BTW Johnny,
Before you lay claim to inventing the kite-powered bodydrag, you better check and see if Ben Franklin didn't do it first.
It's interesting as you get older, you get more retrospective about how we as humans tick. What is it we dig so much about kitesurfing? Is it the freedom you feel skipping on top of the water. The rush one feels by getting launched into the air like on some amusement ride. The feeling of weightlessness as you glide in for a landing just to do it again and again? How about the spray in your face? Comraderie with fellow wind-junkies? Pushing things to the edge to scare ourselves silly? To me, all of these things appeal to me and more.
What gets me addicted to it though, is the challenge and the rewards. I think we humans are built to learn things, progress, we seek challenges and thrive on overcoming obstacles. The beauty of kitesurfing is in it's quick rewards. (Punishment is also more severe when you screw up!) As a new kitesurfer and an old windsurfer, I know exactly why I kite rather than go chophopping. It's because my level has plateaud windsurfing and to get the hi level of challenge, I need good conditions. Big wind and big swell. I can still scare myself silly pitching an end-over in OP conditions, but those days are few and far between.
In contrast, just jumping on a kite and working on hangtime gets me going. Plus I can do this in 12mph+ !! No more waiting for the perfect swell to hit.
Things might change for me as I get more years kitesurfing. I might get bored, just spinning around, 20 feet up, like my friend who kited exclusively for the last 4 years, but windsurfs now. Tells me that he's bored and can't get as good a workout kiting. So he works on his freestyle tricks with those new freestyle boards trying vulcans and spocks.
But until I get to that point, which I hope is never, I'll enjoy the ride!
-Eric