Teaching on land - should lines be short?

[Toby]

At Cabarete Kitebeach you see mainly short (up to 10 m) to be used for instructions on the beach.
Sure, it saves space, but I think it is also safer, since the kite cannot fly that long and powerful thru the powerzone.

I think, all lessons on land should be rather on short lines than longer lines...for the safety.

Even riding with 3m lines are possible, as you can see here:

[robertovillate]

In some cases it is more of a necessity than a preference, e.g. ff the beach is really narrow and not much shallow water to work it...(so maybe not the best place to teach anyway?)

however I feel that students learn better with the standard lines because the kite dies not turn as fast and they have time to correct for mistakes. Also, when doing body dragging or trying to ride with the board the kite will come down closer to the water with the short lines and often the student does not have the skills or reflex to make corrections before the kit hits the water. The other issue is that flying a kite on short lines is much different than on long lines, and I feel more comfortable teaching them to get used to the gear they will ultimately be riding.

Personally don't really like anything shorter than 20m for my own riding. I am sure there are people who prefer it, but I feel like the kite looses to much range. Anyway, just my opinion/preference...there's no absolute right or wrong.

[dyyylan]

I don't think it matters, unless the beach is really small. I don't think short lines are particularly advantageous to learners, other than the fact that you occupy less space.

I learned on the beach first, and this really helped me dial in the mechanics of flying the kite before I got in the water. Learned on an 8m in ~15 knots where I could practice diving the kite and dragging on my heels. I still teach people this way with an undersized kite for the conditions, and I think it works quite well, since we have deep water + waves. But our beaches have gotten super small recently, and I wouldn't be comfortable teaching this way unless we used very short lines, like 10m at the most.

[Flyfish]

100% yes.
I'm not an instructor by I've taught plenty of people since C kite days. Once I learned to put people on short lines for a day or two, the "catastrophes" when down to nil. The best is a day on 3 meter lines, then a couple of days on 10 meter lines. Then they seem to get the idea that as the lines leghthen, the kite will spank them harder. So they develop a "true" respect for the kite.
This by the way, I advocate for ground handling. I think once they go to they water, 20 meter lines is best or they struggle with too little power.

[jakemoore]

3 meter lines on a small kite is super fun for kids and it is also very much easier on the dad who does relaunch duty.

We also have played with 3 meter lines and riding a skateboard and its fun, but if you end up going faster than the kite you can luff and crash it pretty fast.

[dwaynej]

A few moons ago (2004), John Holzhall developed the KITEs learning system and as part of this system was the progression from short kite lines to long kite lines as experience was gained.

With the basis that 3M line length differences = 1 kite size change (2004 kites), beginners started with 4M/7M/10M Lines, Upwind/Surf recommended 13M/16M/19M line lengths, and advanced recommended 22M/25M/28M.

Enjoy the videos! Gear 4 anyone?

[crabnebula]

Most proper true trainer kites do have shorter lines



http://www.ikon-kiteboarding.com/index. ... ducts.html

Link shows a awesome trainer kite I have been using for a bit and def provides perfect learning tool with max effect and minimum fear in learning de power kite skills

And as all who have been teaching know short lines are creating a faster kit with less lift and drag to boot, meaning it is a more forgiving system for new kiters to work with....