Kitesurf FAQs: How dangerous is kitesurfing? Can you teach yourself?

"How dangerous is kitesurfing?" & "Can you teach yourself to kitesurf?" We answer these questions in this episode of Kitesurf FAQs.
0:00 How dangerous is kitesurfing?
3:51 Can you teach yourself to kitesurf?

[@markusbroyles1884]

I've been following this guy for years and have been teaching myself after a dozen lessons. I watch hours of tutorials everyday and this guy is the best by far ~ In the beginning for me there were accidents and serious mishaps. Early on in kitesurfing history was much more dangerous as the safety equipment was less adequate. It's not a one man sport in the beginning as you learn. Location is a very important aspect. Few people around and obstacles like trees and wires and posts and cactus must be avoided . It's a huge commitment to learn as one must get as much time in as possible with flying the kite and devotion is a serious part of the sport. Many people cannot adjust to these parameters as their lifestyles do not permit this. I moved from the Big Island Hawaii to North Carolina just to get much more safe terrain to learn safely. SHALLOW INSHORE LAGOONS ARE SO GREAT !!! These are rare in Hawaii and the Big Island is so rocky and Keave trees are right on the water there ~ Even after moving 5000 miles I missed the best place by 200 miles as the OBX is the absolutely best place to learn here and I'm in the south at Oak Island where wind is less frequent. Having more modern late model kites and bar / lines helps tremendously. OWN a small practice kite,,, use it frequently in every windy day and learn the wind as a new ocean. As kiters we just don't want to get the sport banned in our areas so be good with the follow through. Getting professional lessons is a MUST ! Certified teachers are available ~ DO IT !!

[@vinny61389]

If you ever want to go back to Hawaii, Maui (as you may already know) has those great trade winds with friendlier beaches.

[@rzin2007]

Agree about OBX, i also like shallow water of South Padre Island.

[@Pete_R63]

UpWind Kiteboarding in Key West, although seasonal, trains students at a great spot. They take you out about 6 miles to the west and there is an area where the water-depending on the tide- is from knee deep to waist deep. You get clean wind and there are no obstructions. The guy who runs it, Skot Scott, is a great teacher and fantastic guy.

[@Pete_R63]

I thought about taking lessons at REAL at OBX but one thing I heard about them is that they are REAL expensive!

[@lxfguits]

I taught myself. Actually I watched a lot of yours and other videos too. I didn't have a lot of money at the time and could just afford a cheap old kite that was over ten years old at the time. From just figuring out how to rig the bar and lines I also figured out that it didn't really have enough safety line length to flag out so I added a longer diy safety line. It was a 9m kite and I also didn't have a board but I wasn't too worried about it. While everyone else were riding their 12m I still went to the beach and just flew the kite around and practiced body dragging for a few times after which I also got a board and got up riding pretty much right away. I have been riding for about 5 years now and I'm actually happy that I figured all of it out on my own and didn't try to fly the kite until I understood the setup and principles of how and why it flies and what actually happens when you pull safety. Not just to pull to one side or the other to steer it and so on but the fact that pulling the wingtips brakes them and that causes it to actually steer. And how the safety line needs to be long enough so the kite can't be supported in the air or pull other lines tight to flag out properly. Only injury so far has been knocking my toe on a rock and just scratches from walking and nicking a foot on some shells and such but nothing that would stop me from keeping kiting the same day. Gear has all survived as well with some minor self launching scratches only. Saying all that I think mostly what helped me along so quickly has been the mindset of actually figuring out all the mechanics of it. On the other hand I have seen quite a few people who have taken lessons who don't really understand how a kite flies get hurt. I think it really comes down to the mindset of that particular person. As you say in your videos that they are to recap and reinforce what the viewer has learned in their lesson. I think a lot of people take their lesson for granted and get either over confident or give up on actually focusing on the subject and forget that there's more to it than someone just going over everything once. I have seen a few crashes where just pulling the safety would have fixed everything. I have also rescued people who have not practiced body dragging and thought they didn't need to anyway because they already got on the board. I have also had the pleasure of chasing after and catching a completely released kite on which the safety had failed. That guy wasn't a very experienced rider but he knew when to let go. After he had untangled his mess of lines he was happy to go out again. So to summarize all this I do agree with you. It is a very good idea to take lessons. But I also would strongly urge students to watch videos such as yours to really help cement the theory. And I would also encourage people to be curious about the theory beyond just pull right to steer right.

