yup. there was a period where had a lot of people come and try to impress by jumping stuff...Thor SFBay wrote: Are there really kids in Hawaii trying to copy the more dangerous kiteboarding stunts?
Dunno what their business plan was...Impress->get hired->get rich? Didn't work tho. So less people coming to this island now.
I've seen guys crash head first into piers lucky to "walk" ie get carried away from it. One guy was so annoying he'd probably been beaten by some of the not so friendlies if he hadn't gone head to rock.
Anyways, yes. I am saying this knowing that we all do this to a certain extent, but some take it too far. What is too far is a little hard to say. One spot I ride is just shallow, so it is hard to jump and do tricks with very low risk.
To me this is knowing about know a little more about what the risks are. I think many are just taking chances...not really knowing what the risks are. That is when we are in trouble. Most of the pro's have so much control, that it is unreal. I think fewer people nowadays will try to emulate that behavior. Gear is safer, and people learn in a safer manner.
I think it wrong to call kiting an extreme sport. It isn't. (Ok I can agree with some definitions of extreme sport, but not in the sense that it is used here). Obviously you can be stupid about it still, but kiting can be as safe as any other sport.