Jumping is probably one of the main reasons you learnt to kite. Ignore the current fad for low level wakestyle tricks - you've got a kite that can send you soaring high into the air, so lets make the most of it!
The best place to start your jumping career is probably doing a pop transition. This basically involves coming to the end of your run, jumping straight up & landing going in the other direction - easy.
The pop transition builds on the technique you've been practicing for your slide transitions. The difference here is that instead of gently using the kite power to keep you from sinking, you're going to actively transfer all the energy that's pulling you along into vertical lift!
OK, so try to start small, come in just a bit faster than you would for a slide turn. Keep your board edge in & keep pushing on your back foot. Send the kite up to 12 o'clock, as hard as you dare, pull in on the bar & give a good hard push off on your back foot. Now, depending on how aggressively you did everything, you should be somewhere between 1 foot & 20 foot up in the air. Enjoy :D
Keep the kite directly over your head, so you hang in the air, tuck your knees up & look like you meant it! On the way back down, just before you land, steer the kite hard in the new direction. This is called the redirect, and if you time it right, it will bring you in for a smooth landing travelling in your new direction. It takes practice to get the timing perfect.... Too late & you splash in with no forward speed & sink; too soon & you lose the lift from the kite & fall hard into the water. Remember to always land with the board pointing a bit downwind, so you don't skip out. Work the kite & ride off in the new direction with a grin.
Everything seems easier going one way than another, so make sure you learn this trick in both directions. Once you have the timing down, there's no end of grabs, tweaks, spins you can add to make it your own.
