Advanced freestyle figures by Jordi Morella

We’re proud to bring a piece of quad-line history back into the light: Experiencias (2007–2009) by Jordi Morella. Originally published in Flash, these 9 advanced figures shaped our common vocabulary. With Jordi’s permission, we’ve pulled them out of the digital vault, restored, converted, and reassembled them for today’s screens—so they fly smoothly, just like the originals.

This took hours of digging, rebuilding, and cross-checking, followed by a careful French and English translation, by and for kite flyers. Thank you Jordi for this gem, and thanks to the community helping us preserve it. Enjoy the (re)discovery!

Note: The rest of this page reproduces the original text where Jordi writes in the first person (version sourced from Revomania), with a few light edits for clarity.

Contents

Introduction

Normally a kite flies on a semi-spherical surface, but with these figures you get true three-dimensional flight: you can also hold the sail parallel to the wind.

A few tips before jumping in:

With standard handles you generally can’t pull these off; use long handles. I explain how to mod your handles at the bottom of the page.
Avoid watches and jewelry that lines can snag on (ask me how I know): with abrupt moves they wrap around bracelets, buckles, any little protrusion.
On the handle leaders, don’t leave excess tail: it snags easily, especially with very thin or low-strength lines.
Very important: the lower bridle outhauls at the wingtips must oppose each other—both to the inside (better) or both to the outside, but never both on the same side.

Advanced figures

Flic-flac

Steps

From a stable flight, move to the top-center of the window.
Descend smoothly with all four lines kept in tension.
At about one-third of the window height, initiate the trick.
Pull both handles smartly at the same time to brake: the kite tends to go flat (tips toward you), then continues until the tips rise and point upward.
Next move: give another decisive brake pull.
The sail returns to normal flight.
Stabilize.

This maneuver can be done in any direction and kite orientation.

Clam roll

The 180º landing and takeoff are very eye-catching. Start like a two-tip (conventional) stop and, about a meter from the ground, trigger the first half of a flic-flac while stepping quickly forward two steps with the handles out front; the upper part of the sail lays onto the ground—that’s the first half of the flic-flac done.

Takeoff must be punchy: load the brakes and, with a sharp move, plant the brakes while you step back. The sail pivots on itself to return to normal position. From there, continue with a standard liftoff.

Important note: Experience taught me the lower and upper bridle outhauls must be on the inside; otherwise, in flic-flac position, the lines slide outward and block the maneuver.

Catch (from the air)

Practice these with short lines, around 10 m. Once mastered, you can lengthen.

Climb steadily. During the climb, put both handles in one hand and, with the other, grab both upper lines (as you fold the arm to hold both handles in one hand, the reach to catch the lines will be your other arm, fully extended). Before zenith, pull and the sail drops; now just go pick it up. Control is delicate: bunch both handles in one hand, judge where the sail will fall, move to it and catch it with the other… while keeping the lines from crossing.

Note 1: I’m right-handed: I hold the handles in my left hand, pull with my right, and catch the kite with that same hand—so it’s ready to throw.

Note 2: Hitting the pull at the right moment is everything: too high or too strong and the kite sails past you; too low or too soft and it falls short. Wind strength matters a lot.

QuadKites.org note: the leading-edge orientation at the pull matters. With the leading edge square, the kite will come toward you. If the leading edge is tilted—even slightly—the kite will land off to the side.

Watch your lines: tangles can get HUGE… and the thinner they are, the nastier the mess.

Throw

Before throwing the sail, make sure there are no tangles and that the lines haven’t looped around the handle leaders; also check you’re not stepping on a line or hooked on a watch, bracelet, etc.

With your back to the wind, hold the sail (leading edge up) roughly at the center of the front side with the hand that’s holding the handles; your free hand gives the impulse, as parallel to the ground and aligned with the wind as possible, so the wind carries the sail as far as possible.

Gravity does the rest: as it travels, the sail tends to present its front and “nose down.” Finish with a firm, controlled brake stop.

QuadKites.org note: the free hand that propels the kite should mimic a javelin-throw motion.

