Kiteboarding, the Most Exciting Sport on Water

 

Extreme sports keep getting wilder. Just a couple of decades ago, people looked at snowboarding and skateboarding as the craziest adrenaline sports out there. Today, those two boardsports look timid in comparison to the latest incarnation of shred: kiteboarding. Combining several disciplines, including windsurfing, surfing, and wakeboarding, this exciting new activity is sweeping across the globe, gaining popularity every year.

You won't believe it, but that's not all: athletes are starting to take the sport off of water and onto land, with folks carving surfaces as varied as snow, concrete, and sand. Kiteboarding has been in development since the days of the ancient Chinese, and it's high time for you to check out what it's all about.

Regardless of what surface you're kitesurfing on, you'll be harnessing the power of nature to create the force that will send you flying. Remember your childhood days of flying kites? Bring back those long forgotten skills to soar through the air. At its core, the sport is beautifully simple: it's just you, your equipment, and the wind, all coming together to create a perfect combination.

As we mentioned before, while kiteboarding is a whole new ballgame, its origins definitely aren't. After all, sailors have been harnessing the wind for thousands of years to move across oceans. The theory here is the same; the only difference is that the kite is attached by a line, rather than directly to the object being pulled.

Today's sport really got its start in the 1970's, with the invention of Kevlar. That's right: the same material you'll find in bulletproof vests is one of the secrets behind the tech that makes kiteboarding possible. This material picks up enormous amounts of power across the span of the fabric, while weighing virtually nothing. The result, of course, is a huge amount of uplift, capable of sending riders soaring more than thirty feet into the air.

It wasn't until 1997, however, that the sport really took off. That year two French brothers, Bruno and Dominique Legaignoux, developed an inflatable design augmented by a simple wing-tip bridle system. It was this new incarnation that made water launching possible, opening up an entirely new world of excitement.
In barely more than a decade since that breakthrough, kiteboarding has spread across the face of the globe. Its popularity is easily explained, for a couple of reasons.

1. It's awesome: nothing more needs to be said about that.

2. There's not all that much necessary to get started.

Once the equipment is purchased, it's just a question of finding the right place to learn, and the right instructor to teach you.

Of course, we should probably take a step back for a sec. Like any other sport, kiteboarding comes with its own set of risks (right alongside the rewards). An experienced kiteboarder never discounts the awesome power of the wind. When that force slams you against the water (or worse, a building or the sand), the effect can be devastating.

As long as you keep a healthy appreciation for the dangers, you'll do just fine. With some practice, anyone in decent physical shape can learn to shred on a kiteboard. The benefits are easy to spot: great fun, great exercise, and the opportunity to try something completely new. Head to the nearest body of water to get started today!