What is a decent price to pay for lessons and how many would it normally take?
Any ideas would be great.
Depends... if you are getting a lesson for an IKO instructor it will cost more because of insurance and stuff but for a normal lesson about $140 for a 2 hour lesson with all equipment supplied. I only needed one lesson but i had wake boarded before so already had sufficient board skills.
For me i think i had 3 lessons in total, each costing 150 for 2 hours. Total of $450. That is a pretty reasonable price to pay i think, and some places will charge more, just depends. If that sounds steep its not, im so glad i had lessons when i started, cause i didnt end up with any injuries, and better still, i didnt injure anyone else.
At lesson 3 i was up on the board and away, though not any good, still up on the board, and skilled in re-launching, launching and landing safely and all the necessary theory involved, as well as a lot of body dragging and getting to no what the kite will do in different situations.
Im still pretty new at it, but its wicked, and im addicted, bad. Good luck rat, and pls, dont drown.
Lemo
P.S. I highly recommend u buy a trainer kite and fly the shi.t out of it. About the same cost as a first lesson, and u will always have it with u, if u want to show family members how to do it or friends, or if ur just at the beach and its 10 knots below what u need to get out on ur big one, u can mess around with that on the beach
See this thread
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35978
Particularly the comments from Darren (Kitehard)
Thanks for the info guys, might go for the training on land before the lesson idea, might save a few bucks that I don't have. Have done a fair bit of scurfing before so I hope that helps also.
Hey drowned rat,
those prices as mentioned above are most likely in a group environment(2 people) being standard and pretty reasonable. In that setup you will normally need 6 hours or 3 lessons if done in 2 hour blocks which comes to around 450.
heres some food for thought, make sure they are iko, and seek out one on one, Schools who teach one on one generally charge 200 or 220 for 2 or 2 and half hours respecticvely. Heres the clincher though. Because its private, the lessons move much smoother, are safer and you will generally get to the same level in 2 lots of lessons as you do in 3 lots in a group. If you do the maths you will discover its slightly(ever so slightly) cheaper and you have an instructor to yourself. I personally beleive its a sport which can only be taught properly and safely in a one on one environment(opened up a can of worms here im sure). Ill admit now that I own a school and run it in the above manner. I taught for several years previous in group format from 2 to 4 students at times but wonder why I didnt go one on one way earlier. The benefits for students and schools simply just leaves any other format in the dust.
Just food for thought.
Just my two sense.
I had one 3 hour 1-1 lesson with Kitepower. It cost 300 bucks, however they had a boat which meant I was pretty much in the water the whole time, as no dicking around walking up and down the beach. I found it sufficiant and didn't have any more. I had extensive surf & wake experience before, and flew the crap out of my trainer.
Agree with Lemo and couldn't stree enough, get a trainer, works out cheaper.
hi Rat
a couple of hours 1 on one to start with is an excellent investment.
you may also find that the kite shop where u buy your kite from will offer Free ongoing advice/training to help you progress. they are usually at the beach anyways - and can keep an eye on you - offer a few choice words of wisdom/advice to help.
this worked really well for me personally
however some newbs prefer the complete 'hand held' approach right thru to keeping upwind.
if you have previous board riding skills you may be happy to pay for a few hours instruction to learn the safety aspects, then get body dragging.
once u r on your feet the choice is yours.
More food for thought:
How can you have a lesson if your instructor isn't talking you thru stuff? Helmet speakers / loudspeakers are essential in my book.
Agree that walking up and down beach is a waste of time - choose site well (some onshore wind, not cross shore) and maybe discuss this with prospective instructor.
The 'going rate' is similar - go for value / quality is my thought.
When flying your trainer, lean back against it's pull - like you're on a board, front leg straight, back bent, hips foward (not the squat position). Note when the power comes in / out when you fly it. You can also practice 'water starts' by lying down on the grass and letting it pull you up (see DVD like Progression Beginner for basics too - I found it extremely helpful. Msg me if you'd like my copy)
Hey Foosh,
You're right, helmet radios are a great teaching tool. We have been using them for the last couple of years and they have completely changed the way we teach and the results we get.
They are essential as soon as you get up to body dragging level and beyond. As you drag away downwind, an instructor can't keep up with you which means you no longer have a clear communication with your instructor.
We can correct bad form as the lesson is progressing in "real time" whilst the student is making mistakes rather than waiting for the student to catch up with the instructor and explain the mistakes he made and then go and have another go. It cuts lesson 2 and 3 in half in respect of time taken to achieve the same results with the non radio method.
If we have radio trouble or a battery goes flat and we have to go back to the old method, even for 5 minutes whilst we change batteries, it creates stress for our instructors as we can't offer that instant calming instruction to our students to "talk them through" difficult situations, like a tangled bridle and a looping kite for instance.
For us, it's the only way to go.
Good winds,
Yep my instructor launched the kite on the beach without noticing the bottom stirring line was wrapped around the back of the kite, that was my first power loop experience and i don't remember much of his comments or advice as i was getting dragged
I actually loved it, it was obviously a bit of a stuff up but that taught me instant respect for that kite at the end of the line.
