Realistically speaking, kitesurfing is not the easiest sport on the planet. Kitesurfing is actually a combination of two disciplines in one. KITE CONTROL is one part of the equation and BOARD RIDING is another one. Each of these activities is complex enough and should be practiced separately in the beginning. So, IS KITESURFING DIFFICULT TO LEARN?
Well, to learn to kitesurf you’ll need plenty of patience, strong dedication, a flexible schedule, time, endurance, mental focus, and a few more elements. Yet, to make you feel better, people as busy as Barak Obama, as impatient as Richard Branson, and as unfit as Sergey Brin managed to learn how to kitesurf!
I love this saying: You can eat an elephant, just take one bite at a time. If you take a mindful approach to the learning process, go through all the steps without skipping any, and move to the next level AFTER you feel confident on the previous one, YOU should be able to learn to kitesurf as well.
Who is your kiteboarding advisor?
The answer to the question “Is Kitesurfing easy or difficult” highly depends on the person you are asking. The answer is highly subjective and depends on the personal experience and the agenda of your advisor.
Most of the KITESURFING INSTRUCTORS would tell you that it is easy and that they had some students riding on day one. On the contrary, if you ask someone who tried and gave up, you would hear a completely different story of their fiasco.
When you select an instructor, keep in mind that great riders usually do not become great coaches. Most Olympic champions are coached by people who never acquired any Olympic gold themselves.
Is it hard to understand the wind?
The wind is the king when it comes to kitesurfing. The wind is strong, it is powerful, it can be moody, and you can’t tell “him” what to do. It goes the other way around. So, the better you understand the wind, the more you learn and know about it, the more you understand its nature, the easier it will be for you to harness its power.
This is the classroom part. As much as you may be tempted to get out, jump into the water and start riding you should spend some time at your computer, reading wind charts, studying wind patterns, and figuring out what kind of wind is preferred for kitesurfing and when you should stay home.
Some of the keywords that you should know by heart are
- “Wind Window“,
- “Edge of the Wind Window“,
- “Power Zone“,
- “ON-SHORE Wind“,
- “OFF-SHORE wind“,
- “Wind Gradient“,
- “Thermal Winds“.
Also, it’s very useful to understand the direction we are riding in in the relation to the wind.
Most of the kitesurfing students are chasing the “RIGHT” wind at the beginning of their kitesurfing journey. When the wind is consistent, steady, moving in the same direction, it’s much easier to fly your kite and the ride is much smoother. So, spend some time learning WHERE and WHEN you can find a GOOD wind.
A little hint. Thermal air streams are usually very steady. THERMALS are kicking in in the early afternoons at around 2 PM, this is why kitesurfers are sleeping in and showing up on the beach after lunch most of the time.
Is it hard to find a good kitesurfing school/instructor?
Please understand something. Great riders rarely become great coaches. Being a good kiteboarder is a craft. Being a good coach is a craft. And those are two different crafts! So, if someone is performing super tricks on the water, jumps super high, moves upwind at an incredible angle, and rides super-fast, chances are they will not be the best at sharing their knowledge with you.
You will benefit greatly if you find a good coach. Keep in mind that most kitesurfing coaches are not native English speakers (including myself). The best way to see if you have a rapport with them is to hang out on the beach and talk to those trainers in person. See if you click, if you can communicate nicely, if you understand each other easily, and then book a class. Also, see if they are passionate about teaching their students. HERE is more on HOW TO CHOOSE KITESURFING SCHOOL
Okay, the instructors can be busy, in this case, talk to their students right after they finished the class to get their feedback. Ask them what they didn’t like about the class and about the instructor. Also, you can just observe their interactions while their training is in session and see if they are passionate about teaching their students.
Is it hard to master kite control skills?
You should start with the safest version of all kitesurfing kites – a TRAINER KITE. It is the safest because it is the smallest in the family and it will not pull you violently even if you make a mistake. The safety system on trainer kites is very easy to engage – just let go of the control bar, and that’s all!
Have a few sessions with your TRAINER KITE. One thing is to understand how it works (this is the quick part), AND another is to build muscle memory to steer the kite without thinking about it and without looking at it. Practice, practice, practice! You can’t overdo this step. The more time you spend with the trainer kite the easier it will be later on with the big kite.
Flying a trainer kite has two stages. The first one is when you are able to keep the kite at the edge of the wind window and move it from one position to another, aka from 10 o’clock to 1 o’clock. The second stage is to be able to perform stunts with your kite. Make a circle in the air, go in reverse, make figure 8, go in reverse. Now try this without looking at the kite.
Is it hard to switch to the real kitesurfing kite?
If you have spent enough time practicing with your trainer kite then the transition should be a breeze. Yes, the big kite will have a few extra controls and features like de-power and trimming the center lines while in flight, yet those are not a big deal if you’ve learned how to steer the kite well.
