<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere’s no minimum or maximum age for kitesurfing. As I’ve mentioned, upper body strength is not a factor. Children as young as 5 can start kiting as long as they have the minimum weight required. Older people with good coordination and balance, sufficient core strength and lower body stamina, can also practice kitesurfing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen you look at the kitesurfing population at most local spots on an average weekend, you see a lot of people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s cruising back and forth. Riders in their 20s are typically into freestyle, that is high jumps and tricks. Freestyle generally requires a higher level of fitness, mobility, flexibility, and ability to take hits than regular navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Older people are more likely to kitesurf in less extreme conditions, e.g. in steady winds in the 15-25 range and relatively flat water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Can people of any fitness level kitesurf?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nI’ve mentioned upper body strength, weight, and height, and age are not very relevant factors in determining whether or not kitesurfing is for you. But how about general fitness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although many schools like to make it sound like a walk in the park, the truth is kitesurfing is an endurance sport. While most people without major health issues should be able to learn to fly and control a kite on the beach, getting into the water, getting up on that board, and then riding upwind for long durations does require some serious stamina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what exactly are we talking about? For one thing, you need to be able to stand on your kiteboard and stay up while your kite is pulling you at the waist. This requires good balancing skills<\/strong> to make up for the forward pull in your harness which tends to drag you off your board.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTo make things harder, the wind is rarely constant, which means the amount of pull on your waist varies a lot every second. You need to constantly adjust your balance to remain standing on your board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To master the difficult exercise of maintaining constant tension in your lines and traction on your harness to build up speed, you have to continuously extend your legs and push against your board using your glutes, quads, and calves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, you pull back into your harness using your core muscles to help maintain that tension in the lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doing this for hours on end can be exhausting. Most healthy people build up the muscles for it as they go, making their kitesurfing sessions increasingly longer. Be aware, though, that a minimal level of endurance and fitness, similar to running on a treadmill, will help a lot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNote that the initial learning process itself requires some physical endurance, as your kite will keep throwing you around in the water, and until you’re able to ride upwind you’ll find yourself walking back endless against the strong wind while your kite pulls you in the opposite direction…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Can people with all mental capabilities kitesurf?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nBy “mental capability” I’m not referring to people with a mental handicap, but rather to mental skills, an aspect rarely mentioned when assessing people’s ability to kitesurf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kitesurfing is in some aspects similar to drumming: it requires very good coordination skills.<\/strong> Of course, you build these skills over time, and kitesurfing schools have processes to help you achieve this. However, you do need to have at least some amount of natural coordination skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat kind of coordination are we talking about? You basically need to do two things at the same time when you kitesurf :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Controlling your kite with your hands\/arms\/body position<\/li>
- Controlling your board with your legs\/feet\/body position<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Both may quickly react to the smallest movement or position change you make (depending on your kite and board types). Learning the right positions and movements for controlling each requires good mental skills. <\/strong> Some people naturally have it, while others don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI started learning to kitesurf at the same time as a good friend of mine. While my learning evolution was on par with other learners around me, my friend kept slamming his kite onto the sand, then into the water. He quickly gave up kitesurfing as he felt he wasn’t wired up for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, he may have been able to overcome this and teach his body anyway. But I guess he felt it was too much work for him – in contrast, he’s a very good tennis player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just be aware of that, not everyone has the mental and body coordination<\/strong> necessary to learn kitesurfing – it may require a lot more effort for some people. Determination<\/strong> is another fundamental factor that will help you become a kiteboarder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n