Sometimes I can't go upwind

[Ned Divine]

slow down! once you are planning the faster you go the harder it is to get up wind, think of it as if you were racing the kite, if you win, you loose....

Great tip, slow down, very important!
Also: not only look in the direction you want to go (upwind) but lean your body a bit towards it.
Keep your kite above 45 to have lift, lean a little bit towards upwind (to the front), look upwind, edge with your feet and not by leaning your whole body back, maintain proper stance, no toilet seat stance, you will go upwind in a slow and relaxed fashion provided you have plenty of power.

[Soleas]

Slowing down is an option but thats the problem he doesn't know how to slow down and edge.
The problem is clear, you're pulling on the bar and you're looking the wrong direction.
Fo got it spot on, eyes are the most important in this case. When you look upwind your body will find it's way to edge properly so work on your eyes ( try to get used to not looking at the kite often ). It also sounds like you are sheeting in.
When your speed picks up from a gust, loosen up on the bar ( depower ), lean back and edge, ( depowering makes the kite move forward ), point your eyes upwind and when you're upwind enough and feel confortable to hold it SHEET IN AGAIN ( powerup ) .

Try to concentrate on your eyes and sheeting out. While sheeting out and edging try to feel your waist pulling the kite, not your hands.

[SupaEZ]

All those previous tips are great

Learn to tweak your TT in a way that the front of board is pointing more towards the wind direction

Tweak the board off axis by 20 degrees as compare to your direction of travel in the water

Bend the back leg and straighten front leg...use your front toes to hook up / pull on front strap

Tweaking the board (and at same time waist) and putting more weight on back heel really helps

You will slow down by going more upwind and effectively send the kite at the edge of the window

Absorbing gusts and remaining in control is a learned process and soon for you it will be natural

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[dyyylan]

One of the common mistakes I see with a few people I've helped learn is that they rely too much on sheeting out to handle power. You can handle the power, just use your legs. Push hard against your board and dig your rail into the water and point upwind. As long as you're not sheeted in tooooooo too much, your kite will fly farther forward anyway, giving you a little less power and better upwindability.

[SupaEZ]

One of the common mistakes I see with a few people I've helped learn is that they rely too much on sheeting out to handle power. You can handle the power, just use your legs. Push hard against your board and dig your rail into the water and point upwind. As long as you're not sheeted in tooooooo too much, your kite will fly farther forward anyway, giving you a little less power and better upwindability.

Well said Dyyylan

In the very early days of 2 lines Wipaka kites there was zero sheeting out.... in gusts
You had to stomp and tweak the board to send the kite ahead of you to slow down and spill power

It was all about eyes on the prize and leg power to go upwind
Now we are spoiled with sheeting out capability....
But it can work against you if you sheet in too much....while learning the proper trim balance

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[SupaEZ]

Chewbaka ........Wipaka.........ooooops.........meant to type WIPIKA .....kites

[toyletbowl]

Excellent tips.

Couple of things to add that might help.

When looking upwind, it will help to have your bar more vertical than horizontal. This helps to have your whole body facing upwind instead of just the head.

You should have a progressive twisting of the body. Starting at the legs where the front leg is straighter and the back leg bent. Front foot should be twisted in the foot strap and angled more than the back foot.

Hips slightly facing your direction of travel.

Shoulders facing direction of travel even more.

Head facing direction of travel the most.

If you grab a bar and hold it horizontal, it's hard to have this progressive twisting of you body.

If you hold the bar more vertical. it's super easy to have this position and you'll go upwind easier.

Speed? I like speed and both hands on the bar. Letting go of one hand tends to slow riders down when they can be hauling ass and ripping upwind. My preference.

Hope this helps,

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

[dyyylan]

Speed? I like speed and both hands on the bar. Letting go of one hand tends to slow riders down when they can be hauling ass and ripping upwind. My preference.

Hope this helps,

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

I agree, I was really having trouble going upwind when I was learning and got used to this 1 handed riding when I thought it was easier. Turns out there just wasn't enough wind when I was trying to figure it all out, and I developed an annoying habit with bad posture. I get more upwind by using my boards rocker (with boots) and riding flatter or just edging super hard on my flat board and holding both hands close. It's all in power/speed with angle and weight distribution, though opening your hips up does help learn.

[Slappysan]

Something that I found handy to do when fighting an inflowing tide is to work up wind in bursts. Gain some speed and then use it to cut up wind and slow down, then do it all over again. It's not the best technique but for a beginner like me it gets the job done.

I also make sure you are powered enough, as getting up wind when you are under powered sucks.

[Laughingman]

Speed? I like speed and both hands on the bar. Letting go of one hand tends to slow riders down when they can be hauling ass and ripping upwind.

I think I may have been misunderstood. You definitely need a bit of speed, you will never go upwind if you are flogging, but if you have enough power to slow down and still stay on plane you will shoot upwind faster and with less effort then if you are balls to the wall, try it, you will see what I'm talking about.
I'm not a big fan of a lot of sheeting in and out. If your kite is properly trimed you can use edging the board to slow down a bit and maintain a good planing speed. Pick a point and try to beat it.