5 main kite skills for beginners and advanced

Controlling the pull of the kite is the main task of the rider throughout the session. The main tool for this is your board. Using just part of the back edge of the board to dig in and resist against the pull is inefficient. A stance with the correct weight balance will allow you to fully submerge the heel edge of the board into the water, resulting in a stronger edge grip, which will increase the effectiveness of your efforts.
Practice the correct stance on land, use it throughout your ride from the moment you start in the water, and ensure it remains intact while performing maneuvers.
Using the full length of the board while riding will help you achieve a sense of additional control in both medium and strong wind and provide more speed and support in light wind.

Beginners often respond to changes in pull with sudden movements, bending sharply toward the kite for every gust, then leaning back to depower.
It's important to realize that every movement affects the line tension, and the kite will yank you back slightly delayed, destabilizing your ride. At any stage, aim for a smooth, controlled feeling of constant power on the harness.
Focus on maintaining this feeling and keeping your body position steady. While small corrections like adjusting tension or applying pressure are necessary, they shouldn’t be sudden or destabilize your stance.
Mastering this skill will give you predictable, controlled riding on a steady course and allow you to master maneuvers for transitions and jumps.

Unlike the beginner method of stopping by steering the kite to zenith, this technique involves using your own strength to choke the kite by increasing edge pressure.
To stop without raising the kite, increase the leaning angle until your speed drops to almost zero, then push the board with your back foot. Avoid raising the kite! Bring it lower to help you press down more effectively.
Mastering this skill will make you feel in control of the kite, allowing you to stop at any moment. This method is safer, as you don’t lose grip with the water, unlike the zenith stop, where the kite lifts you and prevents you from creating grip.
Also, this stop is the first step to learning the push, so practicing it often will speed up your progress.

To control the pull without using the trimmer, you need to learn to feel how your course and the pull are connected. When the wind picks up, it's a great time to try riding on a sharper course.
It’s important to understand how to work with the tools that help control the kite’s pull without relying on the trim. To switch to a steeper course and gradually slow down, increase the angle of the slack. If that’s not enough, use a smooth push with your back foot to steer the board onto an even sharper course.
This skill will expand your range of speed and power where you feel comfortable.

Beginners often struggle to find the right amount of pull for a turn and end up using a slide to get rid of excess power. When your board slides downwind, you lose control because there’s no grip, and the kite can easily knock you over. After completing a transition, you need to apply effort to re-engage the edge and get back on track.
Instead, focus on almost completely losing your speed during the preparation for the transition, and use a small push to get rid of the remaining power, leaving just enough energy in the kite to keep you afloat.
This method of turning allows you to maintain control and grip throughout the process and switch directions without losing height.
Once you master the key techniques and feel the support during your first perfect transitions, you'll be ready for your first jump!

Typically, even solid jumps tend to happen downwind, but with the right techniques, you can achieve a small jump and land upwind of your takeoff point.
The key to mastering this trick is learning how to feel the kite’s pull and adjust the tension precisely. It’s important to find the right balance of push so you don’t overpower the kite, while still maintaining proper edge control for a smooth jump.
This technique helps you develop a better sense of the balance point between choking the kite and overpowering it, allowing you to execute jumps with more control. It also opens up many other tricks that require long hangtime, like board-offs, multiple rotations and others, and giving you more options to expand your kiteboarding skills.

Riding in strong wind, especially when attempting high jumps, demands more power than usual, and this requires a specific set of skills to maintain control. One of the key techniques is riding with a low kite while keeping your body in a compact, grouped position.
The low kite position helps to redirect the pull more horizontally, making it easier to manage the increased power. The power stance, in particular, allows you to resist the force more effectively and maintain better control.
It might take some time to get used to this position, but once you’ve mastered it, it will become your most comfortable and natural stance. By mastering this technique, you'll significantly improve your speed and extend your wind range, allowing you to handle more challenging conditions with ease.

Once you've mastered controlled vertical jumps with a sharp course, you’ll aim to increase your jump height. But the usual course and power won't allow you to jump higher. It’s time to step out of your comfort zone and increase your power!
To do this, gradually experiment with riding on a more downwind course. Start by reducing the course's sharpness by about 5 degrees. Try to find a body position that will allow you to control the kite with more power.
The ultimate goal is to ride on the most powerful course for these conditions while still feeling that you don't have full control, but you can easily regain it if necessary.
This skill will help you squeeze the most of the conditions and learn how to choose the most suitable course for jumps.

Pendulum jumps involve a jump with a long horizontal flight above the water at a height of up to 0.5 meters. This is not just the basis for many stylish tricks like darkslide, handplant, etc., but also an excellent tool for refining your jump approach skills and a more subtle sense of pull of the kite.
The secret of the perfect long slide is riding on the most powerful course with the bar sheeted out and a special approach to the trick that doesn’t destroy all the power but still provides the necessary hang time and support for the slide.
Performing slides will help you feel more confident when jumping at high speed and serve as an excellent preparatory step because the approach to a pendulum jump is performed with a lower kite position than for a regular jump, making it easier to execute.

Once you reach a certain speed, a single push before takeoff becomes inefficient. In a power stance, you can resist the pull when the kite is low, but this effect disappears when the kite reaches 12 o'clock before a jump.
Adding an extra push with the kite low creates a slight gap in pull, making the final push easier and helping maintain the edge when sending the kite to a higher power.
To perform a series of pushes, maintain balance in your stance so you can regroup quickly after each one and be ready for the next.
Start by practicing pushes without jumping to feel the proper timing between them.
Mastering this skills will help you jump higher while keeping control of your course when sending the kite.