white water — the steepest part of the wave.

  2. 2. Initiate at the lip

    • As you reach the pocket, lead the turn with your head and shoulders — turn your head sharply into the direction of the top turn and throw your front shoulder with it.
    • Throw your trailing hand backwards, strongly in one go, against the rotational direction of the turn, keeping that arm straightened — make this movement as strong as you can.
    • Let your hips follow the rotation and contribute to pushing on the tail, using your back hand as a counterbalance throughout the turn.
    • Firmly push the tail of the board with your back leg — straighten the back leg as much as you can and bend your front leg to support the full turn of the board.

  3. 3. Through the turn

    • Keep steady pressure on the tail and keep your back knee bent to absorb the bump on the wave.
    • Keep your weight centered over the board as the tail slides out — lean too much to the side and you'll fall backward or forward when the fins break free.
    • The kite is now pulling the opposite way to where you want the board to go, so depower accordingly to keep it from stopping you completing the turn.
    • Keep pointing your chest and looking where you want to go, start bringing the back knee toward the front knee, and use the energy in the board to complete the turn.
    • The more weight you drive through the rear foot, the bigger the spray — but the more you slow down, since you're dumping your speed into the spray.

  4. 4. Release and ride away

    • Use your front foot to push the nose of the board back down the line, continuing on to your next turn.
    • Release rear-foot pressure — completely collapse the rear leg so the tail rapidly planes out of the water and the nose drops back into the wave; your weight moves over the front foot, with the rear foot on its inside edge for board control.
    • Point the nose down and go — as soon as you begin accelerating, get onto your heelside edge to regain line tension and carve down the face.
    • By now the kite has changed direction and is travelling the same way as your surf line down the wave.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Mistiming the kite input: pull too early and the kite pulls you away from the wave before you reach its pocket; pull too late and it can pull you over the wave.

Fix

Give one strong, determined steering pull just before you reach the wave, then push the bar out so the kite stops interfering.

Mistake

Throwing the trailing hand back half-heartedly instead of as strongly as you can.

Fix

Throw the trailing hand backwards strongly in one go, arm straightened, against the rotational direction of the top turn.

Mistake

Leaning too far to the side as the tail slides out — you fall backward or forward when the fins break free.

Fix

Keep your weight centered over the board as you finish the turn, so you keep control as the tail slides out.

Mistake

Letting off your board edge before the kite has turned — wherever the kite is in its rotation when you release the edge is the direction it keeps travelling, and if its leading edge is facing up, the kite goes up.

Fix

The kite always gets the first turn: always turn the kite before the board.

Mistake

Hanging on the rear foot after the turn, so the board drags and you slow to a stop.

Fix

Lift the rear heel off the board (or collapse the rear leg) to force your weight forward — the flatter the board, the faster it glides.

Mistake

Moving the kite too slowly through its transition, so it travels up and over you — you lose power and the kite can even lift you out of your stance as it passes overhead.

Fix

Steer with both hands, a decent pull and push, so the kite turns quickly and cuts off the top of the window.

If it goes wrong

  • If you crash in the waves, don't worry about the board — your priority is getting the kite back in the air. With a kite in the air you have direction and control.
  • Always steer the kite while edging to maintain line tension — if you outrun your kite in the waves and it hits the water mid-swell, all bets are off.

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

Where exactly on the wave should I aim the top turn?+

Aim for the crease where the wave is about to break, right in front of the white water — the steepest part of the wave.

What is the kite doing while I do the top turn?+

It must stop pulling you: before you reach the wave, steer it with one strong pull into the other side of the wind window, flying it low, then push the bar out so you can concentrate fully on the turn without the kite interfering.

Can I practice top turns without waves?+

Yes. Practice linking heel-to-toe and toe-to-heel carves on flat water — the quicker, snappier toe-to-heel carve is the one you'll transform into a frontside top turn, and "flat water will show up all your weaknesses just as much as the waves".

How do I throw more spray off the lip?+

Drive the tail harder with the rear foot — more weight on the rear foot means bigger spray, but also means you slow down more (you're dumping your speed into the spray), so release the rear-foot pressure as you finish the turn to keep your speed.

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.