Getting Into Kiteboarding
Getting Into Kitesurfing
PHOTO - F-One
GET TRAINED:
The idea of this guide is to act as a back up to lessons, not a replacement for them. Come back to it again and again as you start collecting all your equipment.
Despite the images you see of buff blokes flexing their biceps as they fly through the sky on their kites, kitesurfing is more about finesse and understanding than muscle. There is no substitute for lessons with a professional instructor recognised by the sport's major governing bodies. These include the IKO (International Kiteboarding Organisation), BKSA (British Kitesurfing Association), PASA (Professional Air Sports Association – USA) and VDWS (Verband Deutcher Windsurfing und Wassersportschulen – Germany).
The sport has come a long way and is much safer than it was to learn, even just five years ago, but trying to learn on your own, or with your mate who's told you, 'Don't worry, I'll teach you – I've been kiting for years!' will take you much longer and could put you or others on the beach in danger. There is a technique to teaching and beginner equipment is designed and set-up specifically with getting you up and going as safely and quickly as possible in mind.
Find your closest schools at:
www.ikorg.com (IKO)
www.kitesurfing.org (BKSA)
www.pasakiteboarding.org (PASA)
www.vdws.de (VDWS)
www.kiteworldmag.com/directory
Sermon over. Stay safe. Let's continue.
COURSE CONTENT:
You should aim to take a course long enough so that when you've finished you have the knowledge to confidently be able to turn up to a beach, assess whether the conditions and environment are safe for you to go out or not, be aware of any hazards, correctly set up your kite, launch, get out on the water, rescue yourself (if you need to), land safely and pack up. These are only the basics, there are many more elements than these to learn to give you the least amount of knowledge that anyone turning up to ride on their own needs. According to the BKSA, a course getting you to this level will average around 15 hours of instruction time, usually over a few days. Not bad considering it would take you weeks without lessons, if you survived.
You will start your lessons out on land learning to fly a trainer kite to give you the basics. Richard Gowers, Chairman of the BKSA says: 'The primary skill to kitesurfing is being able to control and fly the kite competently.” So it's a good idea to get yourself a good trainer kite as the more time you spend picking up skills on this, the easier your time will be when you come to getting on the water.
Most brands make some kind of introductory trainer kite that will work fine. The Flexifoil Quark is a fun, affordable three-line kitesurf trainer kite, designed to specifically help new kiters learn to fly with skill and confidence. Equipped with all the usual Flexifoil build-quality it's ideal for use in kitesurf schools or by anyone looking for a tough, high-performance kitesurf trainer. The Quark has a huge wind range and the power is delivered smoothly and progressively by the 2.4 metre canopy. All power can be killed instantly using the third-line wrist leash system with push-away primary release and chicken-loop.
Find more at: www.flexifoil.com
Despite the images you see of buff blokes flexing their biceps as they fly through the sky on their kites, kitesurfing is more about finesse and understanding than muscle. There is no substitute for lessons with a professional instructor recognised by the sport's major governing bodies. These include the IKO (International Kiteboarding Organisation), BKSA (British Kitesurfing Association), PASA (Professional Air Sports Association – USA) and VDWS (Verband Deutcher Windsurfing und Wassersportschulen – Germany).
The sport has come a long way and is much safer than it was to learn, even just five years ago, but trying to learn on your own, or with your mate who's told you, 'Don't worry, I'll teach you – I've been kiting for years!' will take you much longer and could put you or others on the beach in danger. There is a technique to teaching and beginner equipment is designed and set-up specifically with getting you up and going as safely and quickly as possible in mind.
Find your closest schools at:
www.ikorg.com (IKO)
www.kitesurfing.org (BKSA)
www.pasakiteboarding.org (PASA)
www.vdws.de (VDWS)
www.kiteworldmag.com/directory
Sermon over. Stay safe. Let's continue.
