The Essential Guide on How to Get Started and Learn Kitesurfing How do you begin the journey to learn kitesurfing? Watching a few videos on YouTube? Having your brother-in-law teach you? Buying your own second-hand equipment and figuring out how to fly a big 12 square meters kite by yourself? Ugh, sounds sketchy. What about booking some professional lessons with a qualified kiteboarding instructor to learn the sport with confidence? Sounds better, doesn’t it? As we’ve seen in the previous ultimate guide, kitesurfing is a sport enjoyed and loved by people of all ages and walks of life. Every year, thousands and thousands of newcomers embark on this adventure. However, kitesurfing remains an action sport involving high risks if not learned and practiced properly. Therefore, it is (literally) vital for everyone to learn the sport in the right way. If you are reading this guide, it definitely means that you are taking a step in the right direction. We will give you insights into the time and financial investment, the structure of a typical lesson and the challenges of learning the sport with extra tips about safety. Enjoy! Do you need lessons to learn kitesurfing? The most common question asked before learning to kitesurf is if someone can learn this sport by themselves and if classes are really necessary. To help answer this question and put it into perspective, let's dive in and compare kitesurfing with another well-known action sport: scuba diving. When you think about scuba diving, what comes to mind? Finding Nemo, shipwrecks, pirate treasures... What else? Do you think about buying equipment and going in yourself to explore the deep seas or do you consider maybe getting some formal training first? Anyone with common sense would consider taking classes when going underwater for extended periods of time, especially when it involves complex equipment that requires learning how to use it. Also, when thinking about classes, you would probably look for a certified diving center that employs qualified diving instructors you can trust. Well, if it’s not clear by now let’s make it crystal clear: same as scuba diving (or any other action sport), to learn kiteboarding you absolutely need to learn with a qualified instructor at a professional kite school. Kitesurfing is a sport involving a steep learning curve (more on that below) due to the sophisticated equipment and the technique required to practice the sport. You need to have someone qualified to introduce you to the sport in the best way possible (to get you addicted too!) Below we have broken it down so you can get insight and knowledge to better prepare yourself for your entry into the world of kitesurfing Learning with a kitesurf instructor It is true! Many sports and activities you can generally pick it up and go after some trial and error and quick pointers; bicycling for example. Kiteboarding, on the other hand, is completely different. Do not make the mistake of going with family members, friends or uncertified kiteboarding MacGyvers to teach you. Having a kite instructor by your side will help you learn the theoretical and practical aspects of this sport in a safe way. To really build that solid foundation there is no way around learning with an instructor. Not only will you be safer overall, but lots of the techniques are counter-intuitive and you need someone with the proper skills and knowledge to instruct you. Doing so you will also save money, save time and progress faster. Kitesurfing is an “expensive” and technical action sport where a lot is going on. Having access to the knowledge, the equipment and insights from an experienced instructor will definitely accelerate your progression. But not only that... Learning with an instructor is definitely more fun! No one is born with the intuitive ability to control and pilot a 12 meters kite in the air. You will make mistakes and it is part of learning kitesurfing. Your instructor will be there to support you, coach you, and more importantly, keep you safe through these trials and errors. Additionally, the access you get to equipment will take off that initial investment of buying gear to test out the sport or make the mistakes on someone else's equipment before buying your own. Lessons with a qualified kitesurf instructor It’s one thing to take a lesson with a kitesurf instructor, it’s another thing to take a lesson with a qualified kitesurf instructor. Let us explain what we mean. First of all, "qualified" means that your instructor has undergone a professional training endorsed by a reputable organization (such as IKO!) and has received a qualification that highlights the instructor’s skills as a kiteboarder and more importantly, the instructor’s ability to teach the sport safely and effectively. Why is it important? Because your qualified instructor will teach you according to a precise and recognized methodology that respects the safety and quality standards established by the organization endorsing the qualification. In the same way, some schools will also commit to these quality standards for their operations and affiliate their business to this organization. Learning at an affiliated school will guarantee the proper practices overall of kitesurfing. This is especially reassuring to new kiters as well as existing ones. An affiliated school will be able to address your needs both on and off the water. Affiliated schools have fully functioning facilities to help ensure you have everything to be ready and get into the water safely. While on the water, affiliated schools are equipped and trained to use and handle water rescue situations in case of emergencies. Despite kiteboarding being an action sport, just like scuba diving or skydiving once it is properly learned it can be safely practiced. This all means in the end that taking proper kitesurfing lessons with an instructor who is trained and part of an internationally recognized organization will help guarantee a complete course that will lay a solid foundation for you to progress on. What are the steps to learn kitesurfing? Hopefully, we made it clear that it is in your best interest to learn kitesurfing with a qualified instructor. Not only does a qualified instructor have the appropriate teaching knowledge and skills, but will also follow a determined learning path optimized for a safe and efficient progression. That progression path might differ from one organization to another, but in general, follows the same first steps that are fundamental to learning kitesurfing. Let’s take a look at these steps and brush the big picture of the skills you will learn to master with your instructor. Learning to fly a kite Your instructor will first introduce you to the sport by teaching you various safety rules and skills on land before going into the water. For example, you should be shown how to assess the wind and the physical location (the spot), as well as showing how to properly manage the equipment, set-up your kite and control the kite in the air. This is an exciting step: you will fly a real kite for the first time! Body-dragging in the water Once you’ve learned how to properly control the kite, it will be time to get wet! You will go in the water to put your skills to the test and experience the full potential of the wind. With your instructor, you should learn how to use the kite power to body-drag in the water, how to relaunch your kite, self-rescue, recover your board, and more. It's a really fun step: you'll be able to "play" with the kite and while being dragged behind your kite (without the board at first). By the end of this progression step, you should be attempting your first water-starts with the board in your feet! Get on riding When you start getting on the board more constantly, you will learn how to keep on riding for a longer time and distance. This step is at least where you want your lessons to take you (providing you have enough time). At this level, your instructor should show you how to control your speed, ride upwind, switch to toe-side, and help you focus on important safety skills like self-launching and doing a self-rescue in deep water. As an independent rider, you should be able to ride on your own and should start thinking about buying your own gear (if you haven’t done it already). Progressing to the next level A lot of people won’t feel the need to progress further into kitesurfing, as being an independent kiter allows you to have a lot of fun on the water and enjoy the core sensations of kitesurfing. However, for those looking for more advanced and stylish skills, this is where you can truly reach new possibilities. Your instructor should show you various techniques like how to jump, combine grabs, or jibe on your board, for example. But more importantly, progressing at this stage means becoming a more well-rounded kiter and learning practical skills such as how to rescue other kiters (and their boards) and learning about theoretical topics such as understanding weather and tides, getting into the aerodynamics of kiting, etc. Kitesurfing truly is a sport with infinite possibilities. After becoming an advanced rider you can start focusing on expanding your riding style into new disciplines such as freeride, freestyle, wave riding or hydrofoiling. We won’t go into the details of the progression path of each discipline, but let’s just say that it’s a lot of fun and that if you have an appetite for learning and progression, you will be served! What does a kitesurfing lesson look like? The structure and the content of a kitesurfing lesson may vary from one school and one instructor to another, although if you learn at a school affiliated to a reputable organization, it should be standardized.