Kiting in Pranburi, Thailand, December 2015
Slowly, slowly, gently, gently. That's not only a Thai approach to life, but also our approach to kite surfing and our teacher's mantra. It's the second time that we are taking lessons with Colin Wilson. He is the owner and master instructor at airstylers.com. He, his wife Pam and an irregular crew of instructors gave us an almost family like feeling during our stays in Pranburi and his patient instructing style gave us the space to make progress. This time we managed to actually only rent equipment and go upwind - at least somewhat ;) Pranburi really has been the location where a beginner can learn to kitesurf: almost no people; pretty constant on shore wind; several beaches to chose from in low and high tide; lots of things to do, if the wind is down.
On such a day we watched Crystal Voyager and parts of The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun with surfer legend George Greenough. George "The Mat" is probably exemplifying the passionate man going his own way. Sure, he is a wealthy parents' offspring and can afford to do whatever he pleases, but he chooses a life which does not follow the Maslow hierarchy of needs. He does not conform to the earthly desires of status, peer pressure, to what society considers normal. He follows his passion in every aspect of life and by doing that turns into a surfer, philosopher and engineer. George is credited with being the best mat surfer on planet and with inventing surf board fins.
What strikes me most though is how his life style seems to have inspired Pink Floyd. The creators of "we don't need no education" must have seen in George the living proof of their claims about institutionalized education. Claims which have been confirmed by modern neuroscience, e.g. in the documentary Alphabet: you can't force man to learn, you can only inspire him to make his own efforts.
Slowly, slowly, gently, gently. That's not only a Thai approach to life, but also our approach to kite surfing and our teacher's mantra. It's the second time that we are taking lessons with Colin Wilson. He is the owner and master instructor at airstylers.com. He, his wife Pam and an irregular crew of instructors gave us an almost family like feeling during our stays in Pranburi and his patient instructing style gave us the space to make progress. This time we managed to actually only rent equipment and go upwind - at least somewhat ;) Pranburi really has been the location where a beginner can learn to kitesurf: almost no people; pretty constant on shore wind; several beaches to chose from in low and high tide; lots of things to do, if the wind is down.
On such a day we watched Crystal Voyager and parts of The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun with surfer legend George Greenough. George "The Mat" is probably exemplifying the passionate man going his own way. Sure, he is a wealthy parents' offspring and can afford to do whatever he pleases, but he chooses a life which does not follow the Maslow hierarchy of needs. He does not conform to the earthly desires of status, peer pressure, to what society considers normal. He follows his passion in every aspect of life and by doing that turns into a surfer, philosopher and engineer. George is credited with being the best mat surfer on planet and with inventing surf board fins.
What strikes me most though is how his life style seems to have inspired Pink Floyd. The creators of "we don't need no education" must have seen in George the living proof of their claims about institutionalized education. Claims which have been confirmed by modern neuroscience, e.g. in the documentary Alphabet: you can't force man to learn, you can only inspire him to make his own efforts.
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Kiting in Huahin, Thailand, February 2013
Every location has its draws and its hooks attached to those. We chose Huahin a our CNY retreat, because I did not want to spend another spring festival in Shanghai, where our neighbors go berserk. Insane, really insane. Last year felt like WWIII had started. There are many other city escapes, but Huahin has a big draw: great safe beaches for the family and pretty stable wind conditions for papa to get on the board. This is now the second day and I have to confirm: both works just great. A shallow beach and steady wind from noon till 6 pm, sometimes a bit too weak, but in general just ok for a beginner like me. Certainly better than Podersdorf, Boracay or Xiamen. But of course there is also a hook attached to Huahin: jellyfish. I was lucky to be warned yesterday. I followed the recommendation of a fellow kiter and bought kiting leggins which would safe me from more pain. Only two hours later I fell of my board and got badly stung first on my left foot, then on my right lower arm, only to go nuts as the jellyfist moved to my back and under my shirt. Thank God, they did not stay there for too long. I learned afterwards, when Bjorn, the Norwegian owner of Huahin Kiting, was treating me with ammoniac that there are two kinds of jellyfish floating occasionally close to the shore. white ones that feel like a bee sting for an hour or so and redish ones that can leave bad scars if not treated immediately. I had been stung by such fire jellyfish and was lucky to be in good hands with lots of ammoniac available. So be well advised: if you go to Huahin, get long leggins to protect your feet and a long sleeve rip curl shirt to protect your arms. It will pay off.
