Your first jump, in five sessions

Nobody jumps well on their first try. The riders who look like naturals are the ones who quietly practised the drill we're about to describe. Five sessions, a specific structure, and three-metre airs that feel boring — in a good way.

01Before you try — the honest prerequisites

Don't attempt this until:

• You can ride upwind comfortably for fifteen-plus minutes.
• You can do clean heel-side and toe-side transitions without losing the board.
• You can park the kite at 12 o'clock on demand, while moving at speed.
• You've done at least one session with a quick-release drill. You know the safety system works.

If you can't tick all four, spend another ten sessions on the fundamentals. Jumping is built on those skills. No shortcut is worth the fall.

The jumps people remember are the ones they landed. The jumps people talk about are the ones that hurt. The jumps that don't happen are the ones they skipped a session to learn safely.

02Session 1: the load-and-release drill

No jumping this session. You're rehearsing the load-and-release motion with a drill: ride at speed, carve the board hard upwind, and bring the kite from 45° up to 11 o'clock. Hold. Then release. The goal is to feel how much power the kite makes when you redirect it, without lifting off.

• Fifteen repeats, both directions.
• No sending past 11 o'clock. You're practising pressure, not altitude.
• Each rep, pay attention: kite speed, bar pressure, body position. These are the three inputs for the whole jump.

03Session 2: the micro-pop

Same drill, but now with a small send of the kite to 11:30 o'clock and a hard edge-and-hold on the board. You'll come off the water by 10–30cm. Land softly with the board flat and the kite moving downwind again.

The movement is counter-intuitive: as the kite redirects, youlean back and edge hard at the same time. Not one after the other. The two movements combine to give you the pop.

04Session 3: first real send

Now you're sending the kite to 12 o'clock. Not higher, never higher. The kite will lift you 1–1.5 metres. Focus on:

• A committed edge — soft edges absorb the pop, hard edges launch you.
• Bringing the kite back down— as you peak, pull the bar to move the kite toward 10 o'clock, which smooths the descent.
• Landing with the kite leading. Your body follows; the board touches down moving forward, not sideways.

05Session 4: repeat and clean up

This is the boring session that makes the whole thing work. Do twenty small sends. Focus on consistency — kite always back to 10 on descent, body always landing over the board, no sketchy landings. If one in three feels sloppy, slow down and repeat until they're all clean.

This session separates the riders who will progress from the ones who won't. Resist the urge to go bigger. Go cleaner.

06Session 5: three-metre sends

Now you go slightly bigger. Send the kite a little past 12 (12:15 o'clock is the ceiling for this session) and load the edge harder. You'll get three metres of altitude and three seconds of airtime. It feels enormous — because it is, for a first real jump.

Land with the kite leading, knees bent, board pointed downwind. Ride away, breathe, do it again.

07The four mistakes everyone makes

• Looking down during the jump.Look where you're going, not at the water. Your body follows your eyes.
• Sheeting out in the air. Keep the bar close. Sheeting out kills power right when you need it for landing.
• Sending the kite past 12. The kite loses power past 12. You come down uncontrolled. Stay at 12 or just before.
• Not redirecting the kite for landing. The descent needs the kite moving down the wind window. Otherwise you land hard, on your back.