Get Out There!
It’s time to take the basic skills you learned on land and apply them to them in the water so you can become a kiteboarder. Like I said before this part will take some time. Most schools will tell you that you should sign up for their prepaid 3, 5, or 7 day lesson package. Most students realistically take 7 to 10 days plus to learn to become an independent kiteboarder. I have seen it done in 2 days but those students are in 0.1%. Kiteboarding is an investment of time and money but worth it. Having a background in other board sports like wakeboarding/waterskiing, snowboarding, windsurfing, skateboarding, etc. can shorten the learning curve.
I teach with two-way communication bluetooth headsets. Having a direct line of communication back and forth with your instructor is the best way to safely progress in this sport. It provides you with instant feedback. Also, countless times they have aided me in preventing my students from getting into trouble situations. That being said things still can happen but my two-way headsets allow me to help you thru all kinds of situations. Wether or not you take lessons with me, I highly recommend you find an instructor who uses two-way headsets, otherwise you are wasting your time and money.
Skills to be learned include:
- downwind body dragging
- kite water relaunch
- deepwater self-rescue
- body dragging with a board
- upwind body dragging for board recovery w/o the use of a board leash
- water-starting
- riding both directions
- setting an edge/rail for upwind riding
- controlled stopping