This step must be taken under the supervision of a more experienced kitesurfer to make sure that you do not make any errors with this powerful fly machine.
Be mindful about the location where you will have your first experience with the big kite. It should be on the water where it is waist deep for safety. Because if you fall, the water will serve as a cushion. The safest way to go about this step is when your instructor gets the big kite up in the air, both of you walk over on the water, he transfers the kite to you while on the water.
This step will take a few sessions. First of all, you will get used to the amount of power a big kite can generate. Also, you will learn a few techniques:
– LAUNCHING AND LANDING of your kite,
– SELF-LAUNCHING and SELF-LANDING,
– WATER RE-LAUNCH,
– BODY DRAGGING, and
– SELF RESCUE.
All this can be practiced without the board.
Is it difficult in kitesurfing to start riding?
This is when the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Most of the kitesurfing schools will simply ADD a kitesurfing board to the equation. Now you will be managing TWO independent pieces of hardware, and those pieces are NOT connected to each other, other than via YOUR BODY. We explain all this on DAY 4 of our PROGRAM. This is the part when you will have to clear your head completely and focus just on what is in front of you. Really.
Riding a board is a skill in and of itself. And the challenge here is that the twin-tip boards that we use in kitesurfing, have virtually no buoyancy to support you. This means that you have to get the board into a plaining mode to get going. In other words, you have to pick up some speed to get out of the water. There is no slow kitesurfing! You have to get moving. Yes, this is the most difficult point in kitesurfing. You are looking at it.
At the same time, this is one of the most exciting points in your learning curve. This is when all of the prep work comes to fruition. The sensation of riding is just AMAZING! It’s time to celebrate and move on to the next challenge.
Is riding upwind easy of hard?
Kitesurfing may seem like a physically demanding sport, yet it is mostly about balance. Riding upwind will put you in a position you (most likely) have not been before. You will be balancing between THREE different forces: gravity, pull of the kite, and the kick from your board. Quite a handful, to say the least. One of my friends called this a HOLY GRAIL of kitesurfing. HERE is a full-blown class on RIDING UPWIND with all details explained.
The ability to ride upwind will save you from lots of walking. Also, you will need a smaller kite and less wind to enjoy the ride. And, you will have more freedom when it comes to choosing the direction of your ride.
So, is it difficult? Not at all. Students who spent some time visualizing this step start trying to ride upwind on their first ride. You can try this in small bursts at first, then you can make them longer, and longer… And then, at some point, you will be riding upwind constantly. It will become your second nature.
Is riding waves difficult for kitesurfers?
At first, waves may seem like an obstacle to a new kitesurfer. Especially if you’ve been practicing on flat water. It may seem that waves are there to steal your kinesthetic energy and momentum. Because you need that extra pull to climb up the wave, and when you are riding downhill you are losing ground as you are traveling downwind. Or so it seems?
Rather sooner than later you will find that fine line between wasting too much momentum and making it through the wave without stopping. And then you will start looking for those waves, I mean the big ones, the ocean size waves. Because they are fun to ride, actually.
Just keep your kite a bit higher when riding waves. Because there are lulls and turbulence in the troughs. You don’t want to drop your kite when in the waves as re-launching is more difficult than on flat water.
Is jumping difficult for kitesurfing?
Jumping is easy! Sometimes people get airborne unintentionally. It’s the landing that is difficult. I mean, soft, safe, and controlled landing needs more attention than the takeoff.
There are three phases in a kitesurfing jump: takeoff, flight, and landing. So, please, study all three before attempting your first jump. Seriously, do not attempt to jump if you do not know how to land.
And by the way, it will be easier for you to in one direction than in the opposite. This is normal. We all have a preferred side. This is why all kitesurfers are either GOOFY FOOT or REGULAR.
The Verdict: Is Kitesurfing Difficult to Learn?
Hopefully, you can see now how many components are involved in learning to kitesurf. Kitesurfing is not the easiest sport on this planet to pick up. So, if you set your mind on harnessing this beautiful sport make sure that you bring a ton of patience to the beach, a nice instructor, and a credit card. And get ready to become hooked FOR LIFE once you start enjoying kitesurfing.
What can you do to make learning kitesurfing easier?
FIRST, work on your balance. As I mentioned earlier, kitesurfing is not so much about the muscles, it’s about balancing the kite, the board, and the gravity. SECOND, learn, LEarn, LEARN as much as you can about kitesurfing equipment, how to set up, adjust, and control it, there is PLENTY TO ABSORB. Kitesurfing is a very powerful sport and you don’t want to use a trial-and-error approach. You’ll be better off showing up on the beach knowing what’s what. This being said, bring a bag of PATIENCE with you and be ready to go through many attempts every step of the way before you master them. And when you do, the reward is simply AWESOME!!! ?
HERE is MORE info on HOW TO SPEED UP YOUR LEARNING PROCESS.
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