re footstraps
[b] It is for all those people who dont cant surf!!!!
explain that strapped kite surfing is for people who don't /can't surf to the Margaret river Crew who are as likely to be still paddle-in surfing at 10-12 foot or doing tow ins [strapped] if its bigger on the no wind days. I think you might recieve a derisory laugh and an offer to personally demonstrate your obviously superior skills..
Strapped and unstrapped riding all has its place and time, always will. Fashion [yes that what it is] over-rides all common sense in this sport at times.
The simple fact is the sport has along way to go, no-one has been doing it any more than 10 yrs and the equipment has improved drastically in that time.
Simple fact --Strapped in is a great way of landing airs. They can be legit-airs too, that is an air relying on lip-lift and rider momentum from the wave and not the kite. Perhaps when the strapless crew are looking like jordy Smith, nailing all those air reverse 180s, air 360s and rodeo clowns, the time will have come to say bye bye to straps except for huge surf, meanwhile I get bored watching strap guys still falling off trying to make a simple decent lip smack and then getting in the way while they practice their body drags in the break. I hear a lot of talk about unstrapped airs but see very little action.
Personally I would like to see a lot of guys putting their straps back on at least now and again to push things to the next level, and there will be a next level, just no-one, and i mean no one, is there yet.
A lot of the pro-surfers that you are seeing landing airs on the tour got a leg up on the learning curve by doing tow-in surfing or wake surfing with straps on their boards to get their heads around the move .......so lets stop bagging straps and start accepting that its not straps that are making the sport look lame, lack of rider skill and conceptualisation is doing that .
thanks
