Please read this

[Stefan]

Rick, just a minor thing. Is there any way not to use the word "extreme" to describe kiting. I really hate the phrase "extreme sports". I think some egomaniac came up with that term to brag to all his friends that he was extreme. Pasa uses the term airsports and includes parasailing and hang gliding on their website. I'm sure I'll get alot of shite for this one....Take Care Stefan

[murdoc]

stefan,
i think the word 'extreme' belongs to kitesurfing, because that's what it is.

i think the word may scare a few people, but these are the ones that should be scared.
it's no sport for 3 weeks summer vacation-daddies, i think.

naish was right with the ad that said it's the wrong sport for 99% of all people.

[jamesjrob]

Good work! I will distribute as widely as poss.

[fokiten]

On 2002-11-27 17:16, Stefan wrote:
Rick, just a minor thing. Is there any way not to use the word "extreme" to describe kiting. I really hate the phrase "extreme sports". I think some egomaniac came up with that term to brag to all his friends that he was extreme. Pasa uses the term airsports and includes parasailing and hang gliding on their website. I'm sure I'll get alot of shite for this one....Take Care Stefan

Take as many adjetives out as humanly possible, remember the COLOR you wish to avoid is blood/red. Be SERIOUSLY ECOMOMICAL
GRAVE/GRAVITY any discriptive phrase is by definition FLUFF throw it out! BE POWERFUL, YOUR DATA IS PPPOOOWWWEEERRRFFFULLL!!!!!!
USE IT

E.F

[BigSmelly]

On 2002-11-27 16:53, murdoc wrote:
here's a checklist developped (and (c)opyrighted) by kitesurfing-kiel.de ...
i've translated it:

This is great! Good work.
Rick, you really have a mission on your hands. Good luck man.

Extreme is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case the doer / participant. We shit 4 brains addicts, think of it as a walk in the park. This is dangerous, but how can you change the way we do not think? I learn a lot from a lot of sources, and an equal amount from personal experience, but it is easy to see the necesity for people to keep learning, keep enquiring, etc when they have appreciation for the risk and respect for the forces that can end their lives in a matter of seconds. It is the hyped up newbie, that pitches up with his 16m kite, and does not even know how to launch, but is so stoked at having seen people boost huge airs, that he does not see past the fact that there may be a lot of information to take in, before one even trys to fly a kite, that will ruin our sport one day.

Do you know that the word respect does not appear once in the above thread. Respect, is paramount to getting people to treat this sport with care, and to take their saftey and the saftey of others into consideration.

That is my solution. Teach people to respect the forces that they are playing with. If they do not understand what there is to respect, they need to be shown (Rick does this well). If they don't respect the forces, they WILL learn to respect them the hard way.

[Mr Jo Macdonald]

Rick, is it ok with you if I change the order a bit in the Italian version. I want to put the avoid launching near hard objects first because I think that's the most important here and the take leasons last because most of the accidents in Italy have happened to quite proficient kiters.
That ok?
Jo

[Guest]

On 2002-11-27 17:26, murdoc wrote:
i think the word 'extreme' belongs to kitesurfing, because that's what it is.

It's as extreme as you want to make it. But you can take almost any sport and push it to the highest possible level and call it extreme. In and of itself the sport (as most 'extreme' sports) is NOT extreme.

[murdoc]

It's as extreme as you want to make it. But you can take almost any sport and push it to the highest possible level and call it extreme. In and of itself the sport (as most 'extreme' sports) is NOT extreme.

even if you're constantly underpowered, riding a big directional and just cruise around - that's IMHO the most un-extreme way to kitesurf, there are enough things that may turn your trip into a kitemare.
ever experienced that little cloud in the blue sky that's just a tiny little bit darker than the others, hardly recognizable, but brings a 5 minutes' gust of 28knots into the day of 10-12knots ?
i did and kiting around with a 16m kite and big board instantly changed to a self-rescue-mission which looked extreme (the guy on the beach told me)

surely, you may kitesurf in a total un-extreme way, but you'll get into extreme situations you have to cope with.

[Guest]

ever experienced that little cloud in the blue sky

Ever gone hiking on a nice cool day in the mountains and half way in you get into a whiteout. Extreme hiking.

Ever gone for a swim in the surf when a big set rolled in for some maytagging. Extreme swimming.

Ever driven to work, when suddenly the guy in front of you slams the brakes for no apparent reason. Extreme commuting.

and on and on it goes.....

[Mr Jo Macdonald]

Well, in this latest period of stormy weather here in Italy I never got my kites outta the sack, there were killer waves, got some great surfing in. Had a great time.

Rick, scrub my last post, I saw that Gian from Loose also offered to traslate your points into italian and his is much beter than my gaellic roman. I've asked him if he needs a hand distributing it so we'll probably share the job.
Keep up the good work
Jo