$100 or so beans is a small price to see if you will enjoy and take up the sport. Heaps of crew throw away $1000's of beans because they buy all the gear, take big kite lessons and then discontinue for whatever reason.
Sure, you can book trainer kite lessons but this doesnt capture the reality of finding random time to persue a new sport. Totally agree with some other comments, the skills you learn on a trainer transfer directly to big kites and speed up the learning process significantly. And, yep, if you're single it makes an awesome excuse to catch up with that chick you just met and get to see her in a bikini and make her laugh