‘Let’s go fly a kite!’ urges a rejuvenated Mr Banks at the end of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, after he’s dismissed from his job and heads for the park. Whether on a windswept hilltop, city playground or on the beach with a fresh sea breeze, it can make the heart soar to see a kite swooping across the sky, trailing streams of fluttering ribbons. Like tropical birds gathering to roost, kites create beautifully mesmerising displays. And for the flyers, the sport is exhilarating, challenging and meditative in equal measure.
Daniel Hoath is a UK National Sport Kite Champion and a member of The Flying Squad, an international kite display team whose members are drawn from across the world. ‘I love the excuse it brings to be outside,’ he says, ‘and it can be as physically demanding as you want it to be. It’s whatever you need.’
For the beginner, stepping forwards and backwards to keep a kite in the air, while adjusting the tension with their arms, might sound like the gentlest of workouts. And, in a sense, it is – in fact, it’s beneficial for that very reason. ‘You almost don’t realise you’re doing any movement – it’s like tai chi,’ says Daniel. ‘But the gentle, constant movement is good for your joints.’ It’s also fun and this makes it popular with people of all ages and abilities.
Through the ages
Daniel says the history of kites is ‘vast’, and although it’s now a worldwide sport, its development was ‘very different in Europe than in Asia’. The first recorded mention of a kite is thought to come from China, two millennia ago, when General Han Xin of the Han dynasty is said to have flown a kite high above a city’s defensive walls so that he could use its string to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to get inside the compound.
In the centuries since, kites have been used in various conflicts for spying and dropping propaganda leaflets. During World War One, the British, French, Italian and Russian armies all had kite units for enemy observations and communication. They’ve also been deployed by meteorologists to test weather conditions and by sailors to predict conditions at sea. Writing at the end of the 13th century, Venetian explorer Marco Polo described seeing kites being flown by Chinese traders to gauge conditions for their voyages. Five hundred years later, US statesman and founding father Benjamin Franklin famously used a kite and a key to investigate lightning and electricity, an episode referenced recently in the hit musical Hamilton.
All kinds of uses
Less surprisingly, kites also played a role in the development of the first flying machines. US aviation pioneers, Orville and Wilbur Wright – aka the Wright Brothers – were keen kite-flyers and experimented with endless designs before eventually coming up with the first aeroplane, while innovative kite technology was behind a recovery system for the Gemini space capsules in the 1960s and, even more recently, to haul sledges during Arctic expeditions. Long before that, however – in the early 1900s – US showman Samuel Cody used them to power a canoe across the English Channel.
Outside scientific and practical applications, kite-flying is both entertaining and physically and mentally beneficial. That being out in the fresh air is good for overall health is well-documented, but on a windy day, it really feels as though the cobwebs are being blown away. ‘For younger people who aren’t otherwise that active, it’s really good,’ says Daniel, ‘and those who are fitter can run around.’
No matter whether you’re sprinting down the beach or taking it easy, the time outside and moving – even slowly – is rewarding. ‘Kites are pretty sneaky,’ says Daniel. ‘You spend all day walking around with them, forward and backwards, and moving your arms. You don’t realise you’re doing [all this exercise] because you’re focused on flying your kite.’
Uplifting experience
This is perhaps one of the sport’s biggest benefits – it’s an intrinsically mindful hobby as, to keep a kite in the sky, it’s essential to watch it carefully, focus on the tension of the string and pay attention to the winds. Daniel describes it as ‘a freeing sensation. There’s nothing else happening inside your head. The kite is an extension of you, and you feel like you’re flying. It’s a centring, Zen-like state.’ Onlookers can also find a moment of stillness watching a kite in the sky. ‘It’s captivating – like watching swifts darting around,’ he adds. Other enthusiasts, quoted on the American Kitefliers Association, agree. ‘I love that perfect balance of lift and drag that keeps the tails lazily flowing – little streams of relaxation in the sky,’ says one, while others refer to ‘the sound of the lines as they hum in the wind’ and ‘feeling free from gravity and the weight of the world’.
For some, kite-flying is a rewarding and much-loved solo activity, but there’s also a friendly community of kiters for those who wish to join a sociable scene. And, once you’ve purchased your first kite (many of which are affordable, but look out for opportunities to buy secondhand or borrow one), all you need is the right conditions. Daniel says there are all-weather kites as well as those specially designed for ‘high winds, low winds and no winds’. Most beginners will need something uncomplicated and relatively inexpensive. Many experts suggest single-line, lighter-weight kites for those new to the pastime.
Picking up a new hobby often comes with lots of questions, but Daniel says that experienced kite-flyers are more than happy to answer them. ‘If you see someone flying a kite, go and talk to them,’ he says. ‘We’re all kite nerds. We’ll be excited to talk to you, and many will let you have a go [with their kite] and show you how to do it. Even if we’re away from home at the time, the chances are we’ll be able to put you in touch with someone local to you who can get you started.’
Indeed, the sport has taken Daniel all over the world. I’ve made friendships with people I would never have met otherwise. Japan, Vietnam, Spain, France – name a country and I know someone there. It’s amazing. We all have one thing in common: we love to fly!’
You can follow Daniel’s kite-flying adventures with The Flying Squad at facebook.com/theflyingsquad