Logan Voss
Every water sport has a learning curve, and kitesurfing may appear to be a sport with a steeper curve than others. However, kitesurfing falls into a realm of “easy to learn, hard to master,” which is perfect for a beginner! Read on for some tips for beginners getting into kitesurfing and trust in yourself. You’ll be having fun in no time, dude!
Be a Strong Swimmer
Before you get out onto the water, there’s only one major prerequisite: your swimming ability. Kitesurfing is a very forgiving watersport if you don’t have a ton of strength, but you will find yourself in the water from time to time. You must ensure your swimming skills are up to snuff before flying above the ocean.
Take a little time without a board to hone your swimming ability—when you feel like you’re ready, go on to the next tip!
Take Lessons
Lessons are the most important learning technique. We strongly discourage buying a kite and board and going out alone. That’s a great way to reinforce bad habits and ultimately make kitesurfing more difficult than it needs to be. Instead, find a reputable instructor and have them take you through the basics.
Know Your Kites
The wide world of kitesurfing equipment can feel incredibly daunting for a beginner, so make sure you have a sense of the different types of kitesurfing kites. For example, foil kites resemble parachutes, while C kites have a distinctive C shape and squared wing tips.
Now that you know these tips for beginners getting into kitesurfing, don’t worry too much about your nerves! Feeling apprehensive before your first time kitesurfing is normal, but a good instructor will easily take you over the opening speed bumps. While kitesurfing may take some time to master, it’s not difficult to learn. With around three solid days of practice, you’ll have no trouble enjoying your board and kite.
