What you need to do is get some time on a trainer kite and get to know how the kite and the wind window, and the power the kite generates, are related.
There is no way to learn this relationship, other than by flying a kite. Some learn it very quickly, some don't, but you most definitely should not beat yourself up about the rate you learn it.
Often instructors pump your ego with claims you've "got it", but they are almost always then trying or "suggesting" that you should get your gear, from them, or the shop that employs them.

Anyway, the main thing here is that you will be diving the kite too deeply into the wind window, resisting the pull the kite generates by applying equal pressure to the board with both feet, instead of bending you rear leg and keeping the front leg straight. Progression "Beginner" video could help you, you can buy it online http://www.kitepower.com.au/progression-kiteboarding-beginner.html
Have you noticed there are 2 side to the wind window? And that you fly your kite predominantly in one half to go in one direction? So if you were leaving the beach and heading out to deeper water away from the beach and that direction was to your left, your right leg would be the one that remains bent, and your left is the one that remains straight?
Trainer kite, watch the video, you will get it!

have you got good control of the kite, if not leave your board at home until your very comfortable with it, break it down into stages, your better just doing small waterstarts instead of trying to ride , just get a feel for it pulling you from the water then kite back to 12 slump back into the water and do it again and again, after say half a dozen repeat in the opposite direction bringing yourself back to shore, youll get a lot more practice doing this than stacking then relaunching and recovering your board, just keep practicing this, when youve got this mastered its time for the next the next step in your waterstart , as for a trainer kite some like them some dont yeh theyll give you an understanding but react behave and feel completely different to a proper kite , keep in touch

Also, check out my account of the same struggle. You may or may not find useful things there:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Newbies-Tips-Tricks/Newbie-Lessons-learned-so-far/


On reflection, if you're launching yourself face first, and you feel over powered, I found it was because: a.) I wasn't pointing the board down wind (i.e. the board was perpendicular to where the wind was pulling me, hence it didn't slide over the water and b.) i was pulling myself up using my arms to pull myself up on the bar, which in turn gives you too much power and slingshots you over the board. Let the kite pull you up through the harness.

Finally, looking back, if I knew what I knew now, I'd have practice water starts by going through the motions (board on feet, kite over to 1pm, then dive it down into water start position and back up) without pulling on the bar which gives you launch power. This would have gotten me used to what I needed to do with my arms and kite before worrying about the whole standing up, going along nonsense.

Good luck. You've picked an unfriendly time of year to start, and any progress you make now will put you in good stead for the spring/summer time.

point your board far down wind. You can't face plant that way. All you need to do after that is keep the kite in the air. edge control comes after that.
I never got up on the board after 3 lessons but soon taught myself.

cauncy said..

have you got good control of the kite, if not leave your board at home until your very comfortable with it, break it down into stages, your better just doing small waterstarts instead of trying to ride , just get a feel for it pulling you from the water then kite back to 12 slump back into the water and do it again and again, after say half a dozen repeat in the opposite direction bringing yourself back to shore, youll get a lot more practice doing this than stacking then relaunching and recovering your board, just keep practicing this, when youve got this mastered its time for the next the next step in your waterstart , as for a trainer kite some like them some dont yeh theyll give you an understanding but react behave and feel completely different to a proper kite , keep in touch

Do what he say

All replies have been great thanks, hopefully I'll be up in no time :)

Just backing up what others have said before :

-Have your knees bent when sitting in the water
-as you are diving the kite, point your board as close to straight down the lines as possible

This was the big one for me :

-as you feel the kite begin to pull you RESIST the urge to actually stand up
keep all of the on your heels and preferably your back leg

you just have to trust the kite to get you up and simply lean back and let the harness do the work

Contrary to what is sometimes posted in these forums it is my belief that the value of using a wakepark to gain kiteboarding skills is minimal at best, and misleading at worst. Although the boards may look similar the way they are ridden is to me entirely different - a wake board is pointed mostly toward the pulling force like a ski (or downwind in kiteboarding terms) whilst kiteboards are used mostly cross wind to gain edge, and balance against the pulling force (the wind). If your face planting it sound like your diving the kite too much initially. Just try diving very minimally at first and gradually increase the depth of the dive till you generate enough power to pull you up. Its very easy to accidentally let the kite go too deep - you need to be aware there will always be a delay in the control bar to kite reaction time. Because of this you need to predict and control the kite a bit infront of what you actually see the kite doing at any given moment. This may sound complex but is simply timing which comes quickly with more kite time and informed focus.

I struggled for the first month on a 145cm board with a small amount of rocker. All I did was Superman all over the place.
I went and purchased an old 150cm board with no rocker and got up first go on the new board.

A weight of 100kg's did not help my cause.

CJai said..

All replies have been great thanks, hopefully I'll be up in no time :)

Meet your maker below..

fast forward to 0.46 secs...



DO NOT END UP LIKE THIS BELL END!