Fighter kite

Fighter kites are kites that are used for the sport of kite fighting. Countries where kite fighting is particularly well-known include Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Korea.

Most fighter kites are small unstable single line flat kites. Tension in the line will cause the kite to deform into a shape that allows the kite to track in a straight path, so to control the kite, the flier will release line until the nose of the kite is pointed in the direction that the flier wants the kite to go, and then they will pull in line to make the kite track.

Traditionally most fighter kites are flown with an abrasive line with the aim of cutting the line of opponents kites, but in some forms of competition kites are flown to capture and bring down the opponents kite - or to just touch the opponents flying line.

Materials used to make fighter kites

In most traditional fighter kite manufacture, the skins of kites are made from a lightweight thin paper and the spars are usually made from a lightweight and flexible wood, usually bamboo.

In modern American fighters, the kite skins are made from a variety of synthetic materials - mylar, aircraft insulation (orcon or insulfab [http://fighterkitecentral.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000170] ), nylon, and polyester sheeting. The spine is often bamboo but the bow, and often also the spine, is usually fiberglass or carbon fiber.

Line used for fighter kites

Historically, for most Asian type fighters, a thin cotton or hemp line is coated with a mixture of finely crushed glass and rice glue. In recent years, synthetic line has been coated with a variety of abrasives and stronger glue, also, there have been some reports of metallic line being used. Some cultures use line that has metal knives attached to hook and cut the opponents line.

In line touch competition, synthetic braided fishing line, 15 to 20 lb test, is used due to its low stretch and high strength for the line diameter and weight. Waxed cotton or linen line is also used.

Line cutting contests

Many of these kites are flown with an abrasive coated line (munja). Most kites are flown with a set lenth of munja at the kite end. The munja is very sharp and to avoid getting hand injuries most competitors use ordinary string (sudhee)for their hand position.Some cutting involves knives of some sort attached to the tail, line, or kite. Competition rules vary by geographical area. Two or more contestants fly their kites. The person who cuts the opponents line wins the fight. In multiple kite matches, the person with the last kite in the air is the winner.

The two most common types of cutting are done with abrasive coated line - release cutting or pull cutting. To release cut, once the lines are in contact, both parties start to play out line until one line is cut. In pull cutting, the flier quickly retrieves line until the opponents line is cut. There are many factors in who will win the event and include the size of the kite, the quality of the kite, the quality of the line, the quality of the abrasive on the line, the quality and size of the spool, the spool handler, initial contact, the skill of the person flying the kite, and the wind conditions.

Kite fighting is very popular in many Asian countries. The usual goal of a 'kite fighter' is to maneuver his/her kite to cut the opponent's string. [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045682 Kite.(2007) Encyclopedia Britannica Online] ]

Capture or grounding competition

Two or more kites are flown. Competitors try to capture their opponents kite and bring it to the ground. The person or team who succeeds is the winner.

Expert kite fighters are able to cut their opponents line (munja) and then encircle the trailing line (lubjow) of the cut kite. Once secured, the winner can then fly both kites and pull in the prize. Those not involved in the kite flying can be "kite runners" (Once a kite is cut, it no longer belongs to anyone until caught and claimed by the kite runner. The film The Kite Runner depicts this well. Many children die every year because their pursuit is so frenzied that they run into the path of vehicles or fall off roofs.

Line touch contests

American fighters are used in touch line competition. They are flown with a strict set of rules. Two contestants stand a set distance apart. Two contestants fly their kite in a neutral area, a referee asks both people if they are ready, when both contestants give an affirmative reply, the referee announces the randomly determined type of competition - a top or bottom point. A top point is awarded when a contestant contacts his opponents line on the top of the opponents line and maintains flight of their kite. A bottom point is when a contestant contacts his opponents line on the bottom of the opponents line and maintains flight of their kite. If either of the contestants kite touches the ground before the line makes contact with the others line, the other gains a point. If a kite leaves the boundaries of the competition area, the other gains the point. If a competitor steps out of the flying area, the other gains a point. If a competitors kite leaves the neutral area after saying they are ready, but before the type is announced, the other gains the point. Once a predetermined number of points is reached, a winner is declared.

