I am starting to go upwind and am experimenting with:
- how far to angle my board upwind,
- where to balance my weight,
- leg bending and pressure on different feet,
- kite position (high,low),
- body position,
- etc...
Can any experienced kiters give some tips that helped them master going upwind regarding these points.
* I know bigger boards are helpful so need to discuss this point
Cheers
* Try and rotate your hips in the direction you're going. IE. If you're going left, twist your hips left. The flow on effect from this is it makes you point the board further upwind.
* You need enough power to go upwind. If you're underpowered, you might not get there.
* If you've got plenty of power, keep your kite low. This will help you edge harder than if your kite is up high.
* Bigger boards might help in lighter winds, but if you're powered up it can work against you. You get to a point where you have too much kite power to be able to successfully edge the bigger board.
* Apply pressure to your back foot to control your speed. IE. If you're speeding up too much and going downwind, push harder with your back foot to drive upwind and reduce your speed. Keeping your kite low also helps with this.
* Practice practice practice 
There's no substitute for time on the water. You'll eventually get the 'feel' for it.
Hi Maverick,
I'm pretty new to kitesurfing like yourself, and so far i figured that the strength of the wind makes big difference. The stronger and more consistent the wind, the easier to go upwind. I don't think you really keep your kite low and fully downwind. Because you are going in upwind direction, your kite will be more like on a 45% (or more) angle from the downwind position, hence it shouldn't have too much power to pull you downwind. So essentially, even though the kite is low, it's really moving upwind. I'm not sure if i'm explaining this technically correct, but i'm just trying to convey what i've experienced on my last session. And keeping it low definitelly helped. Also, how much back you lean with your body depends on the wind strength. On medium winds (like on monday for example), i found that i was leaning about 30-45% from the vertical body position, but the key was in my feet angling the board when going upwind.
Hey Mate,
All valid points mentioned. There are a few other things that could help you progress a bit faster. It's all in the hips, keep a nice straight back and don't lean forward (poo stance). Take your forward hand off the bar and move your shoulders facing forward in the direction you going. Depends what kite you fly, if it's a bow/SLE, in enough wind instead of powering up and edging harder, depower your kite a little and this will move the kite to the edge of the window, thus pulling in a more favourable angle and you can manage under a lower speed. Not too much though. Try and keep your kite at a 45 degree angle and before you know it you will wonder why you ever asked this question.
Let us know how it goes.
There's no substitute for time on the water. You'll eventually get the 'feel' for it.
Don't think I qualify as an "experienced kiter" yet, but its a good topic to cover at the start of the season, because once you can go upwind then the real riding starts, and you'll need this skill in order to regain ground after waveriding, jumps, crashes, etc.
IMHO, there are no hard and fast rules for going upwind , as the technique changes depending on how powered you are.
The way I get upwind at the lower end of my kites wind range is different to how I get upwind in the mid range, and different again from going upwind at the top end of the range. (75kg 135x40 tt, Cab SB2 8m and SB3 12m)
Low end (eg. 13-15kn on a 12m): get heaps of speed on a reach, have the kite at about 45 degrees, put some pressure on the front foot to get max rail-length in the water, and then very slowly increase your upwind angle just a little bit without dropping speed. Keep the kite somewhat sheeted out to keep it forward in the window and flying fast. Trick here is to go upwind at a shallow angle but fast.
Mid-range (15-20kn on a 12m) - get lots of speed, edge hard, lots of back foot pressure, get the kite down below 45 degrees and power it up and then search for your best angle while keeping speed high. Use your knees like shock absorbers to keep the rail in contact with the water. As others have said, rotate your hips, let go with 1 hand if you like, etc.
Top end (20-25kn on a 12m): as for the mid range technique except the speed is kept lower, and the kite is kept higher, both in order to manage power so that you don't get too much speed. When really maxxed out you'll find that you can go upwind quite well at a pretty slow speed with the kite quite high. From a safety point of view though, if you have a smaller kite then better off changing down.
Andy
might have been said but dont over sheet your kite, it falls too far back in the window other wise.
i reckon that is wrong advice from granini. i would advise that you don't lock your front leg straight, keep it a little bit bent or you will blow your knee out as soon as you hit any chop
you go where you look. map out ur desired upwind path in ur head and you will track it.
lets get real tho. dont look strait into the wind cos thats not gonna work. its to do with head positioning which aligns the whole body for a good upwind position.
No worries mate, its actually a better term than 'power' and 'de-power', because the power generated by the kite is also in relation to the kite speed so you can slash it around fully de-powered and get more power than if the kite is stationary then you pull the bar in..... Does that make any sense... Dunno
if you have too much power you will just get dragged downwind try de-powering the kite if poseble
Thanks guys for all your input - certainly is invaluable to me and potentially other starters who are at getting to the upwind stage.
Another question: I find that often there seems to be too much power and I dragged downwind. When this happens is it best to just raise the kite to 12 and wait till finished being dragged downwind OR is best to dig your back heel in to stop being dragged downwind?
Guys I am now getting upwind - tips have helped a lot!
Another question: when riding in choppy questions I seem to not be able to go upwind as well when riding in direction away from beach (against/over the chop) compared to when I am riding towards beach where I seem to be able to go much more upwind.
Is this because of the small loft from the chop causing me to lose ground when travelling against the chop; and do others experience the same thing?
Don't forget about the currents. If you are more powered up and going up wind more one direction than the other, it is generally because you are travelling out against the current, and returning to the beach riding with the current, or other way round. When you are riding against the current you will be more powered up than the other way. When you are travelling with the currents depending how strong they are you can knock off a few knots off your speed and power, therefore you will lose ground. Also you were right about the chop, everytime your board breaks an edge you will lose ground.
Don't over-work your kite - every time you bring your kite high it's dragging you downwind ie dive your kite aggressively at the edge of the window and lock it off as early as possible.
Cheat by using a foil to drag you upwind 
Going upwind on a wind powered craft without a rudder is all about centre of effort and centre of resistance. The centre of effort is provided by the traction of the kite (ie direction of pull). The centre of resistance is the lateral resistance in the water of the kiteboard (ie edge and fins). To go upwind, the centre of effort should be slightly towards the back of the board, and the centre of resistance slightly towards the front of the board. Reverse the relationship to go downwind.
Kite low and forward in the window - optimally you may achieve a direction of effort 45 degrees off the wind direction. The board should be constantly planing and edging hard. Remember that anytime you are not powered and planing you are going downwind. Head, shoulders and hips face the desired course. Try holding the bar a couple of inches slightly towards the back of the board. Heavy chop complicates the issue. Legs should be used like shock absorbers. On the face of the chop let the board come up, then push down in the trough to accelerate (otherwise you will do small downwind hops). Definitely do not lock your front leg (unless your health insurance policy includes knee replacements!) Especially important if you have dodgy knees. Keep your quads strong and squat through the chop.
The pressure on the front foot/back foot requires dynamic adjustment unless the water is buttery smooth - only time spent on the water will give you the feel for this.
You will always go harder upwind on one tack than the other cos of:-
Direction of chop/waves
Direction of ocean currents
Your dominant side (left foot forward for me) - the ability to smoothly hold the edge.
Put effort into learning fast efficient transitions also - sloppy changes of direction can sacrifice all of the ground you made on the upwind beat.
With modern equipment (ie bow/sigma kites and wood cored boards) going upwind is simple if the wind is strong enough
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