[@kitesurfcollege]

Thanks for sharing your story. I think there's a lot of interesting and informative points there.

[@oliro]

I've been teaching myself the art of kiting for a year now. I've started with a 3m trainer kite, that I used for about 40h in varying wind conditions. I've just recently switched to the major leagues with a used 13m. My mindset and approach to it is to put security as paramount, both mine and other's. Right now I'm learning to launch, which has proven difficult and sometimes a bit scary... but never really dangerous. I'm currently learning completely unhooked from the kite, just holding the chicken loop with one hand and the bar with the other. I make sure that if I need to let go of the kite, it will fly into inanimate objects like trees. I've been thinking about tethering my safety leash to a long rope away from me at beam reach to have it not fly far away. This will allow to fly it in large open spaces away from wind shadow. I've been reading, watching tutorials, learning wind conditions and keeping a log book of all my sessions and I'm going to cram all that info until it becomes second nature. Once I can confidently launch and keep a kite up, I plan on getting a class from an expert to help me iron out any errors in my form. I feel like I'm assimilating more efficiently what people teach me if I've already got a grasp of the general flow of things. Having safety as a non-negotiable absolute factor in my mind makes me comfortable to progress alone for the moment, at a slow constant pace. I've been at it for one year and I've barely started using real kite, I don't own a board yet and I've only tried once strapped to the chicken loop. My golden rule is to start every session with safety first and to only slightly push my comfort zone. When the stress starts to become anxiety its time to wrap up and call it a day, sit down and go write about it to solidify what has been learned... and also being absolutely stoked about the progress I've made that day! Stay safe out there, and think with your head, not your emotions.

[@nicolasboudet9302]

You are touching the very point: it is very difficult to learn kite alone. But some instructors are quite poor, and kite school let you dream that you may learn kite in 10 hours or 5 lessons (private) As said in your vid, you need 100h to properly master the subject in easy wind condition, and at least 20h to be able to properly understand. But the point is that very few people may afford that money only in courses. You need to spend hours in self training, in appropriate conditions, and only a small part of this time in analysis and instructor advice. You need also to study your tutorials and try to practice with your advices . But during your progression, you need also assistance to take off and landing and boat assistance when you move too much downwind. Very few school offer affordable price for upwind move, and only assistance for people who are quite advanced in their learning curve, but still far to be autonomous. So these people take risk and sometimes too much! 🥺

[@bmrbca3658]

This is spot on. Conditions dictate the level of risk.

[@rzin2007]

I like your speaking rate. I also saw a bunch of your videos. I like all of them. From my experience, yes - you need lessons. Unfortunately, many know how to kite but need to learn how to teach and have the proper tools for their teaching environment (jetski/boat/radio). As a result, feedback is not immediate, but the lesson rates are steep. Thank you for all your video lessons!

[@nonamefhh]

I've had a few kitelessons now and it is quite interesting to know when is the time you can go out for yourself and be okay. My kitelessons were all in Germany at the Baltic Sea . This time I went to the north sea expecting to be able to pull off what I have learned. I did not expect waves to be this challenging. Luckily I've booked accompanied kitesurfing. I probably would have went to worst spot with the most waves. It sound incredible to me that some people were able to teach themself considering everything. I bet a lot of people who taught themself had to learn their lessons the hard way.

