What’s the best way to get started?
Kitesurfing is a high-octane FUN sport however I recommend to always learn with an IKO certified instructor. You can watch thousands of tutorial videos about Kitesurfing but you’ll never achieve any kind of real mastery about Kitesurfing. Booking professional lessons with a qualified kiteboarding instructor to learn the sport with confidence is the right way to learn for both the academic and practical aspects of this sport and in a safe way.
If you’re in the beautiful city of Miami, be sure to sign up with one of the many kitesurfing schools there. You will find great and experienced instructors plus some schools will have the necessary equipment for sale or rental for all ages and levels.
Always look for a qualified kitesurf instructor, ask if your instructor has a professional training certificate endorsed by a reputable organization such as the IKO (International Kitesurfing Organization). A certified IKO instructor will have the proper knowledge and skills and will follow a controlled learning path optimized for a safe learning process with proper training progression.
WHAT IS KITESURFING?
Kitesurfing (sometimes called kiteboarding) is a relatively new sport that exists for no more than 30 years. This new sport earned a spot on the 2024 Olympic games. It’s a wind-based sport usually performed on the water although there are variables of the sport that can be practiced on land. It has freestyle, wave-riding and racing competitions. Kitesurfing as a sport, held the speed sailing record for some time, reaching 55.65 knots (103.06 km/h) before being eclipsed by the 65.45 knots (121.21 km/h) Vestas Sailrocket record for water surface speed. Worldwide, there are 1.5 million kitesurfers and counting.
How long is a Kite surfing lesson?
Depending on the winds, a lesson could be between 1.5 to 2 hours. These lessons may become protracted in time if you consider other no less important skills such as packing and un-packing your kite, taking proper care of the boards, cleaning your gear, etc.
Your first kiteboarding lesson
KITING ON LAND
First your instructor should begin with some land-based and knee-deep water instruction practice; he will show you how the bar and safety systems work, how to properly manage the equipment, how to set-up your kite and basics about how to control the kite in the air and also he will evaluate your skills and teach you how recognize the wind windows and the powerzones.
Once you’ve learned all the land-based instructions, it’s time to jump in the water!
Body dragging / Kiting in water (You’ll crash your kite a lot… don’t worry.)
Here we have the practical lessons and you will learn how to perform tandem body drags with your instructor, self-rescue, how to relaunch your kite, recover your board, use the kite power to body-drag yourself in the water and more. These are the fundamental skills you should master.
Pro instructor tip: Good instructors are very strict about mastering the art of body dragging
Time to ride on the board
After you mastered the art of body dragging and self-recue fundamental skills your instructor will show you:
- Body dragging upwind
- Flying the kite deep into the powerzone on one side of the wind window
- Relaunch and self-rescue of the kite
- How to control your speed
- Ride upwind
- Important safety skills
- Work to balance the power from the kite against your body weight
At this level of instruction, I’m sure you will start thinking about buying your own gear if you haven’t already…
Did you Know: Kiteboarding, also known as kitesurfing is one of the youngest board sports in the world, it was born in the early 1980s in France and Hawaii.
Kitesurfing training
After you have mastered all your basic lessons you can start training to practice on different disciplines of kiteboarding:
Wave Kitesurfing
The goals are similar to surfing – to ride a wave and execute flashy tricks on the open face; to get barreled, and throw aerial moves. Kitesurfers often use surfboards to ride their kites in the waves.
Strapless Kitesurfing
A combination of freestyle, Strapless kitesurfers believe their discipline allows them to experience the sport to the fullest, without limits or strict rules
Speed Kiteboarding
The goal of speed kiteboarders is to achieve the maximum speed on a 500-meter course
Slalom/Boardercross Kiteboarding
A kiteboarding format in which athletes compete against each other in short races having to jump over one-meter-high obstacles before crossing the finish line.
Learning kitesurf with a qualified instructor will show you how exhilarating, challenging and fun this sport can be!
