Riding blind means standing backwards to your direction of travel. Prerequisites, a safe build-up with look drills and why the hop entry needs a coach.
The honest answer first: riding blind means standing with your back in the direction of travel after rotating the board by 180 degrees. You cannot see where you are going, you ride "blind". It is the landing position of many freestyle tricks and the reason schools make it a skill of its own. In IKO's Evolution freeride list "hop to blind" and "ride blind" come directly one after the other, before jump transitions and rolls [1].
This guide does not cover how to jump into the trick but the position, the prerequisites and the build-up. The entry itself belongs in the hands of a coach. There is a reason: in the KITE study 49% of injuries happened during a jump or trick [2]. A recent analysis names knee ligaments, lower-leg fractures and rib injuries as the most severe injuries, and skill level as the most important risk factor [3].
This guide does not replace an instructor or a supervised session.
Can you ride and turn toe-side on both sides? Does the kite stay calm when you look over your shoulder? IKO advises going back a step when in doubt [1]. Milestone: you ride 100 metres toe-side and look over your shoulder twice without the kite wandering.
Ride normally and turn head and upper body as if to look behind you. The kite stays in the same place. This trains position and gaze without the board rotating. Milestone: you keep the ride stable even when you twist (practice).
The piloting hand holds the bar near the centre, arms stay close to the body. For tricks where the bar leaves your hand, IKO names the bar close to the body as the ideal position [7]. Milestone: you fly the kite calmly while your head looks elsewhere.
The way into the blind position goes through a small hop of the board. Your coach shows you the technique in a lesson; I deliberately do not describe it step by step here. IKO recommends using small chop for hops [8]. Milestone: you land the hop without the kite dropping and glide a few metres.
In the blind position you shift your weight slightly to the heel or toe edge of the board and keep the kite stable (practice). You only ride short distances. Milestone: glide blind for ten seconds.
The way out is as important as the way in. Your coach shows you the variants. What matters is open space for a fall. Milestone: you leave the position in control, without slipping away.
Riding blind takes away your view in the direction of travel. That is where collisions happen. Ride only on open water with a large distance to others. For landings and jumps the IKO rule applies: never with a board leash [7].
Landings load the legs heavily: in a measurement with insole sensors, in-vivo peaks of up to 3012 newtons and 31.71 N/kg occurred, i.e. around three times your body weight in a blink [9]. Knee and foot are therefore the critical regions. This guide does not replace supervised training.
Make the shoulder-look drill part of your warm-up: two lanes per side in which you do nothing but turn your gaze. The head learns faster than the feet. (practical experience)
You stand with your back to the direction of travel on the board, usually after a 180-degree rotation. You cannot see where you are going. IKO lists "ride blind" in the Evolution programme [1].
According to IKO the entry is through a hop of the board, not a big kite jump [1]. Your coach shows you the technique.
There are no concrete risk figures for this position. In general 49% of injuries happen during a jump or trick [2]. Space, speed and coaching are decisive.
When toe-side, toe-side turn and calm kite control work and you land cleanly on both sides. Have a coach assess you.
Stay calm, do not clutch the bar and lead the kite towards the zenith. If you lose control you trigger the quick release whose function you checked before the start [6]. Then look for your board first and check where other riders are. IKO advises ending the session with an easy success anyway [1].
Jump Transition: Changing Direction in the Air, Without Shortcuts