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Blake from MACkite here. It's good to be back! I'm recovering from a torn ACL surgery, and just being able to walk is so incredible. So I figured... why not teach you one of the most important things in kiteboarding, which in my opinion is how to fall. Get Strong I have a lot of experience in falling; I've been injured a lot. Throughout the years of teaching myself how to kiteboard and do all of my own tricks, I have had to learn how to fall through trial and error. Now I've got it down to w …

Today we are talking about choosing your first kiteboard. I'm going to go through what I think the best flow is, then I'm going to delve a little bit into the philosophy, and finally we're going to figure out which is the right direction for you.Start with a Basic Board and Upgrade as You ProgressGenerally, I think the best way to get started is to pick a very big and basic board. You don't need a lot of bells and whistles while you're figuring out how to water start, ride, do your first up …

Welcome back to MACkite. This is Jake, and today we are talking about whether it's better to learn in lighter winds or heavier winds. Of course, this is just my personal experience and, being here in Michigan, we probably experience more light winds than heavy winds, so that's going to impact my answer slightly.My personal thought is that light wind is a better environment for learning to kite. I think it's probably easier to learn in heavier winds, but that doesn't necessarily translate t …

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 KiteboardTo be honest, when I got started wit …

This blog post provides an in-depth look at the five key steps necessary to learn how to water start when kiteboarding or kitesurfing. The first step is to get comfortable with the kite, learning how to launch and land it, as well as understanding its wind window. The second step involves compressing your body into a smaller package, which involves using the power of the kite to pull you through the water and upwind. Step three is getting onto the board, where you will need to carefully balan …

Kiteboarding Upwind Is Your First Beginner Milestone If you’re a beginner kiteboarder, going upwind means not walking back up the beach after each ride. If you’re jumping, you need to march upwind easily because every flight takes you downwind fast. Back in the stone age, with 2-line kites, riders would pressure their back foot edging hard to slow their board speed allowing the kite to move to the edge of the window so they could ride upwind. We even used the pickle fork tail like ski brake …

Hey, what's up guys? I'm Rygo and I'm in Hatteras with Lucas, and we're back for Part Three of our "Fundamentals: Progressive Jump with Style" playlist. That's a mouthful, but the whole idea is that we're helping you transition from the first video to the last video. We're breaking down basic grabs, helping you build air awareness, and whatever your discipline and whatever your level, these are easy things that you can practice to step up your riding and look better on the water. Even for …

Hey, what's up guys? I'm Rygo. Hey, I'm Lucas. We're coming back with our second video on our Fundamentals: Jumping with Style playlist and we started with the tail grab. Now it's time for round two, so we're going to talk about a stalefish grab. It's pretty similar, but there are some slight differences with what you're doing with your body. These are things for you to think about because we want to help you transition into being a more stylish rider by taking the most basic things and …

Hey, what's up guys? I'm Rygo. I'm Lucas. And today we're going to kick off a new playlist where we're running through the fundamentals of kiteboarding with an emphasis on simple, stylish things that you can practice: grabs, all the basics. It doesn't matter what your discipline is; these are things to work on to elevate your riding, whether you're a freestyler, freerider, or even a big air rider. Today we're going to talk about a super simple tail grab with a sent jump and what you can …

Hey, what's up guys? Blake from MACkite here. I've been pretty busy traveling the past few months, taking a little break, but it's good to be back and making some tutorial videos. I've got a really fun trick for you today, the beach start, and I'm excited to go over it. This is a really fun trick because, instead of having to do your traditional "flying the kite, holding the board, walking into the water, putting it on your feet, and then sinking in", you can start right off the beach wi …

  So you’ve purchased your harness and are ready to hit the water, right? Before you do, here are 3 important accessories to make sure you have with you. Kiteboarding Hook Knife Every kiteboarder should have a hook knife with them when riding. For when you get jumped in the parking lot by jealous surfers? No, rather for that one-in-a-million situation that you get tangled in your lines. Most harnesses come with a hook knife provided - verify yours does. If not, make sure to pick one …

 If it's your first time picking out a harness (or your fifth), the age-old question always comes to light. “Do I go with a seat or waist harness?” Usually, the best answer is to come in and try it on and feel it out, but if you’re like most of our awesome customers and don't have a kite shop locally accessible, this article should point you in the right direction: upwind. Beginner Kiteboarders Will Appreciate a Seat HarnessSeat harnesses draw a lot of attention to a wide range of riders …

  In kiteboarding, harnesses tend to be the last thing on a kiter’s mind as far as the order of importance. However, the harness should be of utmost importance as it’s a rider's connection point to the kite and the only point in constant contact with you. The moment you downloop the kite to pull yourself up on your board the harness transfers the power of the kite to your torso and harnesses the power for your entire session. The proper harness and size can make or break your …

Getting InspiredGetting Hooked On KiteboardingWhether you hit the beach one day and saw some crazy kiteboarders flying in the air on a windy day, or you saw Kevin Langeree’s 28.3-meter jump in an Instagram video, you’ve somehow been introduced to kiting, and now you’re hooked. You’ve done your research, watched youtube videos, bought all your gear, and are ready to hit the water (with either an experienced kiteboarder or instructor, of course). The wind is cranking 25 knots, and you can see the …

Kiteboarding kites come in a wide variety of sizes. Which size kites are best for you? Let's take a look at your riding style, your gear budget, and find out how many kites you'll want to have in your quiver. Step 1 | What Kind of Kiteboarder are You? First, let's figure out what kind of kites you'll want to invest in. Are you an all-around, freeride kiteboarder who likes a little bit of everything? Do you want to focus on kitesurfing in waves with a surfboard? Maybe you want to get …