The jump transition puts the direction change in the air: you jump, redirect the kite mid-flight, and land already riding the other way.
Also called: air transition
Prerequisites
Helps to know first
How to do it
1. Setup
- Come to the end of your run edging upwind with solid line tension — you need line tension to get airborne, and nothing beats a good solid edge heading upwind — hands about midway in on each side of the bar so you keep plenty of leverage for the final dive, and the kite parked at either 1 or 11 o'clock, no higher: parked any higher, it's difficult to get lift without sending the kite behind 12.
- Look around in all directions first and check you have room — you are about to change direction, and you must not dive your kite into anyone else.
- Ease the bar out slightly to knock off some speed, keeping your bum low and your legs resisting against the edge — if you carry too much speed you will pendulum out from under the kite.
- Think of it as a jump that you decide at the last minute to land as a transition, not as an aerial slide turn — and start small to get a feel for how much speed you need.
2. Send and take off
- Send the kite up toward 12 o'clock. It should stop around 12 — slightly behind is fine, but once it is on its way to 1 you will have a tough time getting a smooth landing.
- Keep edging all the way to take off — don't carve up and slide your back foot out — and feather the bar out a little so you can stay strong against your edge as the kite moves.
- As soon as you think the kite is above you, level the bar, then follow the sequence: level, stamp, pull. Extend your legs against your edge — the stamp acts as a brake and kills your leftover momentum — then pull the bar in for extra lift.
- Stomp your back foot down hard and almost jump off the water right as you send the kite toward noon — at first this should feel like a regular transition done a few inches to a few feet off the water.
3. In the air
- Keep the kite steady at noon throughout the jump, with both hands on the center of the bar, and pay attention to where the kite is in the sky.
- Pull the bar in while keeping it level, bring your knees up, and keep looking forward as if this were a normal jump — resist turning your head toward the landing direction too early.
- At the apex of the jump, point your new front leg forward and bring your back knee into your chest — like a transition on the water but exaggerated in the air — staying compact with your knees bent and pulled up.
- Hang under the kite with it directly over your head, tuck your knees up, and look like you meant it.
4. Redirect and landing
- Only once you start descending, turn your head a few degrees to look downwind and spot your landing — downwind is where you want to go. Don't turn to look back the other way, or the kite will drift.
- Right before you land, send the kite in the opposite direction from where you originally started — redirecting just before touchdown is what keeps you in control.
- Dive the kite hard toward the water downwind with a decent pull and push using both hands, keeping your shoulders level by looking downwind.
- Land tail-first with the board pointing slightly off the wind: drop your legs underneath you, twist your hips and push your front foot downwind, then carve back up onto your edge and pull the kite up from its dive.
- Always land with the board pointing a bit downwind so you don't skip out.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
You pendulum out from under the kite.
Fix
You're going too fast — slow down on the approach, and remember the back-foot stamp at take off acts like a brake too.
Mistake
You dive hard for the landing but get no power from the kite.
Fix
The kite has crept behind you — keep it stopping around 12 o'clock rather than letting it travel on toward 1.
Mistake
The kite creeps across to the other side of the window while you're in the air.
Fix
There's a big chance you're turning too early and turning too far — keep looking forward until you descend.
Mistake
You land on an edge.
Fix
You've turned to look back the other way — you should only turn your head to look downwind.
Mistake
You mistime the redirect: too late and you splash in with no forward speed and sink; too soon and you lose the lift from the kite and fall hard into the water.
Fix
It takes practice to get the timing perfect — time the redirect right and it brings you in for a smooth landing travelling in your new direction, and learn the trick in both directions since everything feels easier one way than the other.
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
What should I be able to do before trying a jump transition?+
You should already be comfortable jumping — able to get daylight under your board — and happy with slide turns to change direction.
Where should the kite be when I take off?+
Send it from 1 or 11 o'clock so it stops around 12 o'clock as you commit. Slightly behind 12 doesn't matter, but once it's on its way to 1 you'll have a tough time getting a smooth landing — and if you can keep the kite near 12 throughout the move, everything gets much easier.
How high should my first jump transitions be?+
Start small — just a few inches to a few feet off the water, so it feels like a regular transition done slightly airborne. Only add speed, kite send and pop once that's solid; on bigger versions you may have to actively fly the kite rather than parking it at noon.
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.