In the second in a series of wave technique features in issue #26, Kiteworld test editor, Neal Gent, comes to the aid of anyone struggling with killing it in the surf. Your long journey towards complete surfboard mastery continues with beginning to understand the subtleties and mechanics of a solid bottom turn to top turn combo

Never underestimate the power of the bottom-turn. Often the most underrated part of riding waves on any board, it's also one of the hardest parts to master. In its basic form it’s just a carving turn; the timing and positioning of a bottom turn and how hard or tight the turn is, makes it one of the most complex manoeuvres we try to do with a kite. Here, we join Neal's commentary as he links the end of the bottom turn with a top turn.

As a general rule, the idea is to turn the kite first and follow it on the board, always keeping the kite one turn ahead of you. So when you start your bottom turn you should already have moved the kite so it's heading back towards the wave. That way you always keep tension in your lines, so you have power to control the kite. The most common mistake at first is to get so involved in riding the wave that you forget about what the kite's doing and end up catching up with it, losing all tension and therefore steering in the lines. As you drop down the face (or even before if you’re in small surf), turn the kite back towards the wave. With the kite heading backwards make your carving turn as you normally would. Take your back hand off if you like – you don't need that for a moment or two – leaving your front hand on the bar ready to bring the kite back again and really concentrate on carving that bottom turn.

The amount you send the kite depends on the conditions. If you’re powered up you won’t want to send the kite winging straight back across the power zone. However, if you’re in onshore conditions then you’ll need to turn the kite harder because, as you start your bottom turn, you accelerate towards the kite, so you’ll need to have powered it even more to compensate. The bow or hybrid style of kites make all this a little easier because the massive power-on and -off range when you sheet in and out makes it easier to recover a manoeuvre that you have either underdone or powered-up too much. But if you fancy your chances riding unhooked, then you might want the quicker turning of a C kite as your shadow partner. Keep your knees bent, weight heavily centred over the front foot to keep the board trimmed nicely and really driving off the fins towards your target area at the top of the wave. Keeping your eyes firmly on where you’re going - not only do your eyes lead the rest of you, this position enables you to keep a wary eye on the section you are going for, and adjust your turn accordingly if things are happening a little quicker or slower than you anticipated.

You don’t get long before you start to head back up the wave, and this is when you need to pull on your front hand to send the kite back towards the beach. This movement provides the power in the right direction so that as you spin deftly round your top turn, the kite draws you back down the face, or at least won't be lagging behind you with loose lines as you're swallowed up by the frothing wave behind you. Once the kite is ahead of you again you can concentrate on your manoeuvre. As before the one constant here is WATCH THE WAVE NOT THE KITE! This is where you use all the power and speed you developed in your bottom turn, and your kite needs to be in place already so you can concentrate totally on your plans for the top of the wave. Unlike freestyle you can’t wait for that perfect bit of chop, but you can choose how critical you want your manoeuvre to be. Away from the breaking lip and out towards the ‘shoulder’ of the wave is a much safer place to start learning top turns as you don’t have to time things perfectly with the breaking lip. You won’t get anywhere near as much power ‘back’ from the wave, and you will really be just turning with a wave under you rather than actually riding it, but it's excellent practice. Ideally you should tighten up your turn here to really drive back up the wave, aiming for an almost vertical attack if possible. If you're hooked in then this is where bow kites and hybrids come into their own with the extra depower they offer, allowing you to pinch a few extra degrees and kite away from the kite and more vertically up the wave. Alternatively, a small C kite ridden unhooked gives you heaps of freedom of movement.

As you move your turn back into the steeper, more critical area of the wave you’ll be able to use all that power to make your manoeuvre more vertical, radical and when you nail it it'll be so much more rewarding. You also put yourself at greater risk of having all that power thrown right back at you. But that's the fun of the dance! Wherever you choose to turn, you need to commit. Once you’ve picked your spot, stay crouched, both to iron out the bumps, and to keep your rail and fins engaged. Carry on looking directly at the point you’ve picked. transfer your weight on to the back foot and switch the pressure on the rails as you start to turn back towards the beach.

The more you engage the heel-side rail here the better your turn/manoeuvre will be. Lead your turn with your head, looking where you're going right from the beginning of the turn. You can really accentuate the turn by moving your head early, quickly followed by your upper body - this coils your body up, ready for your hips to push against and unload that power, creating the snap, and hopefully, the spray that makes every good cutback. Really drive the weight on to your back foot and chuck up a heap of spray, look back at your back foot as it follows the movement the top part of your body has already completed - you will find you almost automatically drive the board further, faster and harder around the turn to point back into the section.

Assuming all that went to plan, whatever the degree of rip, slash and turn, you are now heading back down the wave with a large grin slapped across your face. But don’t waste time claiming that move, your mates either saw it or they didn’t. It's better to be seen taking it all in your stride and to use all that speed from your top turn to get straight back to business and lay down your next turn. If you find you have caught up with your kite and the lines are going slack, carve away from the kite to power it up and get it into the right position again before starting another turn. The real beauty of riding with a kite is that you have the ability to vary your turn and put yourself in exactly the right part of the wave. So it doesn’t matter if you carve the ‘wrong’ way briefly to rescue your kite, just make the following turn bigger and faster and you’ll be straight back attacking the section before you know it!

This is an edited version of a more extensive regular feature that appeared in Kiteworld issue #26.