I popped the question on both the AERIALIS Kites’ Facebook page and the Quad Line Kite group on Facebook because I am not quite sure what to call it.

Here is what I’m talking about….

Before I come back to what this move – or trick – really is, I’d like to take you through it.

The input

The Set-Up
I would set up the kite like I would pop an Axel. You know, with the leading edge facing out (towards the edge of the wind window) and it’s lover wing tip slightly pointing inwards.
Stop the video above at 21 seconds and you will see the kite position I’m trying to describe.

The initiating pop
THEN pop the break line on your inside hand to start what initially will look like an Axel (not the flatter ones). (About 22 seconds into the video.)

The rotation
Now you will need your lines to go slack, yes, all four of them, while the kite is rotating. Allow the kite to rotate 180 degrees before…

The Counter Pop
…you do the counter pop to stop the rotation of the kite. This pop should be hard enough to just stop the kite dead. You might need to experiment to get it right.
(The counter pops are pretty visible in the video.)

The Rotation Pop
Within a split second you do another, and (much) harder pop, using the same hand as for the counter pop. This new pop is to initiate a new rotation, but now in the opposite direction.

Slack during the rotation
Like mentioned above, now is the time to let all of the lines go slack again to allow the rotation in the opposite direction.

Another Counter Pop
Another well-timed counter pop to stop the rotation ….and by now you probably have got the hang of it!

Use this input sequence to have your kite perform a kind of connected Half Axel like motions in the air!

I was pretty surprised about how (relatively) easy it was to nail this move and connect the half axel’ ish stuff and it got pretty consistent very soon.

But what is it…?

Like mentioned above, I asked the question on Facebook, and during the night a few replies have ticked in.

One reply was something like: “Half Axels or Axel Cascades“

Another one: “1/4 Axel“

…and a third: “Just a few half axels, I don’t think the kite is losing enough altitude to make it a cascade.“

I think all are onto something. The first thing that comes to (my) mind is Cascades, because I’m linking something that I would consider half axels into what IMO looks like cascades.

…or technically the kite should descend, which it’s not doing in this video clip. However, I’m sure that descending the kite shouldn’t be a big problem when focused on. Maybe by walking forwards when executing the trick, maybe by adjusting the force of the two pops or combining both. I need to experiment more to come up with an answer, but that’s where the fun lies!

I also think it should be possible to do Rising Cascades with this input. Off course by adjusting the input. In the video in this post, I do something that might be regarded as a Rising Cascade

. Another kite and another input (no counter popping) and it’s surely rising.

I’ll be working on this one in the time to come, and keep you all updated on how it’s going so … stay tuned!