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Indoor Rev: basic catch and throw by John Barresi

Catching and throwing an indoor Revolution. You see how to work the lines so it comes to your hand, then the check to make before each throw.

From the series KiteLife indoor tutorials. Transcript by QuadKites.org.

Indoor Rev: basic catch and throw by John Barresi

Key takeaways from this video

  • For the catch, grab the top lines and pull them toward you while pushing the bottom lines slightly toward the kite; otherwise it tends to shoot up toward your head.
  • For the throw, hold the handles separated by one or two fingers and do a spot check before each throw: lines hanging free, feet clear, lines clean off the kite.
  • Push the kite out leading edge away with a slight twist, and go gently at first so you do not power it into the ground at the end of the lines.

Transcript

  1. Catch and throw

    0:00

    In this tutorial we are going to introduce the basics of catch and throw. The catch is exactly that: you pull the kite in and catch it. The throw involves throwing it like a javelin, or somehow doing a spin, so that it basically glides back out to the end of the lines, from where you are able to fly away.

  2. The catch: top lines toward me

    0:21

    For the catch, we start by putting our handles in one hand, then reach out and grab the top lines. I do that with my power hand: I am right-handed, so I pull with my right hand. Before doing that, I want to point out two dynamics. One is the speed with which I pull the kite. If I pull it fast or soft, that affects not only the angle it can come at me, whether high or low, but also the amount of reaction time I have to track the kite and catch it accurately.

  3. Pushing the bottom lines toward the kite

    1:30

    To do this, I reach out and grab the top lines and pull them toward me, but at the same time you will notice that I push my left hand, or my bottom lines, slightly toward the kite. That allows the bottom of the kite to flip out so that it can glide toward me. It becomes quite easy, just a bit like this, and the catch. We will demonstrate that again: handles in one hand, reach out, grab the top lines, and again you will notice the bottom hand comes and pushes the bottom lines slightly toward the kite. Just like that. Now, if I do not push those bottom lines toward the kite, I have found that the kite tends to shoot up more toward my head rather than directly at me. I will try to recreate that: we just pull, and the kite shoots up a little. That is because the bottom lines are held in place and the bottom of the kite cannot flip outward. One more time, I will demonstrate the way I like to do it: pull the top lines and more or less ease the bottom lines toward the kite, and it comes in nicely toward you.

  4. The throw: split the handles

    2:19

    For the throw, we address it in much the same way with regard to the handles. I have them in my left hand, and I will give you a closer look: I have them split with one or two fingers. The reason is that once the kite reaches the end of the lines when I have thrown it, I want to be able to grab that handle very quickly so that I can fly and not have to untangle. So again, split in one hand. When they are hanging, I make sure the lines are not tangled around each other.

  5. The spot check

    2:49

    Every time I throw the kite I do a spot check, so I check a few basic things. First, make sure the lines are hanging. Make sure I am not standing in the lines. Make sure they are free. And make sure the lines are hanging cleanly off the kite, so they are not wrapped around any of the bits.

  6. Throwing it away

    3:09

    Having done our spot check, I take the right wingtip of the kite with my right hand, with my index finger on the end of the wingtip. I put the kite belly down and push it away from me, giving it a slight twist so that the leading edge turns and goes away from me, which lets it glide smoothly. So once more: spot check, handles separated, a little wrapper on the line there; now my lines are clear, the lines are clear on the kite. I lift it up and push it away, leading edge first, then power up and fly away.

  7. Do not ram it into the ground

    3:38

    It is important to note that when you reach the end of the lines with the kite, if your handles are set to fly forward, then as soon as you power the kite up, boom, it is going to ram into the ground. So you want to get a feeling for the actual throw, probably a little slowly at first, so you do not overpower the kite and slam it. Let me demonstrate again. Handles separated. Spot check. We push the kite out, leading edge away. And there: that was a little softer. I did not rush, so I was able to gauge where the kite is and how much pressure I need. Once more: always spot check, handles clear, feet clear. Take it out to the end, and power up and away.

  8. Experiment

    4:45

    So that is a very basic introduction to the foundation of catch and throw. We will give you a little highlight reel to show some of the other speeds and methods, but I hope you find it of great use. I encourage you to experiment a lot with how you pull, how you angle your pulls and how you actually throw the kite out. Be very creative, and undoubtedly you will invent something crazy and exciting that we have never seen before. So we will see you in the next tutorial.

Keep going

In the series KiteLife indoor quad-line tutorials

  1. Indoor Rev: introduction
  2. Indoor Rev: assembly and disassembly
  3. Indoor Rev: launch and 360
  4. Indoor Rev: relaunch
  5. Indoor Rev: redirection
  6. Indoor Rev: slide and float
  7. Indoor Rev: up and over
  8. Indoor Rev: basic catch and throw — you are here

Elsewhere on the site

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