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Never too OLD for KITEBOARDING! [video]

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Created by KarolinaKite > 9 months ago, 23 Jan 2019
KarolinaKite
NSW, 22 posts
23 Jan 2019 6:54AM
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Hello everyone,
I made this video to talk how kitesurfing changed my life and my friend's life.

I also talk about how to get started and how to avoid spending a fortune for your first kiteboarding classes!

Also, how old were you when you first started kiteboarding?

Cheers
Karolina


NorthernKitesAUS
QLD, 1061 posts
25 Jan 2019 1:10PM
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Just curious Karolina. Are you a business?

Beaner
9 posts
27 Jan 2019 11:25AM
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Would have to 'disagree' with your idea of 'saving' money at first and start with a trainer kite.

For $50 to $100 as you say, lets meet at $80..... that would get you an hour with a certified instructor who can give you the same idea on seeing 'if you like the feel of being pulled by a kite', which is in my view money better spent.

A qualified instructor will ( should have) the right kites, right line lenght etc to cater for said suggested intro session. If they don't, then I'd suggest they are not the right instructor.

Personally, I bought a trainer kite to 'start' and being perfectly honest, it flies nothing like an inflatable leading edge kite does.

You can't fly the trainer with a loose grip, hands towards the centre, fly at 12 o'clock one handed etc, which is the way you will ( should) end up piloting a ILE kite. In an 18 knot wind, for me at 100 kilos on a 2 metre trainer (and not so young but not so old at 50 years of age), , it felt like my shoulders were going to get ripped out. Trainers take a bit of upper body strenght to fly, again nothing like how a ILE kite feels.

All a trainer did was give my Instructor something to have to unpack in terms of technique of grip on the bar.

I actually found my instructor ( Christian from Kitebud) early on in the piece and when I mentioned I was buying a trainer kite, he laughed.

I ignored his advic not to buy a trainer, bought one anyway, ($120 second hand - $250 new) and after the second time using it, I understood his laugh as well as realising it wasn't such a bargain and rang Christian that night to make my start with a 'proper' kite.

For me, enjoying my first full session, I can't say I have progressed as far as I have ( as far as I think I have...lol) and enjoyed getting out on the water whenever I can, thanks to structured lessons, at a fantastic spot ( Pinnaroo Point is my local with a great crew) with a quality instructor.
(thanks Christian)

FWIW, my 2 cents on trainer kites.

(BTW, if a newbie is looking for 'a bargain' trainer kite hit me up.... I'll happily set you right..... and pass on Christian's number)

Ozone Kites Aus
NSW, 884 posts
Site Sponsor
28 Jan 2019 12:19PM
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Select to expand quote
Beaner said..
Would have to 'disagree' with your idea of 'saving' money at first and start with a trainer kite.

For $50 to $100 as you say, lets meet at $80..... that would get you an hour with a certified instructor who can give you the same idea on seeing 'if you like the feel of being pulled by a kite', which is in my view money better spent.

A qualified instructor will ( should have) the right kites, right line lenght etc to cater for said suggested intro session. If they don't, then I'd suggest they are not the right instructor.

Personally, I bought a trainer kite to 'start' and being perfectly honest, it flies nothing like an inflatable leading edge kite does.

You can't fly the trainer with a loose grip, hands towards the centre, fly at 12 o'clock one handed etc, which is the way you will ( should) end up piloting a ILE kite. In an 18 knot wind, for me at 100 kilos on a 2 metre trainer (and not so young but not so old at 50 years of age), , it felt like my shoulders were going to get ripped out. Trainers take a bit of upper body strenght to fly, again nothing like how a ILE kite feels.

All a trainer did was give my Instructor something to have to unpack in terms of technique of grip on the bar.

I actually found my instructor ( Christian from Kitebud) early on in the piece and when I mentioned I was buying a trainer kite, he laughed.