[@cephhead]

Thanks for your vids! I would love to see you address beach/launch etiquette. Where I live the 'beginner site' is beginner safe on the water, but the lauch is tiny and there are can be non kiters all around it. There is tons of info abailable on line, with maps and best practices, but people don't seem to read it. Beginners are sometimes oblivious and rig towards the parking lot insted of towards the water, or pump and leave gear in the little launch, or run lines in such a way as to block everyone else from running lines (which also makes them launch way powered up instead of safely) but they are generlly open to input. People that kite other spots often show up to this launch, and do whatever they like, block the launch instead of stacking kites, leave gear every where, and tell locals to stuff it. Both new and experienced kiters will also put their kites up and the stay in the in the area in the water just off the launch and block people from landing onr a launching. Anyway, a vid of yours that adresses that kind of stuff by you might be really helpful. If you have already done this kind of video, please forgive me - I lookd and didn't see on. Thanks again!

[@Mark-iq7eh]

I had a instructor that would never give me feedback what I was doing wrong on the water start. All he kept saying was "don't pull the bar" Anyway I changed instructor and he saw what I was doing wrong and put me straight, and within 2 lessons with him I was up and riding. The safety training at the start is very important, incase ur equipment breaks out at sea . Also take advice from other kitesurfers . I definitely wouldn't recommend learning kitesurfing without some training. But having a good instructor makes all the difference.

[@larssol1]

I love this, as well as your videos in general, there are very informative and instructional ❤

[@kitesurfcollege]

Thank you very much

[@Vladishit_Putler]

I've taught myself, and I believe (in my case) it's what made it 100% safe (and no, it didn't take 2 years, far less). I bought my kite from ebay, went ALONE in a big empty field, flew the kite till getting real confident, THEN, went in the water, again alone, and started surfing left and right. My Core GTS kite is my girlfriend, she has a name, I take care of her, I make sure she NEVER touches water, if she crashes, my heart crashes with her. I never had an accident or even a close call, until TODAY, and guess what: from A STUDENT WITH AN INSTRUCTOR, who knocked the living day out of me crashing his kite on my head (and no he wasn't wearing yellow or a typical flashy color which I always avoid going near). The reason the accident happend is exactly the problem with kite schools: they want to sell results, and fast. No instructor wants to see a student flying a kite for 50 hours on a field. But sorry, that's what needs to be done, there is no shortcut, if you're not prepared for this, don't show up in the first place! Secondly, the student doesn't own the kite, he is fully insured, and is given third party insurance, meaning, it's field day, he can be as reckless and dangerous as he wants, no worries, if he "unalives" someone, so be it, someone else will pay, if he breakes the kite, so be it, someone else wil fix it... this is what angered me today so much, to be injured by someone who had NO IDEA of kiting, who was given a kite at 20 knots of wind and put in the water amongs 200 other kiters in a very busy spot. The kite was ragdolling him around like a muppet, and the instructor was 100 meters away just watching, not stopping this massacre. My point is: kite school is only as safe as the intellect of its instructor, if YOU CARE about your life MORE than the instructor, stay away from him!

[@candych0754]

Nice

[@philippkusters9895]

I was teaching kitesurfing for quite some time. Had mainly personal lessons. The main difference of personal vs group lessons was that in personal (beginner) lessons I put about 30-50% of the focus on safety and in group lessons its 90% focus on safety. Nevertheless, after a beginner course a student should be able to handle themself in a safe matter and keep learning without outside help if they wish to do so. Progress will not be as quick, but much cheaper. If you consider teaching kitesurfing to yourself I would still strongly encourage you to have at least one beginner course, be it 2 h private lessons or 5 h group lessons to learn what you are asolutely not allowed to do and to get rid oft he most common potentially dangerous beginner mistakes (e.g. not letting go of the bar during a crash). Edit: spelling

[@bennettian]

From my 4 years experience on a very dangerous kite spot (takeoff is on the asphalt between cars and rocks, and behind small buildings, wind on the meditereen see is known to be strong and gusty, I am in Cannes-France). I see it this way : 1- Very dangerous : Takeoff, landing, getting in and out of the water and high jumps // 2 - Dangerous : Getting close to other kitesurfers // 3 - Not dangerous : On the water fare from the rocks and other kitesurfers even in strong wind

[@daraa151]

I taught myself and I am very slow learner. Watched tons of videos and took advice from other kiters

[@mihaidarla5344]

Very usefoul videos for me. Thank You sow much.

