Kitesurfing is one of the best sports in the world. It combines the thrill of surfing with the parachute skills of paragliding – all on demand – the only requirement is wind.
It’s one of the most fun things you can add to your impossible list – if you’re thinking about adding it to the lineup – here’s how you can get started.
Learn the Basics
Table of Contents
Before you even touch the water, it’s crucial to understand the fundamentals. You can usually take a class at any place that has good wind. Note that most courses are 2-3 days long. The first day is spent almost entirely on land with a “training kite” – so if you don’t have 3 full days to learn, you may walk away disappointed.
Through the lessons, you’ll cover a few important topics including.
Wind Awareness: Kitesurfing is all about harnessing wind power. You’ll learn to read wind conditions, directions, and speeds as well as how to generate power with the kite & the “windows” you’ll be sending the kite through.
Safety: There’s a bunch of nuance required when it comes to kite surfing. You’ll learn how to be safe with yourself & how to quick-release the kite in case you get in trouble as well as how to stay safe around other kiters.
Terminology: With several insider terms, you’ll learn to familiarize yourself with terms like “upwind,” “downwind,” “wind window,” and “power zone.”
Equipment Basics: You’ll understand how to set up your kite on the stand and how to launch the kite without getting blown away.
Kitesurfing Equipment
For kitesurfing – there’s some indispensable equipment.
Kite: Beginners should start with a large, easy-to-control kite (around 12m²).
Board: A twin-tip board is ideal for beginners due to its versatility and control.
Harness: This attaches you to the kite, distributing the pull across your body. Waist harnesses are popular for beginners. This will let the kite pull your body directly.
Safety Gear: Always wear a helmet, and consider rash guards. A buoyancy aid is mandatory until you’re proficient.
Wetsuit: (Optional) Depending on water temperature.
Training
When you do your training, you should look to enroll in a certified kitesurfing course is indispensable. Look for schools affiliated with recognized bodies like the IKO (International Kiteboarding Organization) – the primary certification body.
The escalation of lessons will look something like this:
Lesson Structure: Typically, lessons start with land-based training:
Kite Flying: Learn how to launch, control, and land a smaller trainer kite.
Body Dragging: Practice being pulled through the water without a board to understand how the kite moves you on water.
Water Start: Once comfortable, you’ll learn how to get up on the board.
Duration: Expect to take several lessons. Most people require at least 10-15 hours of instruction to feel confident. This will take 2-3 days (sometimes more).
Location, Location, Location
Picking your kiting location is important. It’s worth noting that some of the best places for advanced kiters are not really the best places to learn.
No matter where you are, you want to look for some place with strong, consistent wind.
From there, if you’re a beginner, you’ll want to find some place with relatively shallow water, minimal waves and a sandy or soft bottom.
If you’re advanced, you’ll care more about wind speed, and the setting than the individual elements.
Either way, you’ll want to avoid crowded beaches, ones with lots of swimmers or bodies of water with obstacles or lots of traffic.
If you’re in the US – the absolute best place to learn is South Padre, Texas. With miles of shallow water, this allows you to fall, and get back up immediately without having to chase your board, or battle waves while also trying to learn a new skill.
Techniques to Learn
Once you have the basic kite skills down, there’s a few things you’ll need to learn to become proficient.
Self-Launching: This is how you learn to launch and land your kite on your own. This is mandatory to learn with an instructor as you’ll need to be able to do this on your own eventually.
Board Control: Once you’re in the water, you can practice getting your feet into the foot straps and standing up on the board in shallow water.
Edging: This is where you learn to edge the board against the water to control speed and direction. If you’ve done any other board sports like wake boarding or snow boarding, this will be familiar to you.
Transitioning: Practice switching your stance to ride in either direction. Riding “upwind” is often a technique that takes a bit of practice to get down.
Self-Rescue – This is an important technique to learn in case you have a kite malfunction. This allows you to de-power the kite and rescue yourself safely without help – especially useful if you’re kiting in open water.
Jumping: As you get better, try small jumps to understand the lift and control aspect of kitesurfing. This can eventually lead to the HUGE jumps that you often see across social media.
Leveling Up
As you get better, there are a few ways you can start uplevelling your kiting skills.
Upgrading Your Gear
As you get better, you may want to invest in more specialized gear that will help you ride in lower winds or allow you to maneuver with more power or agility – depending on your goals.
Advancing Your Techniques
Once you have the basics down, you can try more difficult kite surfing skills like wave riding, super jumps or even foil kitesurfing (where your board is actually out of the water).
Kitesurfing is one of the most fun sports in the world. It demands attention and focus but is one of the few sports that – even when your’e failing – is a ton of fun.
If you add it to your impossible list – or get an impossible kite – let m know!
Add other skills to your impossible list
- How to Sky Dive
- How to Base Jump
- How to Death Dive
