Kite Surfing Techniques - Steering the Board / Reaching
After learning how to change directions, let's take a look at the different courses that you can choose when kite surfing:
When reaching, you are at a 90 degree angle with the wind. This is a comfortable course and you will be reaching most of the time. Due to the pull of the kite, the Kite Surfing Board will drift a little downwind through the water, so if you want to return to the spot where you started, you’ll have to be riding slightly upwind.
When reaching, your back leg is slightly more bent than your front leg, and your weight is a bit more on your rear leg. Try to relax your arms and do not squeeze the bar too hard. Turn your hips and shoulders a bit towards the direction in which you are riding.
As the power of the kite pulls you over, you have to provide a counter weight. This is a combination of using the rail of the board and your own weight. Finding the balance between the power of the kite and the counter weight takes time and practice. You have to anticipate the power of the kite as it moves through the windwindow and constantly adjust your stance in order to counter its power.
As the kite pulls you downwind, you have to edge your heel side continuously to avoid going downwind. In doing so, your Kite Surfing Board will try to turn into the wind and the kite will try to pull you downwind. The result will be a course cross to the wind.
In ideal conditions, your kite will be somewhere around half the height of the wind window. Since the wind will almost never be perfectly constant, you will have to make small corrections while riding. With less wind, the kite can be placed higher in the wind window.
|
|
|
|
These are all the Kite Surfing Lessons covered in this section:
|
|
Basics & Backgrounds
Home
Print Article
Email Article
Comment on Article
Write New Article
Search Articles
1: