According to Wikipedia, Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is a surface water sport combining aspects of wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. A kiteboarder harnesses the power of the wind with a large controllable power kite to be propelled across the water on a kiteboard similar to a wakeboard or a small surfboard, with or without footstraps or bindings.
Kitesurfing is a style of kiteboarding specific to wave riding, which utilizes standard surfboards or boards shaped specifically for the purpose.
Kitesurfing is a relatively new sport. My wife and I saw it in the 1990s many times in the Caribbean. It did not seem to make an appearance here in Sodus Point until around 2010 or so. Now on a windy day you can often see it on our beach. Because the kitesurfers wear a wet suit, we have even witnessed them kitesurfing on our beach on Thanksgiving. Below is a video my wife (Edith Farrington) made of kitesurfers on October 14, 2015.