Invest in Your Progression
Issue 88 / Mon 9th Aug, 2021
Progression is hard, and it gets harder as we go along. If you’ve been kiting for yonks, you may have found yourself stuck in a rut with the desire to get on the water beginning to fade. In this article, we’ll help light the match on your powderkeg of progression!
Progression is hard, and it gets harder as we go along. Putting time and, sometimes, money into improving our skill set is something that can quickly become an afterthought. Before we know it, we’re in a rut, and the desire to get on the water begins to fade. If you’ve been kiting for yonks, you probably know the feeling. Well, we’re here to help light the match on this powderkeg of progression!
Do you remember the feeling of landing your first backroll? Or a moment as simple as sticking that first transition without getting your bum wet? Even if you can’t picture that exact moment today, it’s etched somewhere in your neural pathways. That little bit of success released a shot of dopamine straight into your brain, and that’s a feeling that is hard to stop chasing.
I’m not saying that I support behavioural addictions, but I’m willing to admit that some vices are better than others. Glaring at your smartphone, waiting for the next ping, like, or message is not so healthy. Refreshing the wind forecast to see when it’s time to head to the beach? Fine by me!
Innovator and industrialist Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” We’ve seen people kiting as young as 3-years-old, and well into their 80s. How old these ‘grandmasters’ feel on the inside is another story! No matter the physical age, it is certainly true that kitesurfing keeps us young.
We should never stop learning, in kiting, and in life. However, for most kiters, the last coaching experience was in those fledgling days as we were taking our first flights. WOO’s Leo Koenig weighs in, “Progression is often just seen as something that happens on its own, and it’s just part of doing something. I’ve learned over the years that it is quite the opposite. You’ve got to be willing to leave your comfort zone over and over again, up until being out of the comfort zone almost becomes your comfort zone.”
Let’s push past that comfort zone! With the help of the experts, we’re taking a closer look at our three favourite progression tools:
ONLINE TUTORIALS
The (ahem) old fogies among us may have an old set of Progression DVDs or a copy of Strictly Hooked gathering dust in the back of the closet; luckily, modern times have brought modern solutions. Countless talented and hard-working kiters have created online and 100% free kitesurfing tutorials. Here at IKSURFMAG, our very own Christian and Karine have written 230 detailed techniques guides for our magazine and website - 233, if you include the ones in this issue!
The team over at Duotone stepped it up a notch further with the Duotone Academy App, offering access to what we believe is the best free progression tool on the market. You can use the app to study at home or even tuck your phone into a waterproof pouch and troubleshoot your session on the water. Where else can you access free coaching from Aaron Hadlow, Lasse Walker, Jeremie Tronet, Colleen Carroll, Sebastian Ribeiro, and other pros? As app developer Patrick Dudek says, “It’s like Lewis Hamilton being your driving instructor.”
How does it work? Super Coach Jeremie Tronet explains, “Riders can download the tutorial video for offline use when on the spot, and the text and picture version of the trick gives you the key elements as a summary, without having to watch the video again. The most impressive aspect of the app is that users can upload videos of their attempts to the app chat and have Duotone International Team Riders comment and give them tips on what to do to land their tricks. Additionally, other users in the community can vote on your video if they think your trick has been successfully completed, giving you points. The app will even suggest the next trick for you to try, based on the tricks you can already land.”
Duotone Academy coach Aaron Hadlow says, “Investment of time and focus on the water is what led me to where I am today. For young up and coming kids especially, but also motivated adults, it is really key to understand kiting to the fullest by trying different tricks, different disciplines, and different conditions. This is the reason I was motivated to help with the Duotone Academy, especially for the wake style section. I wanted to take on the job of breaking down all the tricks into the right groups and writing the text myself to really have a comprehensive learning tool that people can rely on. I feel the handle pass side of the sport is dying away a little at the moment, so I like to help in any way I can to keep that going and get the next generation motivated to learn new skills.”
With over 90,000 active users learning hooked in moves, strapless freestyle, wave riding, unhooked freestyle, and soon winging, it is clear that the Duotone Academy has hit the nerve of the kitesurfing community. Perhaps being built by kiters for kiters - entirely in-house at Duotone by Patrick Dudek and his brilliant team - had something to do with it!
There’s no question that this is the best digital tool available for kitesurfing progression. Best of all, this golden resource is available for free. What’s not to love?
IMMERSIVE COACHING EXPERIENCES
Like learning a language, practising complex kiting techniques can be much easier with total immersion. There’s something about investing time and money - both hard-earned resources, that adds that oftentimes needed pressure to progress.
In my time kiting, I’ve been on two kite retreats and had a few odd hours of private coaching; I can comfortably say that this learning style is the right fit for me. Like those who prefer to work with a personal trainer instead of going it alone at the gym, I flourish when there’s a pro coach in my ear telling me what to do and how to do it! With more focused kite camps becoming available - freestyle, wave, foil, women’s exclusive, or complete beginner experiences - it’s easy for us as kiters to choose a program that interests us, setting ourselves up for success by learning in the right conditions with the right people.
Ben Wilson, who graced our Issue 86 cover with his mega wave at Cloudbreak, has been running Kite Weeks on Namotu Island for over 12 years. Every winter between June and August, the island in Fiji hosts seven sold-out Kite Weeks, bringing kiters from around the world; beginners, intermediate and advanced kiters, and even surfers, foilers, partners and friends who come for the atmosphere and fun.