Axel

The axel is one of the more demanding figures. It’s not the “classic” dual-line axel: here it’s performed from an inverted attitude.

Set the kite inverted (leading edge down), drift down gently using brake input (to tilt the sail), then step forward to de-power and, with the handle opposite the intended rotation, pull hard and continuously on the brake side. The kite pauses, then commits to a 360° rotation.

Mid-rotation, walk in with finesse, ready to assist with the other handle to balance and keep a too-flat axel from turning into a glide to the ground.

Tip: it’s easier near the window edges, or in lighter wind relative to your sail.

Pancake

Enter with a dive; as you near the trigger point, accelerate and, about 50 cm from the ground (25 cm is even better), take a step forward while snapping both brakes hard and pushing the tops of the handles forward to give travel. It’s a combo: a quick wrist snap + arms forward.

To exit, step back and let the wind refill, controlling with brake input.

Tricky figure: without a solid “advanced figures” toolkit, it’s easy to butcher.

Works better with short lines than long.

Fade

The fade is hard to sustain. It’s easy to pop, but holding the kite suspended is trickier than it looks.

As you’ll see, the start is simple: from high, fly down in normal attitude until roughly one-third of the window. Then hit a strong brake pulse; the sail tends to go flat and slightly past horizontal. From there, it’s about finesse on the brakes to keep it floating as long as you want.

To exit the fade—if the kite hasn’t already dropped or tangled—push the handles forward with brake bias, keep the lines tight, then snap the inputs back again. The kite will quarter-turn quickly and you can resume normal flight.

Note: on fade exit the sail tends to slide to one side; horizontal attitude usually drifts, and by the time you catch it you’re no longer dead-center in the window.

It’s possible to take off from the ground in a fade, but without rear bars it’s very difficult.

Catch (from the ground)

Usually done with very short lines.

First, place (or have) the sail at window center. Put both handles in one hand, and with the other, ease the upper lines until you set a certain angle. From there, give a strong pull: the sail glides toward you.

Note: the initial angle and pull amplitude come with experience; the combo determines the result—high parabolic catch, skim along the ground, or short pickup.

Bicycle

The “bicycle” is a tough one: you need a string of moves that seem simple at first… and aren’t.

The easiest: a “normal” traverse but yawed 90° forward—start at one window corner and cross to the other, keeping altitude. Half-turn (180°) and come back, repeat at different speeds.
Same move but in reverse: harder, because too much brake folds the panels toward you… and down you go.
This one’s maybe the prettiest, not the easiest: draw lines parallel to the ground.
The move that looks simple: slide the sail horizontally. Remember you’re crossing from low to high pressure zones and back, with all the in-betweens—work brakes and arms, give or take depending on the side.
Last move: a flat pivot with no altitude loss. Drill it at different heights, speeds, directions, and places in the window. The farther from center, the harder it gets.

Once all that’s in your hands—even if it feels impossible—you’ve got most of the bricks without realizing it. Now it’s about combining them. Sometimes you think you should brake when you should accelerate, sometimes the opposite… and with changing wind it can feel… undecidable.

Handy tip: early on, give one or two opposite rotations so the lines don’t bind during the pivot; you “undo” twists and arrive at the critical end with clean lines or a single wrap.

Don’t forget: it’s not just wrists—your arms do a lot of the work.

Building the handles

23 cm modded handle, 18 cm modded handle, and stock handle

Starting from stock handles, you can extend them as much as you like. First cut the lower section (where the end cap sits), then trim the extra aluminum flush with the grip, and file off burrs and remnants.

Cut the 8 mm carbon tube length to add (between 25 cm and 15 cm; longer isn’t recommended—handling gets weird). Glue the tip with two-part epoxy; once cured, glue the upper section of tube onto the rest of the handle.

Note: depending on the tube brand, you may need to sand it slightly to sleeve into the lower part of the handle; the overlap is usually 1.5–2.5 cm.

If you do clean work, the final result looks like a one-piece “bent” carbon handle.

Cut the aluminum tube at the orange arrows (left) and glue in the carbon rod (right)

You can do the same at the top section—the all-carbon look is spot on.

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