It´s time to learn How To Chop Hop! If you are dreaming about jumping high off waves, you should first start nailing the chop hop. Not much can beat the feeling of jumping on your windsurfing board. The moment the fin comes out of the water, and you fly with the sail in your hands, you will get an incredible feeling! With good technique, you can fly pretty high just off a small chop.
WHAT GEAR TO USE AND SKILLS REQUIRED
Jumping is easier on a board smaller than 120 liters. To start with it´s easier to jump on boards with only one backstrap. The best gear to learn on will be a small crossover/wave/freestyle board. We will look into a few steps so you can try it out in your next session! Before you think of learning the chop hop you should be comfortable planing in the footstraps. Make sure your footstraps are big to avoid hurting your foot if you crash.
Take a look at this video link to watch a chop hop:
PREPARE
Start with sailing as fast as possible. Speed is your friend. The faster you sail the more height you will get.
Look for a chop or a wave. Right before hitting the chop unhook from the harness lines.
TAKE OFF
You want to start the jump by lifting the nose of the board out of the water. Slightly into the wind. Push down on the back foot and lift up the front foot.
Continue holding the sail closed to keep the wind in the sail.
AIR TIME
The moment the nose is up in the air it’s time to get the fin out of the water. Tuck in your back leg and pull up closer to the boom. You will now get wind under the board. Make yourself small, and keep this position while you are flying up and forward in the air.
THE LANDING
Before the landing stretch out the back leg so the fin and the back of the board touch the water first. This is a safer way to avoid flat and hard landings. It is better for your board and your knees!
Good luck trying this! You don’t need to be a pro to learn to jump!
GOOD BOARDS FOR LEARNING JUMPS
If you want to start jumping, we can recommend these different types of boards. Check out our range, click here!
