kites

The Launch

It may seem obvious but you can't do much with your kite if you can't get it in the air. Standing with your back to the wind and your arms arms horizontally out in front of you, bring both handles down past your sides and behind you in one smooth motion, if it helps you may wish to step back at the same time. You get this right and your kite should climb into the air and pull your arms naturally back in front of you to your starting stance.

The Turn

To get your kite moving across the skies you will need to get used to controlling it. If you hold your handles at the same length you kite will travel straight. To turn the kite you need to pull on one of the lines. To turn the kite left, counter-clockwise, pull the handle in your left hand backwards and slightly downwards. The kite will continue to turn until you bring your hands level again, if you left the kite spiral in a turn you will twist your lines and potentially damage them. The kite will now travel along the direction of the turn until you reverse its direction. To turn right, clockwise, pull back and down on the handle in your right hand, remembering to return your hands to a level position when you get to your desired direction.

The Window

As you move your kite across the sky you may notice it pulls stronger in certain areas of the sky than in others, this is call the 'wind window' and to master you kite fully you must understand how to it affects your kite.

With the wind blowing from directly behind, the wind is strongest with the kite directly in front of you and low to the ground. As you move the kite to either side of yourself or above your head the wind power decreases. The edge of this 'window' is not quite 90 Degrees from your forward facing position, both horizontally and vertically. As you approach this edge your kite will slow and become more difficult to manoeuvre, you must turn your kite back towards the centre of the 'window' or it will literally fall from the sky.