Hi, I would get a few lessons before investing in some gear. Better to get a feel for the sport rather than jumping straight into it :).

Strongly agree with Salties comments in regard to lessons.

It's important (IMHO) to have the right grounding from the beginning. I did lessons which were fantastic at helping me progress. You want to be sure how to safely operate not just for your benefit but the others around you. There are plenty of posts about experienced people getting into trouble and having to self rescue to the shore. You don't want to be in a difficult situation off the coast and then start wishing you had done some training and learnt the correct techniques.

I looked at kiteboarding for years and thought to myself how much fun it would be. I am now only getting into it at 45 and wish I had done so earlier. Its great fun and I highly recommend it.

lemonadey said..

hi i have been thinking about starting kitesurfing for a while now. I was just wondering what the best way to start is?should i buy some gear and just go out and try? or take lessons?

Hmm one and only post and you ask us this!? Like did you even read anything just after you registered? Hmmm I can see you Googled "how to learn kite surfing" and lo-and-behold here we are (!!!) in Seabreeze talking about it for ever and a day on how important it is for lessons, proper training and learning kite ettiquette, etc etc.

*sigh*

Now where is my $1 for that post Lemons?

I just had two lessons when I started and didn't bother with the recommended third from the kite school. Once you know how to get yourself out of trouble when it happens (it will happen...trust me) and know the basics its just spending time on/in the water. Once you trying to get up on the board and have decent kite control I think that's enough, imo.

Would be good if you have a mate or two to keep an eye on you though like I did.

CmonWind said..

Would be good if you have a mate or two to keep an eye on you though like I did.

-1

Sorry mate, but you need more practice and skill to be confident enough out there, and two lessons ain't gonna do it. And having mates on the beach means diddly-squat when your kite suddenly back-stalls and starts a death-loop. They ain't gonna catch it for ya!

I reckon you’re both right in different circumstances; loftywinds I agree if you are a newbie and kiting on say a crowded beach or a place with little room for error but I reckon 2 lessons are fine like you say daniel_y if you use some common sense and kite where you can’t hurt anybody when things go to crap, and sure enough they will. I had 2 lessons concentrating on safety then went to a quieter open beach and taught myself the rest. It did go to crap at one stage when I dropped the kite and it turned inside itself then started a death loop. The 2 lessons gave me enough safety knowledge to use the QR then sort out the mess, get back on the horse and start again. For me additional lessons might have meant saving my equipment from a bit of extra newbie abuse and learning quicker but I preferred getting a kick out of self-learning. Every one to themselves but know your safety options first.