Hi all,
I'm new to kiting (started in November last year), and am seriously hooked. I live in St Kilda Vic, and have been going out as much as possible after work. I now can go upwind, ride toeside/do carving turns and can get some air.
One thing which is on my mind however with kiting is how well it treats your body. Does anyone have any first hand experience, or is there any studies out there on long term kiting injuries/complications? Whenever I go for a ride my knees, ankles and back seem to take a hammering, and it kind of feels good after (as if it's been a solid work out), however something about kiting makes me feel like I'll struggle when I'm older if I keep it up. Will it destroy my knees, or will I have a shockingly bad back? Anyone been kiting for more that 15-20+ years?
I'm still in my late 20's, have been surfing most of my life. I see a lot of guys in their 60s still surfing well, and I like to think surfing is a sport which is quite good for the body long term. I'm hoping kiting is something similar!
Get a Shinn monk and your knee problems will be gone. I use to come home after each session (about and hour or two) almost unable to walk the next day and now it's fine. I'm in mui ne vietnam at the moment which is one of the choppiest places I've kited and I've been out for the last 3 days and my knees are still going strong.
Just keep active and using your body, will see you through. Yeah tougher pastimes can be hard on your body but so can doing nothing. Kiting is a sport where you can go as hard as you want.
If you're worried take it easier.
As a slightly elder statesman, (about to turn 54) I have been going at it hard my whole life. Life long surfer, started in 1970, been a professional snow skier where I went at it VERY hard, and now kiting for the last 5 years and loving every minute of it. I have had plenty of injuries, blown acl, torn cartilage, torn medial, torn meniscus, broken bones, torn achilles, etc all from sporting injuries. All took time to rehab, but all are as good as new. The key to recovery and keeping injury free for me was yoga, as well as a healthy state of mind. I have a "use it or lose it" mentality, and I am as strong or stronger now than when I was in my thirties. Having a healthy lifestyle helps alot, the foods you eat, drinking in moderation etc. It is a whole approach to good health and healing. Kiting has helped develop more core strength in a fun way than anything I have ever done. It is the one sport that I can see anyone doing well into old age. You are able to go as hard as you want, or just mow the lawn. Just get out there and keep doing it.
As per the suggestion of a different board, that is good advice too. Different tools for different jobs. Enjoy your life. It's all a dream ;)
Kiting is one of those sports that is as easy or as hard as you want it to be.
As you get older you'll just have to turn it down a notch each now and again.
There was a guy at my local a few years back who was in his mid 70's and going strong!!
Long term phsycological issues if I couldn't kite,
Better regretting thing you have done than things you havnt
Almost 64
eat too much
drink too much
kite too much
s-x too much
loving every moment
no moderation-saving it for the afterlife
20,s
you have a long way to go
enjoy
shinn will save you 15g knee replacement re noodel comment
Ditto what these guys above have said basically, I started when I was 20, now 33. If your the kind of guy that goes flat out and smashes into chop after chop, jumps and lands on wave faces flat out, then you probably will get hurt but probably nothing long term - more like sprained ankles or fractures / tprn muscles
I have got not a great back, with injuries from work - but I have never injured it kiting.
use it or loose it !
As others have said. You can kite as hard or as soft as you like. Board selection is also key.
Flex at the tips, reasonable rocker will give you a smoother ride. Look for soft foot pads. Technique can make a big difference, smashing or slicing through chop.
Kite selection will help too. Some kites drop you hard and fast and some land you soft as a feather. Again technique will save you more than equipment.
Make a decisions based on risk V reward. If it fun? will i get injured if i stuff it up? is it worth it? If the answer is yes do it, if no don't do it.
Personally i think kiting is very good for the body. It keeps you active, gives you a super strong core and is very low risk and high reward compared to other sports.
As an example. I can boost as high as I can blaze through the air for maybe 50+ meters and if i stuff up the landing 99% of the time its simply a splash down in the water no injury. If I attempt a 10m jump (1/5th the size) on my mountain bike and stuff that jump up 100% of the time it will hurt and chances of going to hospital are very high.
So these days I flag the 10m jumps on the mountain bike and boost as massive as the wind allows when I kite.
Certain disciplines of kiting are harder on the body. Wake style for example. Real hard on the knees. You just need to look at the number of pro's in there 20's rolling with knee braces. Megalooping also another side of the sport than hammers mistakes.
58 years old. Been kiting 15 years. Obsessively at first. A little more selective these days.
I used to have chronic low back problems (from before kiting). The back pain has gone and I credit the flexing and strengthening of kiteboarding for fixing that. Mostly from riding toeside a lot and using a waist harness.
Thing is, when you get experienced your technique gets really good. You can do huge boosts and silky soft landings. I ride directionals almost exclusively these days. If I get tired or bored I can switch feet or change riding styles or a different board or whatever.
I am carrying some injuries at the moment (from other sports). The thing about injuries is they don't come from big moves. They come from minor oopses.
The more kiting you do, the more you will include a better diet, a bit of gym and lots of aerobic exercise ... just so you can do more kiting!!! As long as you keep up a moderate amount of exercise, and don't eat every night at Red Rooster, you will last. Running around the park, or at the beach if the wind ain't in, and squats, BTW. I do more exercise in winter, because in WA it's too bloody hot at other trimes. Oh, get a pushie and use the f#cker. Most damage is done when you do sweet FA all winter and then go and smash a bucket of sessions as soon as you get off the couch, or crawl from the fridge, towards wherever you last stashed your gear...
This is my 15th season... now over 60. I found non-kiting is more detrimental for mental health, then kiting to physical health.
As to knees and ankles I found they get stronger with increased use. What problematic is the vibration transferred from the board (like it is with tennis elbow). With a twinnie it is not a problem due to the thick cushioning. On a surfboard I put a 10mm+ layer medium density closed cell foam under the pads. It is a treat to my knees in a long session on choppy Perth waters.
