Hi all,
I'm very new to kiting, few lessons and a couple of "sessions"(more crashing myself and kite ??)
Live around semaphore SA down goolwa now for a few days.
To be honest I need to nut up and go out in a bit stronger winds. I'm 6'6" and 105kg on a 12m switchblade (old kite 2008)

Yes agreed I am really enjoying it even getting slammed into the water its still a lot of fun

Bar in or out, kite on down stroke. Bar out, kite on up stroke. Keep front leg straight when you dive the kite to water start, it helps to stop faceplants.

vaas20 said..
Thanks all
Spent 3 hrs yesterday dragging myself around constantly reminding myself to stop watching the kite and learn to feel it. Still loved every second of it

Feeling the kite and predicting the power it will deliver are very valuable skills, so kudos to you on keeping up with these. Another way to work on these skills is to plant your feet and try not to move them as you fly the kite (best done in knee-deep water if you're prone to being pulled off your feet). To keep your balance you need to lean back against the pull of the kite. Predicting how far to lean back according to the position of the kite and the direction it is going is what you're working on and will make it much easier to keep balance when on the board. Once you're comfortable flying the kite around the wind window, move your feet closer and closer together. Each time you are forced to move your feet, reset and start again. Once you're used to getting your feet close together, try the same game while not looking at the kite. This trains your body to predict the pull based on the current position of the kite and its trajectory through the harness and bar. All these skills are very valuable as they allow your eyes and brain to focus on other things while still maintaining control of the kite.

Yeah it's all muscle memory - like riding a bike!

Well done!

The key to my water starts I found, was not kite watching obviously, but looking at the horizon as I stood up.
Keep that front leg straight to avoid being pulled over the handlebars and look straight ahead. As you stand up, you can then check to see where you kite is if you can't feel it.

Good on you Rusty and Vaas, keep the stoke happening. If you get a good group of newbie's sharing their successful sessions and milestones it's a great inspiration for other new kiters. As long as it doesn't become a monotonous sledging farce then I'm sure you will get helpful advice from some of the more experienced kiters when you ask for help with something you are struggling with. I remember a thread started by SaltySinus a few years ago that had about 5k comments. keep it up