Kiteforum.com

So this is directed at those of you who can do more than just jump high. If you can do back rolls, unhooked tricks and other fancy moves, did you learn on your own or take lessons?

I ask because with a busy schedule and wind that is blowing during the week while I'm working, it's touch and go to get out on the water. Some days "mowing the lawn" with the odd jump is all I need. But after a while I'm keen to move on.

It's hard to get in enough time on the water to practice something new when riding time is patchy. I wonder then if it's worth spending a few hundred bucks on lessons to have someone coach me as I crash and fail several times, but then finally figure out how to do some new trick(s), or struggle on my own over the course of several months ???

nahh, the fun comes from learning the stuff on your own with your own style. Go out and huck.

YEP , What --sotheysay-- said !!

And remember :
"It's WAY more important to give your Buddies a Good Laugh ;than
to satisfy your EGO" ; Ya get Lots of free Beer that way !!

Secondly -- if a legless white-haired guy can do a back-roll, then
so can You , if Ya try. Don't be afraid, just keep the altitude Low and
the speed minimal , so it don't hurt as much when you eat-it .

Bille

Save your $ on the lesson and travel to some place with good wind and good riders and you'll learn a ton with just more time on the water. If I see a buddy land something then it's just going to amp me more to go harder at the same trick.

Bille wrote:if a legless white-haired guy can do a back-roll, then
so can You , if Ya try.
Bille

Who's the legless white-haired guy?

As soon as I could go upwind, I never looked back.

I think lessons and coaching are great, I just don't feel I can afford it at the local rates. I learned a lot in seasonal snowboarding clinics, but only because the mountain made it affordable at $300 for 20 two hour sessions.

I took 3, 3-hour intro lessons in 2003 with surfboard and AR5.
...no kiting
...no kiting
...bought a fuel in 2005, picked it up again, no lessons
did do a little wakeboarding to learn edge control, it helped.

You can't go wrong with CKperformance clinics. Several clinics during the year at constant windy warm locations.8 days of training, intermediate to advanced. Video feedback every night. It has been the best 900 USD (excluding flights to the location) I've spend to improve.

Coaching is (pretty much) always worth it in my experience, it depends more on how much money you're prepared to spend to feed your addiction!