[@kitesurfcollege]

Glad to hear that, cheers, Alex

[@huzcer]

Very well articulated.

[@kitesurfcollege]

Cheers

[@SaulOhio]

I started learning around 1999, and it was hard to find anyone to teach me. So I took it VERY VERY carefully. Started with a small kite, rode on ice first, moved to bigger kites when I felt ready. And I did it on fixed wing foils. But I spent a LOT of time flying the kites on land, getting experience. I knew I could get hurt doing it, so I was careful. The worst injury I had was once I was already getting upwind and jumping under control. I got a hairline fracture in my ankle landing an intentional jump. It took me about the same amount of time, a couple of years. Getting lessons is MUCH better and safer. But someone had to figure it out on their own first.

[@kitesurfcollege]

Thanks for sharing your experience Saul. I think, like you mention, that an awareness that you can get badly hurt is an important thing for people self teaching, and in general. Many of the worst accidents I have looked into have been from those of a more cavalier attitude who underestimated the power of the kites.

[@SaulOhio]

@@kitesurfcollege In fact is was even more dangerous for me to learn on my own because as I said I started on fixed wing foils like the Slingshot Stealth. I was on the phone with a representative of Slingshot years later once they started making inflated four line kites and I mentioned that I still had my 9M Stealth and he told me not to fly that kite anymore. Some people don't appreciate how much of a safety improvement they have with modern bow kites. But they can still kill you. This is NOT a safe sport. There was one time I was already on a bow kite and I was trying to relaunch it in deep water. Even though it was on the water, wind was still putting power into it and the drag on the kite was pulling me under water. Good safety tip, if you are in deep water especially, wear at least some floatation, even if its not a CG approved vest. Yes, it is always MUCH better to get lessons. For all the reasons you named, including the fact that it could be less expensive in terms of damaged gear.

[@Canon85mm]

Thank you for your videos 😎🤙

[@kitesurfcollege]

You're welcome it's an honor to be making them

[@euphratessful]

Conclusion: kitesurfing is always dangerous at any levels

[@kender1412]

Life is dangerous.

[@huzcer]

@@kender1412 and made more dangerous if you try to teach yourself kitesurfing!

[@kender1412]

@@huzcer -- I've taught myself a lot more dangerous things. Creating my own fireworks, for example, was particularly dangerous, as was free climbing sandstone cliffs...

[@bowmosexual]

Are you the progression guy? You sound like him :) the goto DVD's for tips and training years ago. Anyhoo, I was self taught and like many here took things really slow, super steady, starting with ram air foils (PL Venoms & Samurais) in a buggy, then LEI's in a buggy, I found this discipline really easy to gel with and got to know traction kiting quite intuitively. It took absolutely ages to learn to kitesurf though. I had a short foil lesson in the very beginning with Shem in Wales, but when it came to actually surfing no matter what amount of guidance from various instructors it just wasn't working. The problem is, I'm a 20+ stone kiter, but also had loads of experience in wakeboarding on cable and speed windsurfing going as far back as 40 years, instructing eventually via the RYA. I was very happy with power and speed, but ALL the instructors were saying "15kt of wind, 11mtr Kite, 160+ board, for your size". I would find this combination virtually impossible to work with, A- Because an 11mtr kite would do nothing for me in 15kts, and B- the 169 Litewave board I ended up with felt utterly colossal and unmanageable. This was around 2006. I was more used to a 132 Wakeboard. One day a likewise chunky kitesurfer mate of mine said "imagine you're thinking of a kite size to buggy with, well put 30% on top and go for that", that worked. So when people were on 11mtr kites I was going ore for a 15m SLE. Fine.....Secondly was the board. For nothing more than liking the looks and finding it a lovely feeling with it on a cable ski, I bought a 132x41 Nobile 666. Loved that board, and it's THAT that got me going, as it had the agility and the speed for me to get up and planing instantly. Imagine, a leaner on a 132x41 and a 15mtr kite 90% of the time lol Progressed over the years, now a Team Rider for a south coast Ozone importer and stacked with 11m Ozone Hyperlink v3, 13,15,18 Ozone Chrono V4's, and the 18 is my main used wing. Perfect power house when you need all the grunt all the time. My previous main kite was a 21m Flysurfer Speed3 lol. It also helps me (and others I'm with) that during my RYA course, mid 90's that :o I was asked to do a lecture on wind and weather, so had to study the arse out of it over 3 months, I know the signs, reading speed, turbulence likelihood, and basically when to NOT kite or return to shore and pack down. Seen loads of new kiters over the years, loads in Tarifa that I can tell have no clue with trim etc, have to have a chat :P When I'm on beaches here, other kiters that have just been through the lessons, or been at it a while but still learning the lower ends of the sport, that are LARGE chaps, come and chat to me, they seem to be aware of who I am, mostly I think their instructors have told them who to chat to, up north, that's in that KG bracket lol I can also add, not all instructors I've seen should be in the game, know what I mean?!

