my $.02

KY, stop listening to the crowd, start hearing your inner voice. Surfing is natural! The more you think, the more you crash -

Ride with a setup YOU like and you feel comfortable with and gain some confidence. THEN put straps on/take them off, use a different board and PLAY ...

The equation is very simple: confidence = relax = good learning curve


Try to ride the waves a bit more off the beach, before they brake. Learn their dynamics, move with them and then come closer. Waves are like pretty girls: you try too hard, they'll roll you; you don't try enough, they won't play with you.

peace

Well said

It is all about "feel", and playing around on everything, till you find what you like, or maybe you like it all !

And this might change a lot over time, it is not some "final" point you will end up at.

The journey is most of the fun actually - dont forget that

Dont think too much, just do it

Peter

Man, listening to you guys really lets me know why I dig this sport so much. My head is on straight now for this issue. For me right now, the light surf days are strapless all the way because I like it, but next time I take on bigger waves (my definition, probably not yours), I want some straps just to help me keep control of the board. I can't wait for my next opportunity to try it.

I am still in St. Augustine til Wednesday, but winds are not looking too promising. You never know though. I can be the Loyd Christmas of winds "So your sayin there's a chance" I might get lucky and get another shot at it before I leave here.

Thanks again for all the good advice.

Bought some straps the other day and today was my first opportunity to try them. Of course, almost no surf (some 3 maybe 4ft occasionally). I could have easily gone out strapless, but I wanted to try them out.

It was very fun getting to jump the small waves outbound. Not worrying about keeping the board at my feet was really nice.

Even though wind was light, I flew a smaller kite (14m hp). The quicker turning speed made things much easier as well. Looking forward to getting some good winds (maybe tomorrow) and trying to send the kite a little and do some jumps with the surfboard.

Where is the best place to go and learn strapless?

South Padre Island, TX in the spring March-May

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k99Wrwxhn0E

contact SPI KITE for more info 956-772-1098

I started kiting with a stapped surfboard simply because i hated chasing my board around in the surf and, because i was new to kiting, i loved the feel of jumping and flying around the lineup. I started out riding heelside then toeside (back to kite) which was kind of awkward and not the most efficent way to ride until i learned to jybe.

I usually use the Slingshot globetrotter. Its about 4'10" (really small) and really hard to Jybe. I have been messing around strapless and can jybe both ways but with the GT its hard to jybe while moving and transition because the board is so small.

Does anyone else have this problem with really small directionals???

TIP use a balance board on no wind days,you can also learn how to gibe on balance board,it will give you muscle memory,and help your strapless kitesurfing,TONY[/quote]

A real good tool to train the gybing and surf moves when you are off the water are the Carver Skateboards (www.carverskateboards.com). They have a unique front axxis which lets the board pivot like a surfboard. Or a least it comes as close as it gets on a skateboard.

It is really good to train stance, the twisting upper body movement, getting really compressed. And it can make for a good workout.

As a regular footed I did not feel very comfortabel riding waves frontside with my right foot forward. Unfortunately at our beaches the wind usually comes from the left. And in side-on riding the wave backside is not always that much fun. Also my gybing going left was quite weak. Somehow all my windsurfing experience had vanished a bit over years.

Training with that skateboard has dramatically improved that. I can be a lot more often on that board than on the water. You can really concentrate on the move and like above it helps with the muscle memory. However, still now the first minutes riding on the skateboard goofy feel awkward and then it starts to feel comfortable.

Apart from that it is big fun when there is no water and wind around. Plus two hours on this are a real work out for your upper legs. Check their videos.

Another tip for riding a surfboard is to use 20 m lines. The kite is much more responsive and I find transitions alot easier.