Hi guys,

I've had a couple of friends come to me wanting to learn kite surfing, but being students they don't want to spend money on proper lessons. So I offered to teach them basic wind-window basics on my trainer kite, but I won't allow them to harness up and launch a real kite. Is that ok, or are there legal ramifications? Thanks

There are teachers, and there are teachers....if you know what I mean. Unless you really understand all that can go wrong, and have had lots of first hand experience on how to deal with this, and you have proven methods that you can relate easily to said student, then no. Too many cowboys wanted to let their mates have a go and wind up either hurting themselves or worse, other people. Your attention to them while they are learning is paramount and requires constant full vigilance. And patience. Also, as Kiteboy Dave mentioned, location is the other critical factor.
You better have liability insurance. You don't even want to go down that path....

Kazan shouldn't be red thumbed for asking a question like this.
At least he is asking it.
Good to let your mate's have a go of the trainer Kite. Then in summer get them on a course.

Thanks guys. So obviously, measure the risks, location, student's ability and what to teach.
That's exactly what I did. Student only learnt on trainer kite and was shuffed as a kid in a lolly shop. End of class.
Of course I did recommend they save up and get proper lessons in terms of water starting and real kite control.

True it's best to be instructed by a qualified instructor. Most mates teaching mates learn bad habits rather than what the text book says.
But I think AKSA coverers members teaching 1 person as long as money hasn't changed hands although I would hate to be the test case as said before if you are found to have done something wrong (usually when accidents happen) you may not be covered.
With the amount of mates teaching mates it would be handy if AKSA had some sort of checklist for it, it's not rocket science but there are basics that reduce the risks greatly. ( please sign below to waive any liability )

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^^exactly, i have taught many people

and i go with the philosophy that kiting is an extreme sport

to every one else in the area other than the kiter...

the basics of the machinations have to be taught

but the responsible teacher with teach the safety as the priority

everything else is practice

I've spent a lot of time watching many people teach lessons over the last few years, whether they were ''real instructors'' or friends teaching friends. One of the biggest issues with friends teaching friends is using overpowered kites, typically a father teaching his son or a dude teaching his 55kg girlfriend on a 12m kite in 20 + knots. Other problems are obvious lack of safety precautions such as launching kites close to obstacles and other people in the wind window while the "student" is pulling the bar in all the way.... or prematurely teaching water starts right next to the beach....which always ends up in an accident. The list goes on... That being said the scary thing is I've seen many certified instructors in kite schools do the very same mistakes.

Let's face it, the majority of student's goal is to be on the board as quickly as possible. It's easy for any instructor to skip many important learning steps and ''safety stuff'' in order to satisfy the student's urge to get up and riding. Unfortunately, lots of instructors pride themselves in having their students riding on the board as quickly as possible. But this is probably done at the detriment of the student's safety and independence and also often done in shallow waters where the instructor doesn't see the need for teaching self-rescue, upwind body drag or relaunching the kite while not touching the ground. This usually gives the student false confidence and when confronted to deep waters spots for the first time means losing the board, long downwind drifts, inability to self-rescue, etc.

Teaching a student to be safe and genuinely independent in deep waters takes time, effort, structure and thoroughness in your lesson plan. You also have to understand teaching "psychology" and detect signs of stress and discomfort and address them quickly. Another problem is not adapting to the student's learning pace, some students will require more time to learn skills, which means they shouldn't be pushed too quickly to the next steps. As Dafish said, there are teachers....and there are teachers. Some people are just not "natural" at teaching.

I'm sorry if I'm going a bit off topic. To answer your question, generally speaking, no one can legally stop you from teaching your friends, although if there are schools nearby they may ask you to be more careful or to move along if you are too dangerous. That being said I've seen friends teaching friends with more common sense, safety and structure than some certified instructors working in schools.

A good start for any newbie is the beginner progression DVD (2nd edition) which will not only facilitate the learning process but also allow to measure the quality of lesson by making sure the instructor cover all aspects of the progression in a way that each step of the progression can ultimately be done without assistance from the instructor. The contents of this DVD closely matches the teaching standards of most reputable schools.

Kazan said...
[br]Hi guys,

I've had a couple of friends come to me wanting to learn kite surfing, but being students they don't want to spend money on proper lessons. So I offered to teach them basic wind-window basics on my trainer kite, but I won't allow them to harness up and launch a real kite. Is that ok, or are there legal ramifications? Thanks

That depends on if your making money from this or if its free advice as well as are you willing to live with this if the s--t hits the fan and something seriously or fatally goes wrong.

Teaching friends and partner's is not as easy as it seem, safety aside when you've been kiting for a LONG time its very very difficult to associate with somebody very virgin with kiting, it is perceived with different eyes what we seem as the normal is completely alien to some people and downright scary. Then consider if the student is as confident with water etc. I was completely self taught so skipped all lessons so don't know all their little tricks and wise words etc. The confidence that the student will get from an instructor is un-paralleled, fine do the trainer kite thing but at least get one or two lessons from an instructor.