First time with the board – Sunrise Lesson

Jo from England had already some experience with kiteboarding before she took a Thailand Kitesurf Lessons with us here at Kiteflip. Her goal was to finally make those first rides on the water so she could call herself an independent kiteboarder. Luckily for her we have very flat water here on Koh Phangan so this would make it more easy. We could also profit from a stable morning breeze so the conditions were ideal for her to improve her kiteboarding skills and go to the next level. When she finally made those first meters on the water she was very stoked and i was off course a happy instructor. Well done Jo!

For some people the ‘waterstart’ is the most difficult part of the whole course. This is because here everything comes together and you suddenly have to be able to control the kite while you are riding with the board. This is why it is good to use a big board (also called a door) to begin with. This will give much more stability and makes it easier to ride.

When we are going to begin with the ‘waterstart’ we have to focus on 3 things, the board, the body and the kite. When you will take Thailand Kitesurf Lessons at Kiteflip you will get a better insight in all of these things. Here i will explain each aspect from a perspective of a rider that goes to the left (left foot forward).

When you are going to put on the board you hold the handle with your right hand, you hold the bar with the left hand (hand close to the middle of the bar) and keep the kite at 12-12.30. You sit down in the water and focus on sticking your feet into the bindings while holding the kite in this fixed position.  Once the board is on you face the front of the board slightly downwind and point it upwards.  Your back leg is bend a lot and your front leg is more stretched. It’s important you put pressure on your heels and the back foot.

Another Happy Customer  – Thailand Kitesurf Lessons by KiteFlip

Then it’s time to make the ‘powermove’. To do this you need to steer the kite strongly from 12.30 to 10 o’clock. The stronger you steer and to more distance the kite makes, the more you get pulled out of the water. Off course it also depends on the wind, the size of the kite and your own body weight. The strength of the powermove depends on many factors so take all these things into account.

Once you feel the pull stretch your legs and stand up. Keep your back leg squatted and front leg stretched. Push your pelvis forward and  lean back into the harness. If you have enough power keep the kite on a 45 degree angle and try to edge upwind by pushing on your heels and back leg.  If you are losing speed make another ‘powermove’. The bigger the move the more you get pulled. If you want to lose speed bring the kite to 12 o’clock and you will automatically slow down and stop. You will see that the feeling of riding a board while getting pulled by the kite is amazing. When you take Koh Phangan kiteboarding lessons with us you can experience this great feeling yourself

You see in the second video Alex from Germany doing one of his first rides on the board. Because the wind was a bit light he had to make some ‘powermoves’ to keep up the speed. He did a very good job controlling and moving the kite while keeping his balance on the board.

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