main take aways from my beginner experience
- kiting is pretty difficult: it is actually the first sport that gives me a kind of a headache whether I will or will not succeed to reach a level that makes me enjoy myself. long years of snowboarding experience, having acquired instructor proficiency, certainly helped me to control the lower body and the kiteboard. in regard to upper body and kite control I have another story to tell. manoveuring a 10 meter wide kite on 25 meter long lines is quite a challenge. more than handling a medium sized sailing boat. If you have like me grown up far away from the sea or major lakes where you get the feeling for wind instilled with your mother's milk, be sure to take your time to develop a "wind-space awareness", as I call it. It is quite difficult for me as a corporate slave, who spends most time in office buildings, to switch from my own body awareness to one that includes these long tentacles and that huge sail. comparing kiting to driving a car might make this body awareness more understandable. if I drive a car, e.g. a rented car that I have never driven before, I need to develop a new body-space awareness, because it is not me moving forward walking or running, but it is me in a new "space set-up" that includes a car with new dimensions and features. Although an experienced driver, I need to operated a new vehicle for some 100 kilometers until I get a new feeling of safety for how to park and how to hard or soft I need to hit the brakes if I want to stop or what safety distance I require when I want to overtake another traffic participant. Now, all this learning happens too, if you start with kiting, but - at least for me - in a completely new "space set-up".
- kiting is addictive: to me kiting in summer (or any summer-like period of the year) is the equivalent of snowboarding in winter. getting into my gear and into the water and eventually on the board stirs the same feeling; a feeling that is difficult to describe but was already turned into one of my favorite movies (although not in regard to kiting but surfing): Point Break. Watch it and you might understand of what I am talking. Sport can be religious if it atones you to nature and thus to God. There is also another aspect to kiting that will be easily understood by sailors or fishermen: staring out into the blue sky or the greenish sea has a sort of meditative effect on my mind. After only three days on the water, doesn't have to be that many hours a day, I also start to dream of the sea and the sky and my sleeping world turns all into color, issues at work that bothered me a week ago recede into the deep of the ocean until they are eventually gone. I recommend to read "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. This short novel instills a sensation of what I am talking about.
- chose your equipment wisely: I have had the experience that you will meet a lot of people who tell you anything about the equipement that you fancy to buy. it happened that two employees of the same shop told me within just two days that one particular kite board is in particular good for beginners and experts, but not beginners. that left me quite confused. since I don't have the time to try out different rental equipment several weeks a year, I was also not sure how to make a choice. but after all, you have to make your own experiences and what helps me a lot is to chat to other kiters, who honestly share their experiences. best thing you can do, when waiting for the wind to pick up. there is a good overview on wikipedia of what equipment exists nowadays, which provides the basis for theoretical understanding. the rest has to come from applied practice.
- chose your kiting location wisely: choppy waters, deep water beaches, too strong or too weak wind, off shore wind, etc can all be reasons that you give up, because being a beginner is tough and such conditions cause an early tilt. windfinder and windguru are the classic sites for reliable wind information. in order to understand a kiting location its always best to talk to someone who spent some weeks there.
- record your instruction hours: you want to be better safe than sorry. if you take classes, you are well advised to make notes on the exact hours of instruction. I had my first classes in a school where I paid for two days, but wind actually never was strong enough to let a beginner learn. I wasted money and thought for a long time that I would never learn it. In another school I had a teacher who regularly would take out the kite and let me wait for him in the shallow water while he enjoyed some additional time on my expense. lessons start, when you are in your gear in the water, not earlier. lessons stop when you are out of the water, not when you have put your rinsed equipment back into storage.
my 1st kiting lessons - some notes
These are some notes that I made after each of my 1st kiting lessons on Boracay, Philippines, where I had the pleasure to be taught by Kerem, a globetrotter from Istanbul, who had temporarily settled there to live his dream of kiting for living. The below notes are basically the contents of the IKO Level 1 training.
