Before You Start
While you can learn a lot about kiteboarding through magazine articles, online forums, and videos, this is a sport that you shouldn’t learn on your own. Kiteboarding lessons should be looked at as a required part of learning to kiteboard, not as something optional.
Start here if you think you are interested in becoming a kiteboarder.
Every person who wants to get into kiteboarding should take lessons.
Trainer kite practice with the proper drills will develop crucial precision kite control on land.
Your decision is even more complicated than you might have originally thought.
First Steps
If it sound like we are repeating ourselves on the issue of taking lessons, we are. The information here is not meant to replace a proper kiteboarding lesson, but these topics can help supplement what you will learn during your lesson. We do not recommend that anyone learn to kiteboard without taking a lesson.
During your fist lesson, you will learn the basics of how to properly and safely fly a kiteboarding kite.
The purpose of body dragging is to become comfortable in the water while flying the kite before adding the complications of a board.
Once you have your kite flying skills dialed in, you’re ready to try getting up on the board.
Once you’re up and riding, the first thing you need to learn is how to change directions.
Regardless of your skill level, you will eventually need to perform a self rescue.
After your Lesson
Even experienced kiteboarders are all too often indifferent to weather hazards.
Many kites ship with multiple options for where you should connect your safety leash, but it’s not always completely clear which attachment is the best for you.
To be realistic, there’s only so much your instructor can cover in a 9 to 12 hour beginner course.
Too many riders have tunnel vision on the water and are totally focused on what they are doing, not their environment.
Next Steps
With a properly tuned kite and correct body position, controlling speed and getting upwind will be much easier to achieve.
If you focus on good technique instead of just trying to huck yourself into the air, you will learn faster and be able to jump higher.
Intermediate Kiteboarding Skills
Congratulations, you are ready to move on to the Intermediate Kiteboarding Skills Section of The Kiteboarder School.