i taught myself how to kitesurf. for years i watched people kite down at my local. watched them launch and land kites asked heaps of questions and one day decided to give it a go. i watched a mate have a lesson once and learnt about self rescue b4 i even flew a kite. 1st time i flew my kite 07 torch 10m i did it in light winds and it was struggling to stay in the air. 2nd time was windy as and accidently did a kiteloop and i got ragg dolled in the air over a distance of approx 10 m and then crashed the kite hard. 3rd time out went to the beach and wind changed to semi offshore and when i dropped the kite i was struggling to relaunch and getting pulled out to sea and was ****ting myself. then the 4th time i somehow managed to get the fifth line caught around the bar fully powering the kite and teabagging me out of the water, after that no more dramas except for a broken ankle after a carve gone wrong. you have to respect the power of wind and the kite.
i see so many beginners grab the bar hard when it all goes wrong and they get mega drags. just let go of the bar if anything goes wrong in theory the kite will slowly drop out of the air.
best to get lessons and then you will get good advice on kites and gear and probably a good deal $$. you will also always be able to have a chat to the instructor in the future for new tips. supporting your local kite school is great also, these guys do a lot of unpaid work like checking your lines to see if they are stretched, letting you demo kites,boards. if you support your local kite school they will support you and you will get a lot more back for your measly 250 bucks spent on a lesson. and you will greatly reduce the risk of something going mega wrong or really hurting yourself or someone else.
my biggest fear is that beginners will hurt innocent bystanders. if you are going to self teach yourself do it on deserted beach so that the only person who can get hurt is you.

answer --> real bad!

i don't want to sound like a pessamist, there are those who have been able to self teach and progress. i would like to congratulate them on their achievement.

then there are foolish noobs who hit up ebay and buy a full kite kit because the previous owner no longer likes the sport. this is ofcourse bull $h!t, you are generally being sold a full kit because it's crap, but that's okay because you know better being self tought and all.

you will then arive at the beach with your outdated dangerous kit and will 1/2 inflate your kite and take up a crap load of room as you do the long legged run or face slide as it's also known down the beach when your kite is in the air. again it's okay you have been watching youtube where everything is easy.

after you have pissed off all the locals who have learnt the right way to do things you will hopefully F*#k off back home and re-list your cr@p on ebay for the next sucker trying to do it on the cheap and on their own.

so save us all the hassle of coming to bail your dumb @$$ out and go get some lessons from someone who knows not only what they are doing but also someone who knows how to teach.

this will do a few things for you,

1. learn the basics
2. learn how the whole system works, including respect for other kiters
3. establish a relationship with a local guru (if you choose your teacher wisley)
4. won't piss off everyone at the beach
5. keeps other beach user groups from complaining about kite surfing

so if you don't get a lesson for yourself do it for everyone else and learn how to body drag and never ever put on a leash... (that's what noobs do)

gordknot said...

Sam, i'm teaching myself. Just getting out of the learner stage and have survived. I came from surf background with no knowledge of wind. yes you'll cop some hammerings and shred some kite. It really depends on how you like to learn.... if you're up for a wild adventure, go for it - but there ain't no "controlled enviroment".

But listen to all the above- lessons are obviously the majority view

sorry to hijack the thread, just wanted to say g'day Michael! we met you at the north beach last weekend you have the black and green 9m Rev yeah? you were ripping

Learning solo is possible and the right individual with modern gear and a decent mind set can do it. Same can be said for most things. it is far, far from ideal though.

Sigh..The problem with advising that learning solo is ok is that it effectively bypasses the majority (and experienced) view that it is not a good idea. This then tempts the noob to ignore the other majority views that it should only ever be done in a secluded area, away from public etc. This aint that flash if you come to grief either BTW.

Next thing is "Well 3 guys just suggested that I should have a smaller kite today but I read a review somewhere that sys this 12m can cope with 28kts so I'llk be right mate." (or fk orf - as is common). Can you hear the ambo sirens yet?

Maximise your chances of fun, knowledge, safety and staying injury free for you and everyone around you. Lessons are no garauntee of safety either, the attitude, and to an extent luck, of the rider will still matter, but just find the dough and do the lessons. I don't know of anyone who regrets doing at least 2 2hr lessons.

as for me it gets worse.

i have also taught 2 friends how to kitesurf and they are both up and running now on my trusty old 10m torch. its had 3 repairs now form them smashing the kite hard into the water.

i always feel bad when i teach someone how to kite, ( a bit anyway) however i have never taken any risks and i have always taught them self rescue relaunch eject and made them do it and then spend 30mins untangling lines.

one of my mates who i taught how to kite went up to wedge this weekend and used a 2005 airush kite. i went straight to neil at hold the line kites and am getting my torch fixed because i told him it wasnt cool or worth the risk to fly a low depower c kite.

but i never taught them when there were other souls on the beach. i always had a harness on also and if they got in trouble i would grab the kite back from them and even saved them the walk of shame by kiting back up wind for them.

if the wind is around the 15knt to 20knt mark a bigger kite eg 10/11m is probably the safer option as it turns slower.

ill never forget putting a mate on a 7 in 20knt plus and seeing them freak out at how fast the kite was moving in the window.

if anyone can get hold of a 2007 torch i believe it is one of the best learning kites it is very stable and has heaps of grunt but great 5th line and depower.

Sounds like you were in a similar situation to me when I started. Money for me was a big issue, and I took the advice of a few people and waited an extra month to get into the sport so I could get gear and a lesson.

I would highly recommend getting at least one lesson, if not more. Not only will they teach you the basics, improve the learning curve and more importantly make it safer for you. You will also not have every kiter in the state trying to hunt you down because you got their spot banned from taking out a swimmer or something.

8-10 years ago you had the right to teach yourself, you no longer have this privellege, as the number of kiters has gone up, so has the pressure of the general public and local government on us kiters to not stuff up. So unless you are the only guy on the beach for miles around, take a ticket and get in line at your local friendly kite school