Lesson 1, 28.12.2011, 15:55-17:00
1. Putting on a harness
2. What to check about wind?
a) Direction (with ears)
b) Strength
i. 5 knots minimum
ii. 12 knots: waves show white topping
iii. 25 knots: objects like debris fly off the waves
iv. 5-20 knots: kiting range
3. Explain on shore and off shore wind (see graph below)
4. Explain down wind and up wind in relation to another object or kiter (see graph below)
5. Security distance to other persons and objects: radius of two kite lines (50m)
6. Wind turbulence security distance in regard to objects
a) times 8 of object height down wind; e.g. building 30m high, downwind 240m
b) times 3 of object height up wind; e.g. building 15m high, upwind 45m
7. how to hold the bar
a) left is colored, right is black
b) thumbs touch each other
c) arms bent, bar at chest height
8. body, bar and kite are always in parallel position
9. 2nd and 3rd dimension of wind window
a) 12-11-10-9
b) 12-13-14-15
c) Slight decrease of wind power between 9 and 10 / 14-15
d) Putting kite more into the depth of the wind window results in more wind power
10. Start kite / land kite
a) Tumb up
b) Pat head
11. Take off – circling eights (training without board)
a) 12-10-12-10
b) 12-14-12-14
Lesson 2, 29.12.2011, 16:10-17:30
12. Setting up the training kite
a) Steering lines and
b) power lines
c) main tube facing bottom
d) enough space: kiter faces kite exterior
e) not enough space: kiter faces kite interior
13. chicken loop / chicken stick
14. safety leash
15. sweet spot
16. Body drag left – circling eights
17. Body drag right – circling eights
18. As soon as kite hits water – release bar
19. Kite out of control – release bar
20. Yield to kiter with right foot in front
Lesson 3, 30.12.2011, 16:15-18:00
21. Criss-cross body drag upwind to get board
a) Kite 10 o’clock
b) right hand holds bar at the right edge
c) right elbow high
d) body balance with left arm into upwind direction
e) kite 2 o’clock
f) left hand holds bar at the left edge
g) left elbow high
h) body balance with right arm into upwind direction
22. start position
a) bend both knees
b) good hand on bar
c) bad hand on board
d) if feet in board leashes, both hands on bar
e) board, body (shoulders/feet) and kite are parallel
f) sweet spot
23. take off
a) 12:30 > 10 o’clock and back to 12 until enough speed then stall kite at 10 o’clock
b) 11:30 > 2 o’clock and back to 12 until enough speed then stall kite at 2 o’clock
c) Move hips forwards when kite pulls
d) Stretch front leg
e) Start to carve upwind only when enough speed
f) Until then board normal to kite
Lesson 4, 31.12.2011, 16:05-17:25
24. Keep kite stalled at 10 or 2 o’clock after having gained speed
25. Pay attention to sweet spot
26. Keep body more or less straight after start
27. Front foot completely straight
Lesson 5, 1.1.2012, 14:05-15:45
28. Move kite more if less wind – juxtaposed bar movements
29. Board, kite and harness/hook should form a triangle
30. Get up, don’t sit, front leg always stretched
31. Shoulders back, let the harness pull you, don’t use arms
Lesson 6, 2.1.2012, 14-15:15
32. Even 13m2 kite is no fun, if wind around 10 knots
33. Keep distance to other kites (had a bad crash)
34. keep eyes/head in direction of board, this helps to get body into right direction
