| Active security | Action, safety system or analysis that can avoid an accident |
| Angle of attack | Angle between the wind and the cord of the kite |
| Apparent wind | Vector sum of the real wind and the motion wind generated by the speed of the kiteboarder |
| Aspect ratio | Proportion between the wingspan and the width of the wing (cord) |
| Back loop | Backward rotation |
| Bear away | Changing direction with a bigger angle according to the wind |
| Bindings | Wakeboard boots that attach the feets to the board |
| Blind | Riding backwards |
| Body drag | Being pulled by the kite in the water without the board |
| Bottom turn | Changing direction at the bottom of the wave |
| Bridals | Lines attached to the spi (the kite skin) that maintain theprofile of the kite |
| Broad reach | Riding between 110° and 140° from the wind direction |
| Close hauled | Sailing direction to the wind (generaly 70° to 45° to the wind) |
| Cord | Imaginary line connecting the front part of the kites’profile to the back |
| Course | A direction |
| Cross wind | Also called reaching= rinding at an angle of 90° to the wind |
| Dead man | Aerial trick, head upside down, feets in the air, hands free |
| Deck | The top of the board |
| Delta kite | Kite in the shape of a triange |
| Directionnal | Asymetric shaped board with 2 or 3 footstraps and ins at the back |
| Downwind | What is in front of you when you feel the wind in your back / also riding into following the direction of the wind |
| Drag | Force created by the friction of the wind on the skin of the kite |
| Edging | Push on the board with the toes or the heels to change direction or manage the power |
| Flapping | When the kite waves like a flag |
| Flood | When the tide ascends |
| Footstrap | Strap that allows the kiteboarders’s feet to stay on the board |
| Goofy | Person who uses preferently his right foot as front foot |
| Grab | Trick where the rider catch the board during a jump |
| Handle pass | Passing the bar from on hand to the other behind one’s back |
| Harness | Gear that you were as a short or around your waist (seat harness or waist harness), with a hook connecting the rider to the harness line |
| Heel stance | Position wehre the rider edges on his heels |
| Hull | Part of the board that is in the water |
| Intrados =lower skin | Internal surface of the kite |
| Insert | Plastic or metal part in which the footstrap fastening nails are Introduced |
| Jibe | Change of direction on a dirctional board while changing the feet Positioning |
| Leader lines | Thicker lines that connect the bar to the flying lines (being thicket prevent them to e as “sharp” as the flying lines) |
| Leading edge | Front of the kite where the air flows through first, it is larger than the trailing edge (end of the kite) |
| Leash | Strap that connects the rider to the board or to the depowered kite after actionning the safety system |
| Lift | Power of the kite that pulls towards the tp during jumps |
| Lower skin=intrados | Internal surface of the kite |
| Luff up | Going from one direction to the next closer to the wind |
| Mutant | Small asymetric board that is a mix between twintip and directional board |
| Off the lip | Making a turn at the crest of a wave |
| Passive security | Automatic safety, protection or disposition that self reduce the occurence or consequence of an accident |
| Port | Left |
| Quick release | safety system that release quickly the most power of the kite |
| Rail | Side of a board |
| Regular | Person who uses preferently his left foot as front foot |
| Rigging | Setting up the equipment |
| Rocker | Curve of the board when you look at the profile from the nose to the tail |
| Sailing points | Sailing directions according to the wind : upwind, beam-reach,broad- reach, downwind |
| Scoop | Curve of the board when you look at the profile from thenose to the tail |
| Shape | Design of a board |
| Shaper | Person who designs and builds boards |
| Spot | Place for kiteboarding |
| Starboard | Right |
| Strut | Part that keeps the profile of the kite, inflatable or in fibre |
| Top = zenith | Position of the kite right above the head, at tewelwe o’clock, it’s a neutral position |
| Tip | Tip of the kite |
| Toe stance | Position where the rider edge on his toes |
| Top skin=extrados | External surface of a kite |
| Trailing edge | Opposite to the leading edge, back of the kite |
| Transition | Aerial move resulting in a change of dirction |
| Twin tip | Symetric bard that has fins at the front and at the back |
| Upwind | What is in front of you when you face the wind |
| Upwind riding | Going upwind |
| Vortex | Whirlwind at the tip of the kite, created when the wind under and over the kite meet |
| Zenith = Top | Position of the kite right above the head, at twelwe o’clock, it’s a neutral position |
Kitesurf ABC 
