Never a good feeling involving someone else in your kitemare I guess try and do it on deserted beaches if you can while learning. Without knowing your weight or windspeed it sounds very much like your kite is too big for you and the conditions. If the kite is overpowered the throw increases making the bar harder to reach, depower the kite by pulling in on the depower cord which will bring the bar closer. Also if you're overpowered you have no chance in hell of keeping an edge when new, especially if your board is too big for you. Just remember to try and push down on that back foot and look in the direction you want to travel, you'll figure it out.

Kiting is all about the near death experiences and personal challenges

G'day mate..Learning is frustrating.I don't know the stats but I would recon that well over 50% of people that start kiting give it up at about your stage.
Weekdays sounds like it may be a heap better in your location to hone your kite skills.
If you have zero board skills hit a wake park or get out behind a boat,the board skills needed for you to enjoy yourself are minimal.
Kiting is 90% kite skills 10% board skills or something like that.
Can you get hold of a mates kite or a demo for the day and see if it is better suited to you?
If this was your first day out alone don't expect too much,if kiting was that easy everyone would be doing it.
Cheers Billy

M8, that's a bummer but keep up the fight. On the other hand maybe you're a total gumby and would be doing kiters a favour by taking up Bogey boarding?

It's easy to read instructions, and there's a thousand things to learn and different ways to do it but if you're still having problems, you just need more lessons. But here's some things to try remember to practice between your lessons.

It's probably more that you were unlucky and that you just need to get your confidence back in an uncrowded local.
If you can take a mate with you all the better.

Ist Pick the right kite for the wind of the day. Get him handling the kite ie flipping it over and holding it into the wind etc without lines attatched. Show him what to do to launch you and have him do it. Always launch the kite at the edge of the window. If you have to hot launch because of no beach or room, find somewhere else.

Get the kite up to 12 an just get your buddy to hold on to your harness handle (the one at the back of your harness) while you are both waist deep in the water.
This guy is going to be a good mate and will require loads of beer from you l8r.

Now with your kite in a depowered setting, this means you attatched the back lines on the end knots and front lines pulled in on the inside knots, point out each hour in the wind window and hold the kite there. Prove to yourself that you have the control to do this.
Now see if you can put the kite on the water and let the bar go. if the wind is right the kite will sit on the water waiting for your input.

Now, try learn to "fish" it up into the sky using just one line. Take the upper leader line in your downwind hand and "fish" it out of the water.
Then see if you can move the kite from 1-2 , 10-11 and 11-1. All the while your m8 will be getting thirsty so keep thanking him.
If your m8 knows how to hold the LE of a kite then send him to the beach and with you holding the kite starting at 12 send the kite to him gently.
Bring the kite back to 12 and repeat this exercise about 10 times working on increasing your speed and testing your control all the while.

Obviously this is landing the kite and you should be practicing hand signals here, but it is also Power stroke practice. this is the main move you'll perform with the kite for just about everything you'll do in your first year.
In all these exercises you should be trying to increase the speed of the kite as you master each stage of control.
If you can't control a fast moving kite you will be causing more problems in the crowds and having more stacks.
When you send the kite hurtling to your friend on the beach be sure to "pull it up" before it smashes him into the beach.

If you haven't smashed your mate into the sand by now ask him to hold on again and do some downwind body dragging with you and your handle again, then try it solo.

Have fun and get a seat harness.

That's good of them. You can't expect a lesson for free but some observation & advice from them is not too much to ask.

I don't know which side of Vicco you're on but Inverloch looks awesome for kiting as does Sandy Point. Definitley if you could spend a long weekend with wind down there you would be able to walk down to a bit of sand by yourself. After 3days in uncrowded flat water you won't know yourself anymore you'll be that much more advanced.

im a big believer in if you havnt got superb kite control then you shouldnt be thinking of using a board, if you have complete control of a kite it makes your board use much easier, mixing a badly controlled kite with a board imo isnt the correct way, every chance you get you should be flying and body dragging until you basically have it mastered, then its time to get to introduce the board, some people pick it up quicker and easier than others, its time on or in the water thatll pay dividends, keep at it, what are your wind conditions at your local?

Mistakes beginners make...

Going out in too light wind.
As someone said, you're skills are crap and you can't finesse board or kite so you need to use power to do your thing. And that's scary cos you don't have the skills to deal with it - vicious circle till you have the experience.

Being in a hurry.
You simply have to put the time in to get it. People who pick this up after in an afternoon are a./ freaks of nature, b./ have no concept of what they yet need to learn or c./ are lying.