I ignored his advic not to buy a trainer, bought one anyway, ($120 second hand - $250 new) and after the second time using it, I understood his laugh as well as realising it wasn't such a bargain and rang Christian that night to make my start with a 'proper' kite.

For me, enjoying my first full session, I can't say I have progressed as far as I have ( as far as I think I have...lol) and enjoyed getting out on the water whenever I can, thanks to structured lessons, at a fantastic spot ( Pinnaroo Point is my local with a great crew) with a quality instructor.
(thanks Christian)

FWIW, my 2 cents on trainer kites.

(BTW, if a newbie is looking for 'a bargain' trainer kite hit me up.... I'll happily set you right..... and pass on Christian's number)



I'll jump on this because it is just not right to say that trainer kites have no value.

Let me qualify what I'm about to say by stating that I'm 63 and kite every windy day possible around 250-300 hours on the water PA.
I've been in the industry for 25 years and have taught thousands of people to kitesurf either personally or through my business Kitepower Australia.

Trainer kites, in general, are of great use to people who want to learn this amazing sport. They teach people about the WIND WINDOW, how the wind gusts and changes, what affects the wind in terms of upwind obstacles, wind strength and the hand-eye coordination required to fly a kite well.
Of course, there are differences between the flight characteristics of LEI kites and small foil trainer kites, but that does not negate the benefits a person will gain from learning to fly a trainer kite for at least 15-20 hrs prior to taking a lesson.

It is my experience that people (generally, but not all) learn faster and do less crashing of the LEI kite when they have mastered kite flying first.
So many people do not know how (or when) to turn down at the edge of the window, and end up crashing the kite at the edge and have a difficult time relaunching because of that.

I made this little video on the day my best mate Bob Dawson passed in August 2010 (unrelated to kiting), it was a very difficult time I got the call just prior to commencing the filming and just had to finish as my friend Geoff Mallinson was all set with 3 cameras to do the clip. I was unable to work for about a week afterwards, Bob's trust and confidence in me really helped to establish Kitepower and myself and my family will always be indebted to this amazing kite addict!


KarolinaKite
NSW, 22 posts
30 Jan 2019 11:29AM
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Select to expand quote
Beaner said..
Would have to 'disagree' with your idea of 'saving' money at first and start with a trainer kite.

For $50 to $100 as you say, lets meet at $80..... that would get you an hour with a certified instructor who can give you the same idea on seeing 'if you like the feel of being pulled by a kite', which is in my view money better spent.

A qualified instructor will ( should have) the right kites, right line lenght etc to cater for said suggested intro session. If they don't, then I'd suggest they are not the right instructor.

Personally, I bought a trainer kite to 'start' and being perfectly honest, it flies nothing like an inflatable leading edge kite does.

You can't fly the trainer with a loose grip, hands towards the centre, fly at 12 o'clock one handed etc, which is the way you will ( should) end up piloting a ILE kite. In an 18 knot wind, for me at 100 kilos on a 2 metre trainer (and not so young but not so old at 50 years of age), , it felt like my shoulders were going to get ripped out. Trainers take a bit of upper body strenght to fly, again nothing like how a ILE kite feels.

All a trainer did was give my Instructor something to have to unpack in terms of technique of grip on the bar.

I actually found my instructor ( Christian from Kitebud) early on in the piece and when I mentioned I was buying a trainer kite, he laughed.

I ignored his advic not to buy a trainer, bought one anyway, ($120 second hand - $250 new) and after the second time using it, I understood his laugh as well as realising it wasn't such a bargain and rang Christian that night to make my start with a 'proper' kite.

For me, enjoying my first full session, I can't say I have progressed as far as I have ( as far as I think I have...lol) and enjoyed getting out on the water whenever I can, thanks to structured lessons, at a fantastic spot ( Pinnaroo Point is my local with a great crew) with a quality instructor.
(thanks Christian)

FWIW, my 2 cents on trainer kites.