pecific kinds of fighter kites

*Indian Fighter Kite (India),
*Pakistani Fighter Kite (Pakistan) (also known as a Patang),
*Tukkal (Pakistan and India),
*Hata (Japan),
*Rokkaku (Japan),
*Afghan Fighter Kite (Afghanistan),
*Shield Kite (Korea),
*American Fighter Kite (United States and Canada),
*Brazilian Fighter Kite (Brazil),
*Chula and Pakpao (Thailand),
*Wau (Malaysia).

Various names of line used for kite fighting from around the world

*Spectra - A brand of fishing line used for American Kite fighting.
*Power Pro - A very thin [0.25 mm diameter] braided fishing line used for American Kite Fighting.
*Manjha - Cutting line used in India and Pakistan.
*Tar - Cutting line used in Afghanistan.
*Hilo de competencia o Hilo Curado - Cutting line used in Chile.
*Dor - (India and Pakistan) The string used to fly the kite. The sharper the string, the better it is.
*Pecha - When two or more kites are fighting to cut one another. (India)

Kite Fighting around the world

Afghanistan

Kite fighting is a large sport. The kites used range in size from .5 meters to 1.5 meters across. The sport is called - "Gudiparan Bazi." The line used for cutting is called "tar." This was traditionally made with a cotton line and coated with a mixture of crushed glass and rice glue. Currently, nylon string with stronger glue is the preferred line of choice. A new development is using a flexible razor sharp wire. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1592857,00.html The Kite Maker. (2007) Time Magazine.] ]

India

In some places, such as Kolkata, kite flying is a year round activityFact|date=July 2008, but in others, kite flying takes place mainly during specific festivals - particularly Uttarayan, and more recently on Indian Independance Day [ [http://festivals.indobase.com/indian-independence-day/index.html Indian Independance Day] ] . During such holidays there are so many kites flying simultaneously that the sky seems to be moving with color.

Pakistan

Kite flying is a ritual for the spring festival known as Basant. However, kite flying is currently banned as some kite fliers engage in kite battles by coating their strings with glass or shards of metal, leading to injuries and death. Kite fighting is a very popular sport in Pakistan, mainly centered in Lahore people spend thousands of Rupees in preparing different types of kites and threads best suited to battle. The kites that are manufactured for battling are very different from the conventional kites as they are especially designed and made for this purpose. Kup, Patang, Guda, Nakhlaoo, etc are some of the kites used in the battle and they vary in balance, weight and speed through the air. Threads for kite battling are manufactured using especial glues, chemicals and crushed glass and are numbered based on their ability to cut other threads and to handle kite's weight. It is a very popular social event in Pakistan that happens once a year.

Japan

The Nagasaki Hata is similar to the Indian Patang, and it believed to have been introduced into Japan, from Indonesia, by Dutch traders. It is highly maneuverable and fought with glass coated line in line cutting contests in a similar way to kite fighting in many other countries.

Japan has a very strong tradition of a quite different type of kite fighting: very large kites, requiring teams. In these contests cutting line is not used, but instead kites are forced down. The festivals at Shirone [http://www.erdoboy.com/kites/99shirone.htm] and Hamamatsu [http://www.shizuoka-guide.com/english/travel/shizuoka/Matsuri.html] .

The Rokkaku is 1-2m high hexagonal kite fought with teams of players flying each kite. Both the Rokkaku and the smaller rectangular Buka have been adopted and further developed by western kite enthusiasts.

