This is very essential in competition flying. To fly compulsory figure exactly, you need a slow kite. For ballet your kite should fly at the same speed, no matter how strong the wind is. This means something must be done to slow down the kite in strong winds.
Brakes are two triangles of mesh being fixed between kite sail and spreader.
A very new method to fix brakes is to put them between standoffs and tail of the kite. I did not test this method now, I saw it at various teams in the last competition at Weston super Mare. More about this method I will write in near future. A nappies is a stripe of mesh that is attached between bridle and flying line. The kite is slower and the pull is reduced.