(BTW, if a newbie is looking for 'a bargain' trainer kite hit me up.... I'll happily set you right..... and pass on Christian's number)


Beaner, happily to hear that you progressed so fast with an amazing instructor. Just have in mind, that not everybody is as talented as you and need to takes extra classes over and over again. Flying a trainer kite is just for practice to have a better connection with the kite. Especially recommended in the off season so you don't forget how it works when you are long time off the water.

FormulaNova
WA, 14042 posts
31 Jan 2019 4:46AM
Thumbs Up

Select to expand quote
Ozone Kites Aus said..
Beaner said..
Would have to 'disagree' with your idea of 'saving' money at first and start with a trainer kite.

For $50 to $100 as you say, lets meet at $80..... that would get you an hour with a certified instructor who can give you the same idea on seeing 'if you like the feel of being pulled by a kite', which is in my view money better spent.

A qualified instructor will ( should have) the right kites, right line lenght etc to cater for said suggested intro session. If they don't, then I'd suggest they are not the right instructor.

Personally, I bought a trainer kite to 'start' and being perfectly honest, it flies nothing like an inflatable leading edge kite does.

You can't fly the trainer with a loose grip, hands towards the centre, fly at 12 o'clock one handed etc, which is the way you will ( should) end up piloting a ILE kite. In an 18 knot wind, for me at 100 kilos on a 2 metre trainer (and not so young but not so old at 50 years of age), , it felt like my shoulders were going to get ripped out. Trainers take a bit of upper body strenght to fly, again nothing like how a ILE kite feels.

All a trainer did was give my Instructor something to have to unpack in terms of technique of grip on the bar.

I actually found my instructor ( Christian from Kitebud) early on in the piece and when I mentioned I was buying a trainer kite, he laughed.

I ignored his advic not to buy a trainer, bought one anyway, ($120 second hand - $250 new) and after the second time using it, I understood his laugh as well as realising it wasn't such a bargain and rang Christian that night to make my start with a 'proper' kite.

For me, enjoying my first full session, I can't say I have progressed as far as I have ( as far as I think I have...lol) and enjoyed getting out on the water whenever I can, thanks to structured lessons, at a fantastic spot ( Pinnaroo Point is my local with a great crew) with a quality instructor.
(thanks Christian)

FWIW, my 2 cents on trainer kites.

(BTW, if a newbie is looking for 'a bargain' trainer kite hit me up.... I'll happily set you right..... and pass on Christian's number)



I'll jump on this because it is just not right to say that trainer kites have no value.

Let me qualify what I'm about to say by stating that I'm 63 and kite every windy day possible around 250-300 hours on the water PA.
I've been in the industry for 25 years and have taught thousands of people to kitesurf either personally or through my business Kitepower Australia.

Trainer kites, in general, are of great use to people who want to learn this amazing sport. They teach people about the WIND WINDOW, how the wind gusts and changes, what affects the wind in terms of upwind obstacles, wind strength and the hand-eye coordination required to fly a kite well.
Of course, there are differences between the flight characteristics of LEI kites and small foil trainer kites, but that does not negate the benefits a person will gain from learning to fly a trainer kite for at least 15-20 hrs prior to taking a lesson.

It is my experience that people (generally, but not all) learn faster and do less crashing of the LEI kite when they have mastered kite flying first.
So many people do not know how (or when) to turn down at the edge of the window, and end up crashing the kite at the edge and have a difficult time relaunching because of that.

I made this little video on the day my best mate Bob Dawson passed in August 2010 (unrelated to kiting), it was a very difficult time I got the call just prior to commencing the filming and just had to finish as my friend Geoff Mallinson was all set with 3 cameras to do the clip. I was unable to work for about a week afterwards, Bob's trust and confidence in me really helped to establish Kitepower and myself and my family will always be indebted to this amazing kite addict!




A good video, but why is the piano background music so loud? I found it hard to listen to you with the 'background' music being so intrusive.



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"Never too OLD for KITEBOARDING! [video]" started by KarolinaKite