DAY 3 OF A KITESURF LESSON:
On the third day of your kite surfing class, you have already gone through the entire learning process and now have good kite control. You can follow lessons of “body drag,” recover your board if you lose it, and relaunch the kite from the water. Finally, the moment of the ultimate goal has arrived: the “water start” and your first long rides.
Often, at this stage, frustration sets in due to the difficulty of this exercise, and in many cases, learners rush into it. You must realize that this exercise may not work on the first attempt, and just like learning to walk before running, patience is crucial. With practice and persistence, you will achieve it.
So far, we have isolated each exercise step by step – flying the kite statically, dynamically, body dragging with power, body dragging upwind – and now it is time to put it all together and do everything at once. We will start with controlling the body position for the water start. It is normal for wind, currents, or waves to displace us, and we must learn to maintain or correct this position. There are techniques for this, and with proper posture, half the work is done for successful rides.
Once you have mastered the body position, we move on to the “steady pull,” which simply involves moving the kite to power zones to feel the initial pulls. We do not want to lift off just yet; we want to understand when the kite generates power and the legwork required. Once you have control over this, you can be more aggressive with kite movements or even use a larger kite size.
At this stage, you will be able to ride your first few meters independently. However, if you want to progress rapidly, it is ideal to continue with kitesurfing lessons to improve your posture (legs, shoulders, hips, etc.) and become more efficient in upwind riding. You might even learn to change direction, make transitions, and attempt your first jumps.
Remember that we will always be available to assist you on the beach once you are independent. We love it when you come to ride with us, as we do not want customers – we want friends!
You dare?