A kitesurfing technique where the kite pulls you through the water without a board, used for training, recovering a lost board, and self-rescue.
Body dragging is one of the first skills taught in kitesurfing and remains useful throughout your riding career. With the kite powered up, you lie face-down in the water and let it pull you in the direction you steer it.
Downwind body dragging is the easiest — you simply fly the kite and let it pull you. Upwind body dragging is more advanced and critical: by extending one arm toward the kite and angling your body like a fin, you can travel upwind to recover a board you dropped.
Every kite school teaches body dragging before putting students on a board, because it builds kite control in a safe, low-consequence environment. Body dragging is also your self-rescue fallback — if your board breaks or you lose it far from shore, you can body drag back to the beach.
Example usage
"Lost my board 200 meters downwind — had to upwind body drag for 10 minutes to get back to it."
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