The basic jump sends the kite from riding position toward 12 o'clock while you edge hard against it, turning line tension into lift.
Also called: straight air · first jump · boost
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Helps to know first
Schools teach this differently
Schools genuinely teach the timing of this jump differently: one camp sends the kite to 12 (or just past) and pulls the bar in as it arrives, while big-air-focused coaching pops earlier, around 11:30 or 12:30 with the kite still in front of you, arguing that popping at 12 costs line tension. They also split on the bar during the load: most sheet out through load and send, one school keeps the power in close while you resist. Commit to one version per attempt instead of mixing them.
Ideal conditions
Elite Watersports' learning zone: a 12m kite rated for 15–25 knots in 20–24 knots is ideal (their example for a 170 lb rider) — ride near the top of your kite's range so the kite does the work ('use more wind so you can do less'). Avoid light wind: on a 12m in 15 knots you'd have to send the kite hard just to boost, and that's where people get hurt. Also avoid gusty or stormy conditions and being overpowered — it's about timing, technique and control, not raw power. IKSURFMAG adds: water deep enough to fall into, clear space around you, and avoid very large kites for learning jumps (an 18m turns so slowly it feels almost impossible to hold your edge).
How to do it
1. Setup
- Come in travelling happily on your edge with reasonable speed and power in the kite. Don't edge super hard upwind on the approach — that kills all your speed.
- Check the kite before you commit: it should be sitting no lower than 1 o'clock or 11 o'clock, and the send starts from around 11:15 or 12:45 depending on your direction. Much lower and you'll find it difficult to hold your edge; much higher and the kite won't pull you off the water until it has travelled too far behind you.
- Make sure the water is deep enough to fall into and that you have enough space around you in case you drop the kite or go flying off downwind.
- Move your hands in on the bar — no need to rub the chicken loop, but somewhere halfway is ideal — so you can steer with a real push-pull motion.
2. Load and send
- Carve a J-hook upwind and edge hard against the kite to store energy in the lines — the harder you edge, the more tension you load. Don't pull the bar in yet: keep it sheeted out during the load.
- Send the kite quickly up to 12 o'clock, keeping the bar out during the send so you don't lose your upwind angle.
- Be positive with the steering: pull hard and aggressively so the kite turns suddenly. If you're too gentle and merely drift the kite up, nothing will happen.
- As the kite climbs from about 45 degrees off the water toward the zenith, hold your edge the whole way up.
- Drop your bottom low to resist the pull, front leg almost straight, back leg bent, driving through your back heel. Don't try to physically jump off the water — resist with gusto, look upwind over your shoulder, and play the waiting game until the kite wins and pulls you up. Don't look at the kite.
3. Takeoff and flight
- As the kite gets to — or just past — the zenith, make your hard cut away from the kite and pull in on the bar.
- Once the kite hits 12, pull the bar in and hold it — that powers the canopy and lifts you off the water. Don't push the bar out mid-air: you'll lose lift and control.
- Bring the bar all the way in immediately after the pop and keep it there: the longer you keep the bar close to you on the way up, the higher you're going to go.
- In the air, pull the bar down by bringing your hands to your hips (another good reason to hold the bar centrally) — chances are this also moves the kite above you, and you now have a parachute.
- Bring your knees up to your hands — being small stops you swinging off balance — and work out where you think you'll land, watching that patch of water rather than the kite.
4. Landing and ride away
- Just before you reach the apex of the jump, redirect the kite forward.
- Judge when you'll touch down, and just before you do, drop your legs underneath you.
- Aim the board downwind for the landing. If you don't aim the board downwind, you won't land it — guaranteed.
- Twist your front hip forwards to follow the kite and aim to land tail first. For power out of the landing, dive the kite with the front hand — dive it hard, timed just before you reach the water. If you don't dive it, it just sits above you and you land on your bottom.
- Keep the bar pulled in until you touch down and use your knees — not your back — to absorb the impact. Commit to landing on your feet and riding it out.
- Land with slightly more weight on the back foot, traveling slightly downwind.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Popping when the kite is already at 12 o'clock, which reduces line tension at takeoff.
Fix
Load and pop with the kite still in front of you — around 11:30 going left or 12:30 going right — to create the line tension needed for the explosive upward pull.
Mistake
Instinctively letting the bar out as you get higher, so the jump dies early.
Fix
Bring the bar all the way in right after the pop and keep it in through the whole ascent.
Mistake
Staying sheeted in while carving upwind during the load, which pulls you downwind and kills the line tension.
Fix
Sheet the bar out while carving so the kite moves further toward the edge of the window and you can edge even harder upwind.
Mistake
Losing your edge before takeoff — kite started too low, too much speed, looking at the kite, sending too gently, or trying to jump up with the kite.
Fix
Exaggerate the stance (front leg almost straight, back leg bent, bottom low), send the kite aggressively, keep looking upwind and resist instead of jumping.
Mistake
Going downwind past your kite instead of going up — the kite may even fall out of the sky.
Fix
Go back to learning load and pop: practice getting air without the kite.
Mistake
Getting air but falling in the water on landing, most likely because the kite wasn't redirected forward.
Fix
Practice putting more pressure on the front hand to get the kite forward so you can ride away.
If it goes wrong
- On first attempts, don't try to do anything up there: if you can get into the air, get the kite back above you, and then gently drop down into the water, you've done the hard work.
- Use the 'helicopter landing' as the beginner default: keep the kite parked at 12 o'clock directly overhead and let it lower you slowly like a helicopter hovering down. No redirection or timing stress, it keeps you from getting pulled forward, butt landings or soft splashes are fine, and it builds confidence before more advanced landings.
Learn this with a coach, not from a page
This guide explains what the move is and what riders get wrong, so you arrive at the session knowing what you are trying to do. It cannot watch your kite, read the gust coming, or stop you committing to something you are not ready for — a coach or instructor can.
Find a certified schoolEducational reference, not instruction. Kitesurfing is a risk sport: the steps here describe what named schools, instructors and technique libraries teach, and the page lists exactly which ones, but real conditions involve wind, gusts, water state, traffic and equipment behaviour that no written guide accounts for. Schools also teach justified variations — where our sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking one. Judge your own readiness, use the safety systems on your kite, and do not attempt a move because a page made it sound achievable. KitesurfingOfficial accepts no liability for the use of this information on the water.
Questions riders ask
How long until I land my first jump?+
With lessons and focused practice, many riders land their first controlled jump within 2–3 sessions. Your first few boosts might only lift you a foot or two — build from small hops.
Do I need to be strong or aggressive to jump?+
No — timing and technique matter more than strength or aggression. Most riders who struggle with jumping just haven't learned to load properly: before kite control, go back to edge control and board pressure. It's not about raw power.
Should I try to jump off the water with my legs?+
No. You should not be trying to physically jump off the water, but rather resist with gusto on your edge, looking upwind and keeping the power in close until the kite wins and pulls you up.
Keep reading
Sources
Every step on this page traces to the sources below. Where they disagree or stay silent, the page says so instead of guessing.