KS#7 - Self-Teaching ... to death

[Klaus (c:E]

Hai,

reminds me of the accident of an autodidact who was reported to fly a kite for several hours and be lofted softly several times before he actually crashed hard to his death (UK 2005).

The trouble is that even Ruben Len10 doesn´t look like in danger when he jumps up to 20 meters high performing kiteloops.
But a kite being able to lift You up to that hight in just 2 seconds of time is much more powerful than Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Vitali Klitschko if they were pulling strong together.

Sea You: Klaus (c:E

[Kitebdr1962]

Hey Rick, Great Thoughts and Great Idea of bringing this to the Forum, and to the Kiteboarding World...I have it made at the Location that I teach at, it is Private Property, and NO ONE is Allowed there to Kite, unless They have had Lessons from Us, Kitetricity Kiteboarding School....Even tho some of the Locals have tought Themselves years ago, I have trained them to watch over the place, and make sure NO ONE kites there unless They have had a Lessons from US...If not, then They ask Them to leave till I get back...There is ZERO TOLERANCE at Our School Location...I do understand the issue about Ebay, and even the Industry Itself...It is All about the Money, not the concern of the Future of this Sport, until every place is Banded from Kiteboarding..If you want to Drive a Car, You must have a Driver's License, if You want to buy a Gun, You must have a Background check, etc, and if You want to go Scuba Diving, You must show a PADI card, showing that You were certified by an Instructor, so You can buy Air, do You jump out of a Plane without someone showing You how/teaching You?....So if all of these Types of Industries are having this done, to protect Themselves, then Why can We not do the Same...No Shop, Distributor, or On-Line person should not be able to Sell Anything to Anybody, until They, the Consumer, shows proof of Lessons/Certification...A.J. Morgan, P.A.S.A Certified Master Examiner/Instructor

[Greg7]

....

[afflatus]

....

What he said....

[Windrider]

...I have it made at the Location that I teach at, it is Private Property, and NO ONE is Allowed there to Kite, unless They have had Lessons from Us, Kitetricity Kiteboarding School....Even tho some of the Locals have tought Themselves years ago, I have trained them to watch over the place, and make sure NO ONE kites there unless They have had a Lessons from US...If not, then They ask Them to leave till I get back...There is ZERO TOLERANCE at Our School Location...
...No Shop, Distributor, or On-Line person should not be able to Sell Anything to Anybody, until They, the Consumer, shows proof of Lessons/Certification...A.J. Morgan, P.A.S.A Certified Master Examiner/Instructor

Jeez... you're scary. A bit over zealous methinks. Sounds like you just want to control use by selling your own certs. Like a private use club. Racketeering anyone?

You own the beachfront? Florida allows that?

[Kitebdr1962]

If anyone knows Our School, They know that We teach in the River, in Waist Deep Water....What I was trying to make a point of is this, unless something is not done, by way of Controlling what We sell "To Anyone", then the beaches and other places you kite at, will have a short time frame...When People start getting hurt in your local area, and We do not Control Ourselves, and how We are taught, then things are going to be closed a lot sooner than You think...So when we take things for granted, and do not police Ourselves, then the local authority will step in to "Protect Themselves", and by that time, it's all over...Our School has control over "who" and "what We do", if You think about it, if You do not Control what happens around where You Kite, one day it will be gone...We teach SAFETY, Big time, which carries on with Our Students, so they are the spokespeople for the Future....With out Lessons, and the Understanding of this Extreme Sport, that is lost when You teach Yourself, and you think that You are saving yourself Money....I will always believe that the Industry needs to Step-Up and Control what is being Sold, and control it just like the Other Industries do...Rick, has made it very clear to All of Us these last few months, How Many People have Died for No Reason at All...I am pretty sure the % of the "Passing" were people who taught Themselves, I might be Wrong...

[afflatus]

you talk a lot of crap for a self styled industry leader,

You Say , "I am pretty sure the % of the "Passing" were people who taught Themselves, I might be Wrong..."


You should maybe get some actual experience before you start labeling our dead as a bunch of non paying free loaders.

just my opinion

[ryansurf1]

The first thing I ask somebody when approached seriously about kiting is do you swim?...are you confident in the water? If not...don't bother. I am amazed how many people want to kite and aren't strong in the water.

Second is do you have time to dedicate to learning the sport? If not...don't bother...

Third...get some lessons, real lessons. Spend some time in the water with a good instructor. You will be better for it, safer and progress quickly. The reality is there is some real crap that passes for 'lessons'...shop sponsored or not.

When I started the lessons were getting your ass kicked on the beach and going 'why did that happen?...well i will be sure to not do that again'...there are no excuses today as lessons are available.

1962...your private property and NO ONE allowed unless taught by kitetricity sounds more like a means to feed the school. No problem, I won't kite there....wouldn't want to. It is not in the spirit of why i kite.

As for stopping used kites on ebay...ain't gonna happen, or controlling the kite manufacturers from selling to anybody they can...I don't think so, maybe the kite shops?...Uhna', they need to get kites out the door to keep the doors open.

Self policing?...that is a great idea. Me and my local buddies do it all the time. Pretty simple rules...stay the f*** away from the swimmers, surfers, beach users and don't even think about going into the lifegaurd area, and while you are at it don't launch that 16 M kite in 25knts and don't crash into that concrete wall.

Don't worry this sport won't become uber popular it has too many obstacles, you need wind and water and not everybody sees the thrill in being sand blasted. The first several years i said 'man this sport is going to blow up this year'...i stopped saying that several years ago, even with bows. Our core of riders has remained the same...a few come and a few go.

And a bit of constructive crit..not meant as a personal jab...break your thoughts into a few paragraphs. I am not the right person to critque the use of punctuation but your run on sentence is, well....very hard to read.

[Tom183]

Don't worry this sport won't become uber popular it has too many obstacles, you need wind and water and not everybody sees the thrill in being sand blasted. The first several years i said 'man this sport is going to blow up this year'...i stopped saying that several years ago, even with bows. Our core of riders has remained the same...a few come and a few go.

I have had the same worries, and while the "core" has grown a little, it certainly hasn't exploded, and neither has the number of newbs. There are always a few people who show up unannounced and without a clue, but we're getting better at catching them and getting them in line before they can screw themselves up. (I still lose sleep sometimes thinking they might show up when none of the core riders is around though - but on balance, the core riders have developed a good reputation with the local authorities so if someone decides to be a jackass, they will only make themselves look bad.)

I suppose the upside is that those guys show up once and then are gone forever - I can pretty much guarantee that the kid with the compressed spine won't ever try it again, and neither will any of his buddies. Not simply because he got hurt, but because they now realize it takes time and effort to learn - dues they are too lazy to pay.

Let's just hope nobody designs a kite that the average Joe can figure out in 10min - that will redefine "crowded"...

[Vinny]

Ebay is a great place to sell 2nd hand gear and its absolute nonsense to try and blame people who sell 2nd hand stuff for kooks that have accidents.

I can buy a kite online at hundreds of shops and not one of them will ask me if I have experience.

Most kites clearly state "Could cause Injury or Death" if you still choose to learn without lessons then maybe you deserve what you get. Its a Darwin thing, some people just need to be removed from the gene pool.