[@luukdeboer1974]

You haven't mentioned the quality of the kiteschool. My daughter was injured twice after an instructor allowed her to waterstart close to the beach with onshore winds. I have it on video. Huge mistake on the instructors part. I should have asked my money back and more! On another occasion she injured herself during lessons in shallow water. After that I took control of her instruction and I have invested a lot of time. For example: I teached her how to fall, let go of the bar and to make a proper 'Superman' avoiding to catch the fall with her hands or legs. However she persevered and is independent in the right conditions. I don't allow her to launch in difficult spots or strong winds still. I had a beginner course but had a ton of landkite/buggy experience. After that I bought my own used stuff and taught myself much of the rest because I could handle the kite safely. I couldn't afford too many lessons. At a certain point I booked an additional lesson to get me past my waterstart. Fixed in one private lesson. Instructors are really great to speed up the learning process I can tell. But I recommend private lessons only because you'll learn much more in one lesson than in a few duo lessons. I walked many miles in the water towards her, pulling her or the kite, get back to the startlocation and much more to get her to where she is now. It took a lot of effort but it gives a lot of gratification to see her go now

[@kitesurfcollege]

Thanks for sharing Luuk. You are right, there are some terrible instructors, there are also tons of average ones, and a few absolutely outstanding instructors. The difference a great instructor makes in learning to kite I find is more than in other sports. A great instructor can teach in such a clear way that their student has no major crashes at all (the kite never slams hard and the student never goes flying), whereas a poor instructor's student is slamming the kite and flying over their the board for many hours. Unfortunately many instructors will be unqualified and even if they are qualified the standards set by the IKO are too low (little more than being able to ride, jump and do toeside and being able to select the correct gear for a student, that's about it). This might be something I work on when I finish working on this channel full time.

[@justinsmith4562]

Everyone learns at different rates. I had a 3 hr lesson and felt comfortable enough to go out by myself in flat waters on 16 knot days and just stay within my limits until i was ready for more wind and more kites. You only really need to learn the basic safety measures and then take it easy from there. Even if you can't water start on a board doesn't mean you still can't practise alone ie without instructor..

[@CristianClipici]

what about riding at the right spot ? maybe aps like kitespot are helpful

[@Johow]

I really love your videos. Where is the spot at 0:30 ? Thank you and keep it going!

[@kitesurfcollege]

Thanks very much. That's Noordhoek beach when high tide floods in between the sand dunes. Currently there's a lot of conflict over that spot because it's been horse riding area for a long time and the horse riders want to claim it and even pay the local park rangers who then try and bully the kiters off or steal their gear. It's classic south african corruption.

[@bennettian]

I fully agree : You cannot teach yourseft kitesurfing. My own experience : I was 50 years old when starting kite, was in the national team of windsurfing when young, and have 40 years of sailing, also did a lot of kite when young. So I though I can learn by my self. I was so wrong !!! after just one day on a big sandy beach with a friend, I landed my kite and went for a week with a kitesurf teacher. They is no way you should try to learn alone !!! After one week you will be ok, and if you have sailing experience you will get better fast and you will be safe

[@benemoreira]

Meu amigo explodiu o joelho meniscos etc agora está com placas e parafusos dentro ainda irá fazer várias cirurgias.

