Tips of the Week

Add the pushloop to your jumping repertoire with these top tips

The pushloop isn’t the most technical loop, but it is a variation that holds a lot of fear and psychological barriers for many, but when done right it is still one of the most stylish loops there is. If you’ve been contemplating beginning your pushloop journey or can’t seem to quite crack it here are some top tips from some of the world’s best sailors.

John Skye (RRD / RRD / MFC)

“The number one thing is to make sure you have a lot of speed and power. You definitely don’t want to be underpowered for pushloops. When you take off throw your rig slightly more into the wind than a backloop. One of the key things for me is really pulling your front hand in as you go through the wind. As you come round, having your front hand bent then allows you to straighten it to stop the rotation.”

Martin ten Hoeve (Goya Windsurfing / Point-7)

“Search for a steep ramp and as you approach the ramp carve slightly upwind so you launch off the breaking section. Enter the move like a normal backloop, then just before you reach the highest point of the jump you have to throw your feet over your body, keep your front hand sheeted in (bent front elbow) and then push out with your backhand. It’s really important to push out hard with your backhand to stop yourself over rotating.”

Adam Lewis (Fanatic / North)

“First of all the best conditions to learn to pushloop in are when you are really powered up and on as small a sail as possible because this makes the whole rotation really easy. One of the most important things is choosing the right ramp, so you are looking for a ramp that is like a backloop ramp, but not quite as steep, this helps you to keep some forward momentum as you come round to finish the move. When you jump you want to throw your head right back so that you are looking at the mast tip. As you did this you need to pull you front arm in and push out with your backhand. To try and make the rotation a bit easier try and tuck in your with legs to make yourself more compact.”

Jamie Hancock (Tabou / GA Sails)

“You don't need a massive ramp for the pushloop, but you do need one that’s steep to send you straight upwards. As you come into the wind you really have to pull in your front hand and sheet out the back slightly, while trying to focus on getting your body above your equipment as you reach the apex of the jump. The more pulled in your have your front hand the more control you have to stop the rotation by extending it once you have rotated. It’s all about finding the right balance and once you have that you can keep the control through the entire pushloop. 

Kenneth Danielsen (Simmer)

“My tip for learning the pushloop is to find a steep wave to take off of. As soon as you leave the wave, sheet out with your backhand as hard as you can, and at the same time throw your head back. This will start the rotation of the pushloop. When you are fully rotated spot the landing by looking under your back arm. Try to land on the tail of the board for a soft landing.”

Kai Lenny (Naish / Naish / MFC)

"The easiest way to learn a pushloop would be as you approach a fairly steep wave turn downwind a little bit and as you begin to reach the top of the wave turn upwind and really look over your front hands shoulder. That will send you into a standard pushloop rotation without much effort. As time progresses you will learn how to stall and tweak it as much as you would like.”

If you can already pushloop and fancy trying your hand at tweaking them try these tips:

Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde)

“I think it is important to not think of it as a pushloop! You rather take off like you were going for a backloop. When you initiate the rotation you have to separate the movements of your upper and lower body from each other. Your upper body (head, shoulder, arms) starts the rotation while you lower body (hips and legs) remain in the old position for a while. Thats pretty much it!”

Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / North)

“To help trying to learn tweaked pushloops try and throw the mast to your back ankle.”

Good luck with your pushloop journey.