Kitesurfing Kiteboarding instruction - Needed

[androka]

might not be true for others, but for me #1 thing that helped was flying a 3M trainer kite for two weeks over at Berkeley Kite park. Got so I could sit down, take my shoe off with one hand, put it back on while flying the kite. That helped when I got on water with a 12M and tried grabbing my board to put my feet in. Brain tends to want to focus on one thing only.
Also practiced diving the trainer to get pulled from sitting position to standing, helped when I was on the water learning to water start.

[NCKite_Ryder]

What an idiot...

No reason to call this guy an idiot. Sounds like to me he doesn't understand the cost of professional lessons but at least he is trying to learn through instruction instead of kooking out at the beach.

To put it in perspective I paid $1200 for my lessons, 6hrs, but the best lessons one can get on the west coast imo. priceless for what I learned.

[ozreiuosn]

Any kiters worthy of teaching you outside of a school setting, probably won't.

Anyone who does accept his offer is most likely the guy that'll end up sending you both to the ER.

You wanna risk that?

[friggin old guy]

I can sympathize with somebody wanting to save some dough as it is expensive outlay, especially if you're a starving college student or something like that. However.......

It is definitely one of those things that you get what you pay for. Somebody that's a good instructor can help you shortcut the learning curve, especially the really essential lesson about how not to injure yourself or others.

Knock yourself out with a trainer along with a savvy buddy who can show you the ropes (so to speak) and get your muscle memory down. Flying the trainer kite is half the battle, and you really don't need an instructor to practice this after you get the basics down. In fact, a lot of folks skip flying the trainer on land after they get any time in the water, which is not really such a good thing. A trainer kite + a friend who knows how to kite is a good combination, as they can coach you on what is the same and what's different between trainer kite flying on land the actual on the water thing.

Not such a good idea to have a friend or a budget instructor when you move onto the real thing in the water, though. You get what you pay for in this more that just about anything I can think of......

Now if we can get instructors to teach people how to stack kites when it's crowded. Friggin Sherman looked like the end of civilization as we know it this weekend. How can people be so dumb, and why should you have to teach that to somebody in the first place?

[reyrivera]

Don't want to stir up things, but just wondering, I thought students who take lessons from kiteboarding schools have to sign a waiver absolving the school of any financial responsibility in case the student get injured or die?

I could see why private instructors charge so much because the students will get safe instructions, so good luck to this guy trying to buy cheap instruction.

$500 is not worth it if the guy gets injured and the "instructor" has no insurance.

[biba]

I really hope your medical bill deductible will be less than what you will be saving by not taking a proper lessons.

+1 LOL Sonny

[biba]

Students who take lessons WILL sign a waiver... meaning YOU do this at your own risk should you get injured or shit. You're in 'merica ya know.. everyone will make you sign such "limitation of liability".. even when you go rent a jetski or anything at all or buy your snowboarding pass and get on the lift.

You *must* get those 5-6 hours beginner package from a certified instructor. Do NOT f**k with your life here. Realize this is not just a "rope tow"... THAT kite has the power to lift you on a moment's notice and a wind gust and smash you into the ground... knowing what to do to prevent that or get out of Oh $hit situation is WELL worth the $$$ you need to pay. Don't be cheap with your life... be cheap and save on gas, food whatever else...

Pay for your lessons.. you'll literally only need that until you get going upwind.. after that Progression.me will teach you the tricks and and you can progress on your own for cheap.

[victor]

if the intro course included rigging and self rescue then all you need is somebody to watch you and say "try it gain, only lean back and throw the kite harder" after every unsuccessful attempt. then help you land and get you and your gear back to where you started from.

considerably better if that person has a jetski or boat to take you somewhere away from other kiters and get you back to where you started. watercraft and fuel cost $.

[dwaynej]

This subject comes up over and over - If there is not a FAQ for learning how to kite in SF, there should be... Learning to kite is different for different geographies so the general FAQ's don't advise on best beaches etc?? I personally don't know the best beaches to learn in SF.

Here's my thoughts...

• Anyone who wants to lean how to kiteboard, needs to be prepared to spend around $600 for a 6 hour lesson plan. After lessons, depending on your ability to body drag and get up on the board, purchase additional lessons or move on with the purchase of your own gear.
• Purchase a used waist harness, second hand kite right sized for your weight and beach (~12M), and a big board (146cm-165cm depending on your weight) as this will simplify getting up and going. I say a newish bar and a newish board is fine if you can afford it.
• You are going to thrash your first kite so do not purchase new... Best case, your first kite may suffer a few small tears or worst case, major damage.. Purchasing a repaired kite 2-3 years old is a great idea... They are cheap. Some kite schools cycle old kites between new kiters.
• A decent kiteboarding quiver is going to be 2-3 boards and 3-4 kites as an intermediate kiter. If you can't afford this, its going to delay your progression given you are going to miss out on decent kiting days.

This video is doing the rounds again and gives some insight into the power of a kite and provides an idea as to why lessons are so important... Drunk lady grabs the bar of a kite teathered for self landing...

http://vimeo.com/75655456[/video]

[le noun]

What an idiot...

No reason to call this guy an idiot. Sounds like to me he doesn't understand the cost of professional lessons but at least he is trying to learn through instruction instead of kooking out at the beach.

To put it in perspective I paid $1200 for my lessons, 6hrs, but the best lessons one can get on the west coast imo. priceless for what I learned.

Well, didn't mean to offend anybody, but the guy is basically saying that he doesn't want to spend $500 in professional-quality lessons, but he doesn't mind paying $500 to the first kook out there to teach him.
So...