Should You Take a Kite Lesson?

Welcome back to MACkite. This is Jake, and today we are answering the question about whether you should take a lesson before getting into kiteboarding. Honestly, I think the answer is "yes", but I'm going to talk a little bit about my personal experience, why I think that answer is yes, and I'll also go over the steps that you should take to have a safe and successful kiteboarding journey if you don't take a lesson.

My Experience When Learning to Kiteboard

To be honest, when I got started with kiteboarding I didn't take a lesson; I was self-taught. Maybe it wasn't the best idea, but at the time I was a poor high school student just going into college, my brain wasn't fully developed, and I was like, "I can teach myself this; I've taught myself all sorts of things!"

I think it was 2012, and I bought my first kite quiver from some guy in Florida who claimed everything worked great. In his mind it probably did, but over time I found out I had a couple leaks, which taught me a lot of skills on how to repair a kite and what to expect when you ran into those issues.

However, the safety systems just weren't modern and the kite didn't relaunch well. In fact, it didn't even launch well. That slow leak ended up causing it to clamshell if I kept it in the sky long enough and it didn't have much of a depower throw, so I was very much at the mercy of the wind and the kite, and ultimately, the person controlling it, who didn't know much. That was trial by fire.

I had a couple incidents where I went flying uncontrollably through the air. I crashed into other kites and I tumbled across the beach. I compensated by making sure to keep a really wide berth. Generally, I kept two kite line lengths of space between me and another person, and if it was really windy I made sure nobody was around me just in case something went wrong. I really didn't want to bring anybody else into my bad decision. It's quite sad when something tragic happens to us, but it's even worse when your recklessness endangers somebody else. You really have to think about the other unwilling participants around you who didn't sign up to be blasted away by a kite. I even shredded a kite. I bought a brand new 2013 Liquid Force Envy, crashed it into the dune grass on its inaugural flight, and blew the bladder.

A Lesson Will Save You Time

I did end up figuring it all out, but it took the full first year to learn, and into the second year to really start making some progress. That's where one of the biggest draws of a lesson is. We'll circle back to safety, but in terms of efficiently spending your time, a lesson will help you to learn the sport far faster. Had I taken a lesson, I probably would have shrunk that first year down to maybe a month or two, and I would have immediately started moving into progression where I was riding upwind and jumping. I still got there, and that was incredibly satisfying, but if I hadn't spent so much time learning flight mechanics and how to launch and land, that would have been really helpful, and I would have had a lot more confidence when I was out there on the water. That's one thing that you really can't understate: if something goes wrong and you don't have the proper training, or even if you're just out there riding, you're not going to feel as confident and as comfortable, and you're probably going to be hesitant to take some of those steps that will get you to progression.

A Lesson Will Help Keep You Safe

Another big benefit of the lesson is obviously safety. We talked a little bit about your personal safety and that of those around you. You want to be able to comfortably control your kite and have a sense of what to do when things do go a little haywire, you get stranded far out and you need to self-rescue, or the beach fills up and you have a really small pocket to put your kite down and nobody to catch you. While that last one's probably a situation where you want to put it down in the water, a lesson just helps to build that confidence and the ability to make informed decisions.

I compare it a little bit to my motorcycle. I wouldn't have just jumped on that without somebody to give me guidance because there are so many things to consider, and the consequences when things go wrong are so high. I think kiteboarding is very much like that. If you have the ability, pursue a lesson, and it will just lead to a better experience overall.

A Lesson Could Save You Money

I think lessons also have a tendency to save you money. You're able to go and beat up on somebody else's gear versus your own. Going back to my new Liquid Force Envy, at the time I paid $600 for it and then, because I dumped it in a chunk of dune grass, I immediately had to put $200 more into it, which would have been half the cost of a lesson. So go learn on somebody else's gear.

Steps to be Successful If You Can't Take a Lesson

1. Fly a Trainer Kite

If you're not going to take a lesson, or even if you are, one of the first things to do is to get a trainer kite. It teaches you flight mechanics, and when you do show up to your lesson, you have a much better foundation. Spending some time on the beach with a trainer kite and learning how to fly it will translate to more value from your lesson.

Again, if you're not going to go the lesson route, when you show up on the beach you want to have those flight mechanics really dialed in. When you're on a full-size kite, you're now sheeting it in and out, so if you're not familiar with the concept, steering and sheeting at the same time is going to be overwhelming and that kite's going to be going down quite a bit. Kites are fairly resilient, but that's a lot of unnecessary wear and tear, and you're going to need to keep a large berth from others. Just spend a little bit of time on the trainer kite, and that's going to translate to better mechanics and understanding of the wind.

2. Get Educated

From there, watch a lot of YouTube videos. There's a lot of great information out there. I think Core Kiteboarding even has a mobile app that you can refer to that takes you through a virtual lesson. Even if somebody is not instructing you, make sure you watch enough videos. We have a lot of videos as well. Understand and research as much as you can before you actually get on the full-size kite.

3. Inspect Your Gear

The next step is to inspect your gear so you can feel confident in it. If you went with used gear, make sure to inflate the kite to see that it holds air. Inspect the lines and make sure there's no fraying on the bar. If all of a sudden a line breaks when you're out there, that's a whole other experience, so make sure you're confident in your gear once it's up. One of the nice things about going new is you generally know it's going to work as intended.

4. Leave Plenty of Space, but Bring a Buddy

The last step is pick a spot where you're not going to drag anybody else into this experience. You want to make sure to have a big, open beach or space where you're flying. Have a friend or family member there so that if something goes wrong, they're on hand to help you. They can also help you launch and land. That's going to do a lot for your confidence.

5. Get Familiar With Your Kite and Practice, Practice, Practice

As you're flying that kite, familiarize yourself with the safety systems. Don't even think about going into the water for a while. You want to launch and land, you want to fly it above your head, depower it, power it up, play with your trim adjustment, fly it from side to side, crash it in the water, relaunch it, spin yourself around, and go through all of those exercises. That's a whole other topic, but there are certain things you should get really fluent with before you even think about going out there and kiting.

6. Wear the Proper Gear

I would recommend a flotation vest. Make sure you have the proper water gear on so you're warm out there in case you do have to swim in.

7. Be Willing to Let Go

Remember that your medical deductible is probably higher than the cost of replacing your kite, so if things really do go wrong, let it go. Most of the time, a kite's going to tumble and you'll eventually be able to catch up with it, but if not, you've lived to buy another kite and ride another day.

Conclusion

In summary, I would recommend a lesson. I think it is the safest, most efficient way to go about becoming a kiteboarder, and I think there's an argument to be made that you can come out fairly cost equivalent with the amount of wear and tear you'll put on your gear while having no idea what you're doing. With that said, if you're not going to take a lesson, please follow these steps. We want you to be a lifelong kiter and not get drug out to sea, never to kiteboard again. As always, thanks for checking us out. This has been Jake with MACkite.

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