Making the most of your trainer

Basic Flying
 First pick out a good field or beach to fly at. The bigger and more
open the better. Remember that if there are trees or buildings between
you and the wind, the kite will not fly properly. A small field in the
middle of the city does not usually work well unless there is a good
tunnel effect for the wind to come through. Frozen lakes work
excellent, but you will need to walk a little way into the center.
 Now, take your kite out of its bag and lay the kite on the ground with
the bridle lines facing up and the trailing edge facing the wind. Place
sand on the trailing edge so the kite does not blow away, or have an
assistant hold the back of the kite with the leading edge facing up
into the wind (make sure they do NOT let go). Unwind the lines from the
bar, walking into the wind, and then walk between them to the kite to
make sure there are no knots or twists prior to launch. Untangle the
lines as needed. Go back to the bar and attach your safety leash if
needed. Pull firmly on the bar and the kite will launch. Flying a
trainer is just like riding a bicycle; pull left and the kite will turn
left, pull right and the kite will turn right. Wherever the leading
edge is pointed (like the front wheel of your bike) is where the kite
will go.

 Things to remember:
       1       You will crash your kite! Just walk over and set it back up for
re-launch. Try not to crash it directly down wind as it is possible to
blow seams out of a kite if crashed directly into the ground at 50
miles per hour. Yes, they can move that fast.
       2       Wind is like a road; sometimes it’s bumpy and sometimes it’s
smooth. Your kite may behave well one day and fly terribly the next.
Most likely the wind is much different.
       3       Be careful in high winds. Even small trainers develop a lot of
power. Our favorite trainer, the 3.6 meter Beamer, will allow a 200lb
person to jump 6-10 feet forward when the winds are over 18mph. Always
leave yourself room for evasive action (3-5 line lengths).
       4       If you have someone helping you launch the kite, make sure they
move immediately after launching. Also, be nice and share your kite
with them.
       5       It takes most people anywhere from ½ hour to 3 hours to learn to
fly a kite proficiently. Don’t expect to be a great flier in 5 minutes.
       6       Twists in the lines. All kites will still fly exactly the same even
with a twist in their lines. To untwist the lines, either fly a
complete loop in the other direction, or spin your body quickly around.
Most kites can fly with 2 or 3 loops before the lines begin to bind up.
Advanced trainer techniques to improve kiteboarding skills

 Now that you can fly your kite here is a list of things to practice to
allow your skills and muscle memory to develop more fully. The more
time spent on these skills, the less time you will spend swimming and
the more time you will spend riding.



       1       Power Stroke: The power stroke is the key to getting up on a board
and riding. The goal of these motions is to develop your muscle memory
of turning the kite around prior to crashing on the land or water.
 As you work on the power stroke, work to keep your center of gravity
behind your feet and not to get pulled forward into a running position.
You should slide forward on your feet.
 Take your kite to the noon position in the wind window. Fly the kite
down to the 3 o’clock position and then fly directly back to the noon
position. Now move the kite to the 11 o’clock position and fly to 3
o’clock. Now work on doing this from noon to 9 and 1 to 9. You need to
be able to fly the power stroke with confidence and without thinking
about turning the kite back up in the sky. Now that you can fly the
power stroke while keeping your feet under you it's time to...
       2       Practice your board starts. This will develop your muscle memory
for leg and hip positioning for getting up on your board. The goal of
this practice is to make sure you point your board downwind when trying
to get up and ride.
 Riding to your right side: Put your kite in neutral (hovering straight
above your head), sit down on the ground, extend your right leg forward
and bend your left leg in a little bit. Now send the kite into a power
stroke toward your right side. You should stand up (if you have enough
power) on your right foot with your body turned at about a 45 degree
angle to the wind.
 Now move your kite to the 1 o’clock position for your power stroke;
notice how your hips and body naturally point your leg more down wind.
One of the number one problems for new riders is not keeping their
boards pointed down wind when attempting a water start.
 Now work on your left side.
 If you decide to learn to snow or land board make sure to use the same
technique of pointing the board downwind.
       3       Moving with the kite. Run, ski, snowboard, buggy, land board or
roller blade.
 Now that you are flying well, start running with the kite in the
direction the kite is flying. You will notice different dynamics in the
kite as you move. When you are kiteboarding, you are always moving with
the kite and need to learn how to control the kite during this movement
and take advantage of the apparent wind you are generating. Use any of
the vehicles listed above to help work on this. Remember to wear
padding and a helmet.
       4       Fly the kite in high winds and very aggressively. The more you get
used to being pulled around, the better you will do when hanging on to
a large power kite. Try spinning your body under your bar, fly while
looking backwards (yes, this will happen to you in the water), fly with
your eyes closed, and if it’s really windy do some little jumps as you
send the kite up the middle of the power zone.
       5       Fly one-handed. If you can hold the bar in one hand and fly with
one hand, this is a skill that will build your confidence and get you
used to hanging onto the middle of the bar.
       6       Add a harness and bar loop.
 To get the full advantage of a trainer, get a harness and add a fixed
loop to the bar. Now you can begin to practice flying while being
"hooked in" and work on kite control with one hand. This is a skill
that is an absolute necessity for learning to kite in the water. You
will need to fly one-handed while carrying your board to the water and
trying to put it on your feet.
 Another great thing about adding a loop and harness is that you can
snow or land kite for hours once you get hooked in.
 If you spend the time learning these things prior to a lesson, you
will be trying to get up on the board in no time. Remember, 80% of
learning to kiteboard is learning to fly your kite!