Korea

The Korean fighter kite, the bang-pae yeon is very distinctive; arectangular, bowed “shield” kitewith a hole in the middle of the sail. The frame uses five bamboo spars—one each across the top and the “waist” of the kite, a “spine,” and two diagonals. Although cutting line and fights are similar to other Asian fighter kites, a distinctive large spool is always used. [ [http://www.drachen.org/pdf/Student-Readings/FighterKitesofKorea.pdf Fighter Kites of Korea] ] [ [http://www.csun.edu/~ghsiung/fighters4.html Korean Fighters] ]

United States

Traditional Pakistani, Indian, Afghani, Japanese kite fighting is done throughout the United States, with New York having had groups of fighters playing on a regular basis since the 1960sFact|date=July 2008. Los Angeles, and San Jose have groups of people that regularly fight Indian and Afghan kites, and other forms of kite fighting, such as the Korean shield kite (pangp'aeyon), the Japanese Rokkaku and Nagasaki Hata, the Brazilian Piao, the Chilean fighter kites have been used for demonstration purposes at various large kite festivals throughout the country.

Starting in the late 1990s, "American Kite Fighting" uses small innovative kites of a range of shapes and materials on short lines for "line touch" competition. Now practised throughout the country, with an an annual championship competition held in Washington state.Fact|date=July 2008

Haiti

Most Caribean kites are hexagonal, and flown with a tail. Kite fighting in Haiti is done with these kites - traditionally around Easter. Unlike the cutting lines of other traditions, here sharp objects (generally razor blades) are attached to the tails to try to "Koule" (Creole for "Drop") other kites [http://loganinhaiti.blogspot.com/2007/05/kites.html] [http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=7&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drachen.org%2Fjournals%2Fa09%2FHaiti.pdf&ei=Eb-_SPaLMJK2sAPrtoTVDQ&usg=AFQjCNHmBTe7iN_ymNOuRcgbZmDuZQPnQQ&sig2=5fTkOgck4W0QXR7aJiCcOg] .

Similar kitefighting traditions exist throughout the Caribbean - in Cuba [http://www.dieppe-cerf-volant.org/dccv/cv/trad/ukniv3_tradcuba.html] [http://www.csun.edu/~ghsiung/spotlt5.html] Curacao and Surinam [http://members.chello.nl/h.hagg3/Surinam_Fighter/Suri_fighter_index.htm] .

Accidents and kite fighting

In India, Pakistan, and Chile, there have been reported accidents involving the abrasive coated cutting line. These accidents range in severity from small cuts on the fighter's fingers to a few reported deaths from contact with the line while riding motorcycles. In recent years, the fighting lines have evolved from the traditional cotton, rice and glass line to nylon or synthetic line coated with metallic or chemical abrasive compounds. To prevent further injury, many countries have implemented restrictions or bans on the use of cutting line. Some have set limits on the materials used to make the line, others have mandated safety devices on motorcycles when riding during kite festivals. People have been injured while fixated on capturing a cut kite, see Kite running. Other injuries have been due to not paying attention to ones actions while watching battles. Most of these accidents are preventable when fighting is strictly controlled to a specific arena and proper safety gear is worn by the fighters. Other accidents have occurred due to the masses of people present during large kite festivals to which kite fighting has taken the blame. See manja for specific incidents.

Controversy over kite fighting

There is an ongoing battle - religious, emotional, and political, on the subject of kite fighting and flying. From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban government in Afghanistan outlawed kite fighting and kite flying by declaring it "un-Islamic". After the fall of the Taliban government, kite fighting has returned to the country with vigor. Bird lovers have declared all cutting line to be "deadly". As with any sport, a controlled environment is critical to preventing unnecessary accidents. Many bans have been lifted as kite fighters, manufacturers, and government come to agreements to achieve a balance of safety and tolerance.

ee also

* Kite running, the practice of running after and catching kites drifting in the sky which have been cut loose in battle with other kites.
* Manja or Manjha, Hindi for the abrasive coated fighting line as used in Pakistan and India.
* Uttarayan, The kite flying festival of northern India.
* The novel "The Kite Runner", and the movie based on it.

References

External links

* [http://www.csun.edu/~hfoao033/fighters.html Cyber Fighter Website]
* [http://www.fighterkitecentral.com Fighter Kite Central]
* [http://nafka.net/ The North American Fighter Kite Association]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2978988.stm Pakistan tackles killer kites]