[@jackignatev]

I can provide you a bit of data. Me and my friend were learning kiteboarding together. But he was always pushing to his limit and me was veeery cautious. Current result: he definitely can do more tricks, but also he teared his kites about 4 times (me: 0 times) and get minor but unpleasant injuries (me: 0 injuries)

[@deanmeshko1190]

Yes you can reach your self like I did but I would never recommend going this way. The progression takes way longer and it is more dangerous. Trust me - I’ve seen it all and I would never do it again 😅

[@marcuskoehler3185]

I taught my self. Not to bad

[@mauryas9835]

hi i was looking forward to learn the kitesurfing sports , i am basically from india , can you pls suggest me good coach who is practicing kite surfing in india ,i have been searching many videos and places i couldn't find . and pls do suggest me the website were i can buy the kite gears for ah reasonable price ( second hand or new if can afford it ) cos i need more time n months to save money to buy ,i have been seeing your tutorials from past many months , i could not find better videos than yours to learn , pls do the need full ,.

[@freddydad1]

taught myself on a field with a flexifoil bullet and a landboard, the transition to water wasn't too bad, i definitely would not recommend someone nowadays to learn this way, get lessons..

[@larssol1]

I have a link to a scientific article about injuries among kite and windsurfers, where kite newcomers are more prone to injuries. The link somehow conflicts and is being erased.

[@kitesurfcollege]

I'm pretty sure I've read it. Strange that YT is not allowing the link. If you get the link to work then please share it, or maybe just share the title, in case anyone else would like to read it.

[@renaldomariano8612]

Can you teach yourself to kitesurf? No. But people want a longer answer. Noooo00ooo0o0o0o0o0oooo000oo0oo.

[@julioramirez5155]

400 hrs for 30KTS .... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@kitesurfcollege]

There was a guy with about 100 hours of kiting experience who went out in 35knots (near where I live). He died, the conditions were too strong for his skill level. My 400h recommendation might be a little on the safe side but I made it for a reason. It will of course depend on the person's learning speed and how often they get out and how much of their experience was in 25kn etc.

[@newyorkslim2001]

This does not look dangerous at all. Just listen to this instruction and get at it... With winds, water, land obstacles... What could happen? I mean, you could even get hurt playing chess... You might accidentally swallow a pawn and choke to death.

[@claudianreyn4529]

The answer is NO!!! Don't teach yourself. You put your life and other people's lives in danger. Get proper lessons!!!

[@robertoalfredo4830]

Bla bla bla

[@coderedex]

I dont recommend trainer kites as you tend to pull on the bar with them,start with 4 liner, say 5-7m kite. I flew trainer kites firstly and picked up some bad habits that got me injured.

[@shtilian72gmail]

Hi, on the question can you teach yourself, I will answer no and yes. Your videos alone!!!, and nothing more taught me to kite, BUT im experienced windsurfer with 10 hours practice on 1.5m kite before trying out on the 12m2. Now is the time to thank you for your work and just to know there are some guys like me, with you as a teacher alone taugth me to kite trough youtube. ❤

[@kitesurfcollege]

Thanks for sharing that and well done. I think if you're sensible and good at figuring things out and cautious and have the right location and have a good understanding of sails/wings/aerodynamics and have time and patience (a lot of ands) then it can be done. I would say most people don't have all of that though.

[@shtilian72gmail]

@@kitesurfcollege most definitely. I understand wind very good, 12 years windsurf experience. I have watched your videos, for beginners especially, more than 10 times with pauses and so on. Also I did not get away without injury - i've hurt my tail and feet from a fall. So in conclusion for everyone who wants to learn, dont have underatanding of the wind and good mucules and coordination - USE A TEACHER ATLEAST 5 HOURS.

[@huzcer]

@@shtilian72gmail knowing how to windsurf doesn't necessarily give one a big advantage in terms of not getting injured in this scenario as you have proved yourself. you don't have to launch a windsurf on solid land where mostly you do with kiting. the biggest risk by far is at launch as you would appreciate as things can happen very very quickly.