With direct beach and private boat access to world-class waves like Cloudbreak, Restaurants, Namotu Lefts, and Swimming Pools, this is arguably the best place in the world to work on your wave riding. The next crucial piece of the puzzle is their elite team; a world-class crew of coaches, private chefs, a yoga instructor, and a photographer. It’s an immersive experience that delivers from the moment you step off the boat. Coach Kirsty Jones says, “My goal is to make sure guests have the ultimate kitesurf and ocean experience, and quite possibly one of the best weeks of their life!”
Namotu Kite Week instructor Danny Barnette says, “It’s amazing what you can learn in a week! A one-on-one coaching ratio creates unique learning opportunities for guests as their coach can specifically tailor each day’s instruction and coaching styles to ensure daily growth and progression.” Brett Sheerin adds his comment, “A guest who gets to ride with experienced kite coaches in one of the best places on earth can’t help but take their riding up to the next level just being around the vibe and inspiration,” adding, “When you’re riding with jet-ski support, and the eyes of us coaches on you at all times, you can push your limits knowing we will come to the rescue if anything goes wrong. Many have told me they’d try things they wouldn’t normally.”
Whether it’s going on a week-long kite retreat or hiring a pro coach for a couple of hours on the weekend, these experiences can be lightning bolts in your progression. You can’t phone it in on a session if you’ve whipped out your wallet or travelled halfway around the world to engage the services of professional trainers. If you’re feeling stuck and unable to push yourself further in kiting, or you’re just in need of a guided kite holiday, it’s time for professional help! You might be surprised by how quickly you progress.
COMPETITION ENHANCED LEARNING
It’s no secret that once you’re the best kiter at your local spot, the motivation to improve starts to slip away. Kiters, amateur and pro alike, train and train to become the best, and once they’ve achieved that, they can take the foot off the gas, sometimes without even realising it. It’s only the arrival of a new kiter at the spot that can jump higher or land those extra rotations that reignite that competitive spirit.
Professional wave rider Sebastian Ribiero has been a frequent flyer in the competition scene. Years ago, when we didn’t have so many online learning tools at our disposal, often the only way to discover a new trick was to see it out in the wild. For Sebastian, the moment he saw another competitor perform a 360 air off a wave to beat him in a heat had him fired up. “I went back home and tried that turn over and over again... I remember getting hit on my head by the bar. After many hits, I finally figured out how to do it!”
You don’t have to be a pro-level rider to get caught up in the spirit of competition. Have you ever had an impromptu jumping competition with friends at your local kite spot? Whoever has the lowest jump has to buy the first round or something to that effect! A casual competition amongst friends can make progression fun and take the pressure off.
With products like the WOO Sensor available to us, we can monitor our progression simply by tracking our sessions. Think of it as a fitness watch for your kite session! The WOO is a small accelerometer that attaches to your board, originally designed to track jump height and hangtime. With the WOO 3.0, development has gone further, improving functionality in tracking jumps, and adding tracking for freestyle, freeride, foil, and more. Even competing only with yourself, the urge to improve grows naturally, just by looking at the data.
We caught up with Leo Koenig, who shared why he created the WOO to gamify kiteboarding. “You think about football, and what a boring activity kicking the ball is. If it wasn’t for teams, games, leagues, championships, and so on, no one would care about football. The same applies to moving your thumb in the digital world (e.g. playing Candy Crush). Games have shown the ability to alter human behaviour drastically, and the thought of using them to get people off their couches and back outside was a big motivator.”
With the new WOO App and the WOO Worlds competition, you don’t even need to buy a WOO device. You can log GPS sessions 100% for free, using Apple and Android phones, also integrating with Apple Watches. Garmin compatibility is coming up soon. If you don’t have a big crew at your local kite spot, you can join the international community and start competing with and against people all over the world!
The fact that it’s free, and has several freeride categories, means the WOO Worlds competition can inspire progression for all riders, whatever the level. Endurance and dedication disciplines like Total Height, Total Distance, and Team Challenges mean that everyone can get involved. Innovative challenges like drawing a perfect heart on the water can be a real challenge to your skillset, encouraging precision and finesse. You don’t have to be a pro to earn $25k of cash prizes. Just signing up for a simple challenge will get you in the progression mindset and inspire you to ride even more; that in itself will make you a better kiteboarder.
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If you haven’t already downloaded the Duotone Academy and WOO apps, take your first tiny (and free) investment into your progression and do so. Pick a technique, trick, or challenge, and commit to making it happen in your next session.
For best results, get some accountabilibuddies involved in your mission! Best case scenario, it’ll be a dopamine party on the water with the squad. Worst case, you’ll have some kookalicious moments to laugh at - if you’re not the one kooking it up! Unlike keeping each other honest with fitness goals, these sessions can, and should, end with an ice-cold beer.
Don’t let another day go by without learning something new. From the team at IKSURFMAG, good luck and good winds!
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By Crystal Veness
Editor at IKSURFMAG, Crystal Veness hails from Canada but is based in South Africa. When she isn't busy kitesurfing or reporting on the latest industry news for the mag, she is kicking back somewhere at a windy kite beach or working on creative media projects.