Thinking it's not all about the kite.
It's all about the kite. The board work is a minimal part of what you're doing... initially. Every new thing I learn, I realize kite control is the major component.

My advice... give up on the board for now, learn to fly the SHI-IT out of the kite, until you can fly it one-handed, use it to drag you down the beach non-stop, can body-drag upwind like a pro, can work it then park it and hold it there just by sheeting in and out, park it on a tip then relaunch it... real simple stuff like that.

I skateboarded as a kid, taught myself to snowboard and ski rather well, taught myself to fly 2-line stunt kites, had fixed bridle kites and spent a winter landboarding (kinda)... before I tried to get in the water. It STILL took me a good couple of months of summer to get upwind and comfy with a board. And I could fly the ** out of the kite...

If you haven't learned patience after a season kiteboarding, there's no hope for your bloody pressure

bit off topic matey but who was your instructor in sri lanka and how long were you there?

kappaladi lagoon (little lagoon near thalawila) or kalpitiya lagoon (big one)

im surprised if you were there for a week or longer you are having these problems. pretty good conditions there. should of been on the water 24/7

Don't worry about winds being "too light". the techniques you develop will come in handy l8r on, but it is best to be away from the crowd whilst you're learning. But not too far....
Your 13.5 sounds like an FF Ion? What's your 8m? maybe your model of kite or your settings is the problem. High winds = low power knot settings. You have to learn to know and adjust your kite settings or you will constantly stay with frustration. I know heaps of guys who only ever kite on the middle knot and they are missing out on so much from their wing by heading out just that little bit over/under powered for the day. Also I would check your board. It sounds small am I right (under 137x 41) too small for beginner(except for the 30ktdays) and are you in a waist and not a seat harness?

+1 everything above. It's a frustrating process... but it does just 'click'.

Do things to take the stress out of the situation, like go to a beach which is learner friendly, i.e. deep and known for having learners there, hence people are more forgiving.

As for boardskills.. they'll come in time, but step 1 is to own the kite. You tell it where to go, not vice versa.

Finally, if you can drive a car, or ride a bike, you can kitesurf.

i've just come through a similar stage. I was starting to get a little frustrated with it all after spending maybe 3 sessions trying and failing to get up and going on the board after having lessons. while i do tend to occassionally forget or fail to maintian proper ettiquette i hope that's just part of the learning experience.

However, on saturday i had a minor breakthrough, consistently being able to ride in either direction and keeping the kite in the sky for the most part. doesn't sound like much i guess but it validated a couple of previous session i spent largely on my bum attempting to take off. I found that the biggest thing that probably prevented the earlier session from being successful was probably the wind - 15knts average comes with a lot of lulls and a lot of messing around trying to fly the kite, this messing around probably paid a few dividends improving my control and understanding of the kite. In 17-18knts i was able to get up and going nicely. Secondly, I was able to relax a bit more and in doing so i think my action all became alot smoother and slower - diving the kite, not choking up on the bar etc. all became a lot easier

A bloke even came up beside me and gave me a few tips (cheers to this bloke if he's around)

But as discussed above - at some point it does seem to just start to click.

@ teamex... where were you getting 17-18 knots in WA on Saturday?!! I've been fangin' for a sesh for 2 months. Not a sausage!!

cyber98 said..


nope it is 145 by 44

The 8 meters that I have used in sri lanka was core xr2 2013 whereas the one iam using in UAE is Kahoona 13.5 2012 and yes i am using a waist harness. do you recommend the seat harness?

I am going out tomorrow again it was suppose to be around 16 to 18 knots today but it was barely 10 knots.lets hope windguru gets it right this time :p if the wind stays inconsistent i might travel somewhere but this time it will be for two weeks rather than 5 days.

Sorry m8, Cool, that board is awesome for getting going on. Xr2's have a good range so I would have thought 8 good for 30+ knots. Having said that I often break out the 6m over 25kts as I don't have to fight the kite at all. This is a challenging wind speed and if you not edging well, you can have some trials.
Your rear knot settings are right for LW but the funny thing is that when it gets REALLY light, using the first knot can result in some kites back stalling. So if you see it drifting backwards a lot, prolly time to drop it an let it out a knot. Do Kahoona's have adjustment on the front lines also? Do the opposite with these ones.