35. Karem made me feel better: he said it took him 3 months to learn kiting (he lied, but it worked)
Lesson 7, 3.1.2012, 9:15-10, 10:30-12:30
36. IKO Level 1 = coming back to the spot from where you left = kiting upwind
37. Kiting is addictive, because you dream of it (has something like meditation or a pilgrimage)
38. I want to be back asap
39. Stall kite deep at 12 o’clock to turn from 10 to 2 or vice versa
40. Gain height by edging with the back of the board (push back foot)
41. Twist shoulders and hips upwind (parallel to head)
Lesson 1, 28.12.2011, 15:55-17:00
1. Putting on a harness
2. What to check about wind?
a) Direction (with ears)
b) Strength
i. 5 knots minimum
ii. 12 knots: waves show white topping
iii. 25 knots: objects like debris fly off the waves
iv. 5-20 knots: kiting range
3. Explain on shore and off shore wind (see graph below)
4. Explain down wind and up wind in relation to another object or kiter (see graph below)
5. Security distance to other persons and objects: radius of two kite lines (50m)
6. Wind turbulence security distance in regard to objects
a) times 8 of object height down wind; e.g. building 30m high, downwind 240m
b) times 3 of object height up wind; e.g. building 15m high, upwind 45m
7. how to hold the bar
a) left is colored, right is black
b) thumbs touch each other
c) arms bent, bar at chest height
8. body, bar and kite are always in parallel position
9. 2nd and 3rd dimension of wind window
a) 12-11-10-9
b) 12-13-14-15
c) Slight decrease of wind power between 9 and 10 / 14-15
d) Putting kite more into the depth of the wind window results in more wind power
10. Start kite / land kite
a) Tumb up
b) Pat head
11. Take off – circling eights (training without board)
a) 12-10-12-10
b) 12-14-12-14
Lesson 2, 29.12.2011, 16:10-17:30
12. Setting up the training kite
a) Steering lines and
b) power lines
c) main tube facing bottom
d) enough space: kiter faces kite exterior
e) not enough space: kiter faces kite interior
13. chicken loop / chicken stick
14. safety leash
15. sweet spot
16. Body drag left – circling eights
17. Body drag right – circling eights
18. As soon as kite hits water – release bar
19. Kite out of control – release bar
20. Yield to kiter with right foot in front
Lesson 3, 30.12.2011, 16:15-18:00
21. Criss-cross body drag upwind to get board
a) Kite 10 o’clock
b) right hand holds bar at the right edge
c) right elbow high
d) body balance with left arm into upwind direction
e) kite 2 o’clock
f) left hand holds bar at the left edge
g) left elbow high
h) body balance with right arm into upwind direction
22. start position
a) bend both knees
b) good hand on bar
c) bad hand on board
d) if feet in board leashes, both hands on bar
e) board, body (shoulders/feet) and kite are parallel
f) sweet spot
23. take off
a) 12:30 > 10 o’clock and back to 12 until enough speed then stall kite at 10 o’clock
b) 11:30 > 2 o’clock and back to 12 until enough speed then stall kite at 2 o’clock
c) Move hips forwards when kite pulls
d) Stretch front leg
e) Start to carve upwind only when enough speed
f) Until then board normal to kite
Lesson 4, 31.12.2011, 16:05-17:25
24. Keep kite stalled at 10 or 2 o’clock after having gained speed
25. Pay attention to sweet spot
26. Keep body more or less straight after start
27. Front foot completely straight
Lesson 5, 1.1.2012, 14:05-15:45
28. Move kite more if less wind – juxtaposed bar movements
29. Board, kite and harness/hook should form a triangle
30. Get up, don’t sit, front leg always stretched
31. Shoulders back, let the harness pull you, don’t use arms
Lesson 6, 2.1.2012, 14-15:15
32. Even 13m2 kite is no fun, if wind around 10 knots
33. Keep distance to other kites (had a bad crash)
34. keep eyes/head in direction of board, this helps to get body into right direction
35. Karem made me feel better: he said it took him 3 months to learn kiting (he lied, but it worked)
Lesson 7, 3.1.2012, 9:15-10, 10:30-12:30
36. IKO Level 1 = coming back to the spot from where you left = kiting upwind
37. Kiting is addictive, because you dream of it (has something like meditation or a pilgrimage)
38. I want to be back asap
39. Stall kite deep at 12 o’clock to turn from 10 to 2 or vice versa
40. Gain height by edging with the back of the board (push back foot)
41. Twist shoulders and hips upwind (parallel to head)
