How to Learn to Kitesurf
Kitesurfing is an easy sport to learn. Easier than surfing, windsurfing and many other sports. It’s simple to plan your learning progression and make it safe, hassle free and low cost.
3 top tips for easy learning:
1 Time
Give yourself time to do it. If you work 80 hours a week plan to learn on holiday like in Mauritius or the Cocos Islands. Once you’ve learnt, you’ll be able kite once a fortnight without your skills going backward.
Ideally you’ll be able to get some time off during the week with flexible work hours or at least devote some weekends to learning. However you do it, spend time under a kite. Especially in light winds. It doesn’t matter if its a large trainer kite or a full size surf kite. Fly it regularly.
Most people can be taught the skills to kitesurf in under 10 hours comfortably, especially if they practice between lessons. 15 – 20 hours of directed kite flying is more than enough to learn to to kitesurf.
2 Follow the safe learning progression.
There’s a tried and trusted sequence of skills and flying situations you should be exposed to. Doing them in the right order will make the challenge so easy you’ll be amazed. Doing them in the wrong order will lead to damaged gear, intimidating falls and possible injuries to you or bystanders.
Kitethrills membership entitles you to a training log and instructional resources to help you learn all the steps as quick as possible.
3 Expect to buy gear.
You wouldn’t rent gear for the long term; also paying instructors to watch you practice doesn’t make sense. Buying your gear sooner rather than later will save you money. Kitethrills gives free lessons to all our customers who buy new packages from us. A typical entry to kitesurfing takes a few weeks and goes like this.
1 Try it taster course – $10 => yes I want to do this sport…..
2 Buy a large 3 line trainer kite $299 with more free lessons, training logs, and instructional videos. Practice for another few hours in light, moderate and strong winds.
3 Trade-in the trainer or buy outright a new kite package from $2600. Kitethrills will then give you an advanced training log, advanced instructional video and free lessons and supervision to ensure you become a competent kitesurfer. You also become a member of our community group with social BBQs, organised downwinders and other benefits.
Some common mistakes in learning to kitesurf include:
1 Learning from a mate on his gear.
Your mate: “yeah mate its easy. I’d love you to be able to kite with me… I’ll give you a go on my gear sometime”
You: “well you make it look so easy, is it hard?”‘
Your Mate: “Naahhhh – its simple – pull left it turns left, pull right it turns right, there’s the power, there is where there’s no power. Here, hold it like this.. No No like this no pull no push away - let go let go”.……
You: “Can you take me to hospital”
Your Mate: ” I cant believe you tore my kite, you nearly killed that kid – lucky the fence was there to stop you or you’d be on the road”
You: “It just turned round then .. Bang .. I was flying into a face plant”
Your Mate: ” I know — man it was funny – but i cant believe you broke my kite”
Learning from an experienced kiter but who doesn’t teach regularly is wrong on so many levels…
1 You’ll be using the wrong gear. Thrown in the deep end on big gear will intimidate and damage you.
2 You’re likely to be doing it at the wrong time – in too much wind when your mate has just been having a kite him/herself.
3 You’re likely to be doing it in the wrong place – hard sand, near other people, near obstacles
4 You’re mate is likely to miss the boring (but important) stuff that will keep you safe as your skills progress and you become independent
5 Your mate is likely to find it amusing if/when you get thrown with power into the ground. He’ll probably call your other mates to spread the news. Your potential to fall may not be something he fears and avoids.
6 There is often an ego fuelled competitive element in a mates demonstration that doesn’t keep you safe or help you learn.
Use your mates enthusiasm to inspire you to learn. Use your mates experience to answer questions. But don’t have them teach you.
2 Rushing the learning progression – Walk before you run
Learn to master the kite before you add the challenge of the board.
3 Not recognising your mistakes leads to making them again and again.
4 Not practising regularly.
Your muscle memory wont develop in a few hours each month. Give yourself a chance.
5 Not building confidence and overcoming fears
Don’t jump in the deep end with a big kite in strong winds. Learn to control and eliminate the power before you find enough to tow you around. Fear is the biggest barrier to learning for most people. It leads to tension in the muscles, bad posture and an inability to control the kite or the board. Fear is natural and healthy, so identify it and work to overcome it.