Ozone Imp 3
You should aim to take a course long enough so that when you've finished you have the knowledge to confidently be able to turn up to a beach, assess whether the conditions and environment are safe for you to go out or not, be aware of any hazards, correctly set up your kite, launch, get out on the water, rescue yourself (if you need to), land safely and pack up. These are only the basics, there are many more elements than these to learn to give you the least amount of knowledge that anyone turning up to ride on their own needs. According to the BKSA, a course getting you to this level will average around 15 hours of instruction time, usually over a few days. Not bad considering it would take you weeks without lessons, if you survived.
You will start your lessons out on land learning to fly a trainer kite to give you the basics. Richard Gowers, Chairman of the BKSA says: 'The primary skill to kitesurfing is being able to control and fly the kite competently.” So it's a good idea to get yourself a good trainer kite as the more time you spend picking up skills on this, the easier your time will be when you come to getting on the water.
Most brands make some kind of introductory trainer kite that will work fine. The Flexifoil Quark is a fun, affordable three-line kitesurf trainer kite, designed to specifically help new kiters learn to fly with skill and confidence. Equipped with all the usual Flexifoil build-quality it's ideal for use in kitesurf schools or by anyone looking for a tough, high-performance kitesurf trainer. The Quark has a huge wind range and the power is delivered smoothly and progressively by the 2.4 metre canopy. All power can be killed instantly using the third-line wrist leash system with push-away primary release and chicken-loop.
Find more at: www.flexifoil.com
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Also pictured is the Ozone Imp 3, another classic trainer kite. Find it at: www.flyozone.com
Your next lesson will see you actually in the water and straight into the action. You'll learn: to enter and exit the water with your kite on your own and safely; how to relaunch the kite when it lands in the water: to perform body drags in the water using the kite's power to pull you along while maintaining the correct position of the kite; to change direction to the left and right and to recover the kite and bar in the water. These kites are great to practice with in between your lessons and are also good to hold onto to tempt your friends into learning the sport once you've got all the gear and are making them jealous with your ripping skills! Once you've got the trainer kite drill mastered, which includes: launching and landing with an assistant, walking along and changing direction while flying the kite and understanding the wind window you'll move onto setting up a 4/5 line kite with a full depower system, understanding the differences, launching/landing it and flying and controlling it hooked into the harness. Before going onto the water you'll be completely comfortable with advanced flying skills with this depower kite, will be able to quickly pull the quick-release safety system and activate the leash and then be able to recover the bar and kite. Next trick is learning to body drag upwind (which you'll have to do throughout your kiteboarding career when you fall off and come away from your board). You'll also get the skills to be able to get in the water, body drag out and come back in again to the same place. |
 
Flexifoil Quark
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Then you're basically onto understanding the power stroke of the kite that will give you the power to get up onto the board. After that it's all about supervised practice at picking up the skills to be able to get safely onto the board and ride away, taking on things like learning to ride in both directions, how to stop and know what equipment to use for what conditions.
This may sound like a lot, but with a good instructor on good, modern equipment, you'll have a lot of fun on your lesson and be amazed at how quickly you can pick it up. |
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Gath
Maelstorm
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EQUIPMENT:
All of the equipment you need will be provided on your lessons. All you'll need to turn up with is a pair of Speedos, a towel and an up-for-it attitude. Your instructor will usually give you sound advice on the equipment you should be looking to buy next, but here are some essentials: HELMETS: Although you may not see many people on the beach wearing them, they are vital for your first few months riding, at least. Getting hauled by the kite can be painful, and you usually go head first, so you do the maths on what could happen. And there's no reason to stop wearing one once you think you're getting good. The extra confidence that the little plastic bowl on your head brings will mean you'll ride harder and learn more! Maelstorm do fantastic deals on their Aqua helmet that is constructed with high-impact resistant ABS plastic with an inner lining moulded in waterproof, shock absorbing EVA foam. They have also designed the ear protectors to be removable for those who value style and that skater look more than their ears! But also so you can hear a little better if someone is trying to give you instructions. More at: www.maelstormgear.com Gath, who are based around the rough waters around Margaret River in Western Australia, also make solid, no nonsense helmets and have been saving heads in watersports for years. Find more of their products at: www.gathsports.com |
 Click here to buy Theory and Technique DVD  Click here to buy Progression Beginner DVD |
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