Waist harness are great for advanced riding as you can work with the way they slide around but they are counter productive for the walk of pride, overpowered days and learning in general compared to a seat.
The spreader bar can be anything from 8 -14" higher up your torso so that means you are going to have to reach those amounts further to fully let out power when you need to. This results in a bent over forward back and very poor kiting posture as your weight is no longer centered behind your heel side edge, which would make it easy to bury and control, but over the middle of the board which means you are not edging and are more likely to stack toeside or bounce horribly fast and out of control downwind.
Also the seat means that more than half your body weight is above the spreader bar. This means when you lean back or lower your weight you do it with more assertion, weight and power which = more control. With a waist harness you would have a bit over a 1/4 of your weight above the spreader. Also the spreader bar on a seat will stay in a fixed spot, with a waist it will twist and rise.
Do you need any more reasons? I've tons more. Seat harnesses are also way cheaper.

Good luck tomorrow. We're looking at a 20kts Nthly possibility. yeeewwww

pattiecannon said..

cyber98 said..


nope it is 145 by 44

The 8 meters that I have used in sri lanka was core xr2 2013 whereas the one iam using in UAE is Kahoona 13.5 2012 and yes i am using a waist harness. do you recommend the seat harness?

I am going out tomorrow again it was suppose to be around 16 to 18 knots today but it was barely 10 knots.lets hope windguru gets it right this time :p if the wind stays inconsistent i might travel somewhere but this time it will be for two weeks rather than 5 days.

Sorry m8, Cool, that board is awesome for getting going on. Xr2's have a good range so I would have thought 8 good for 30+ knots. Having said that I often break out the 6m over 25kts as I don't have to fight the kite at all. This is a challenging wind speed and if you not edging well, you can have some trials.
Your rear knot settings are right for LW but the funny thing is that when it gets REALLY light, using the first knot can result in some kites back stalling. So if you see it drifting backwards a lot, prolly time to drop it an let it out a knot. Do Kahoona's have adjustment on the front lines also? Do the opposite with these ones.

Waist harness are great for advanced riding as you can work with the way they slide around but they are counter productive for the walk of pride, overpowered days and learning in general compared to a seat.
The spreader bar can be anything from 8 -14" higher up your torso so that means you are going to have to reach those amounts further to fully let out power when you need to. This results in a bent over forward back and very poor kiting posture as your weight is no longer centered behind your heel side edge, which would make it easy to bury and control, but over the middle of the board which means you are not edging and are more likely to stack toeside or bounce horribly fast and out of control downwind.
Also the seat means that more than half your body weight is above the spreader bar. This means when you lean back or lower your weight you do it with more assertion, weight and power which = more control. With a waist harness you would have a bit over a 1/4 of your weight above the spreader. Also the spreader bar on a seat will stay in a fixed spot, with a waist it will twist and rise.
Do you need any more reasons? I've tons more. Seat harnesses are also way cheaper.

Good luck tomorrow. We're looking at a 20kts Nthly possibility. yeeewwww

kitcho207 said..

cyber98 said...


- I am currently using Kahoona 2012 and I dont why I hate this kite as I feel like the bar is like 1 light year away from me, i just cant simple hold the bar without pulling it.

Should I buy a better kite? Little bit of inspiration and advise would be great

That kahoona will be one of the easier kites to fly.
Next time you see your instructor on the water. Let him have a ride on it and get him to tune which pigtails it should be on for the day and also add some depower if needed. Get him to explain what he has done too. That will take the kite settings out of the picture and let you focus on riding.

Also keep getting better at flying the kite and knowing the power zones. You really need to be able to fly the kite without looking at it.
Kitch

I wanna thank you all for your feedback and the support I'll definitely buy a seat harness and yes it seems like I need to get familiar with the power zone. I went out today it was extremely gusty I could go down wind for a while but kept losing the speed due to poor body posture. I guess I wont be out for couple of days as the wind will be around 7 to 8 knots.. another good reason for me to hit the cable park :).

www.windguru.cz/207

Yeah Kitcho's right Kahoonas have a good rep as being very easy kites. Your no giant so that waist is putting the bar out of reach. When you hop in that seat you'll wonder why nobody told you sooner. Also, easier on your back, and be sure not to get one of the "Combo" genre by North or Flying Objects which are just a waist with a nappy sewed to the bottom. Dakine Fusion if you have no glutes, Mystic Sheild if you have ass. Diferent brands fit different folk better, tons of them out there. Dakine fusion will give you better reach of those 2 as the spreader is a touch lower.
shame about your gusty wind we had an unseasonal Nthly 15-20 in the bay tonight ;) Noice

Hey Cyber
Following your plight with empathy, just want to assure you that the learning curve is steep for everyone but every kiter I know says it was worth the effort and perseverance.
It will always be easier to get up on the board and keep going if you have a little extra power until you have spent a season on your technique.
I reckon at 85kg and the very light winds in UAE you might get huge benefits from adding a 17m Zephyr to your quiver.
Good luck and keep at it mate.