Learning to Buggy Tuition – Bigkid Kites

My friend Jeff aka BigKidKites, from across the pond, uses a great set of instructions when he teaches new pupils the ways of the kite buggy, I think there are some important lessons within these rules, that some of us may forget when teaching newbies….well worth a read in my opinion, I will certainly try to remember these points next time I try to teach someone.

BIGKIDS KITES  Buggy/Kite School

Note from Jeff :- Keep in mind this is only to get a person into the sport with as little frustration and the basic understanding to enjoy the sport and thats it, or continue onto racing or what ever. As with any teacher, geographic location, students desire and skill level, and desired end result of skills, this attachment is only a guide line as to the things I teach. Each student is unique and requires a different approach to learning and as I stated, only a guide line

In addition to the everyday safety regulations, Manufacturers posted warnings, and most of all, common sense, these are the items that are dealt with in learning to kitebuggy.

This is to help in learning the BASIC KITEBUGGY skills in order to introduce you to an Extreme Sport with as little time in learning and as safe as possible.

Safety

• In addition to the safety aspects the kite manufacturers include with every kite they sell, we will add a few of our own depending on your understanding, location and skill.

Setup

• How to setup and put away the kite. Where to setup and put away the kite.

Kite Skills

• After the setup, we will show how to perform the basic maneuvers and how to operate the kite with the buggy.  The need to show these skills to us is required in order to get into the buggy. You will be required to launch the kite and then without seeing the kite, park it at the Zenith, fly it to the right side and hold it there for 5 seconds, fly the kite to the left side and hold it there for 5 seconds, and then back to the Zenith. For a total of 3 times.
• WITHOUT THE KITE TOUCHING THE GROUND, WHILE YOUR EYES ARE COVERED. With this skill you will be able to work on you buggy skills without working on your kite skills.

Safety Gear

• You will be introduced to helmets, gloves, eye protection, body padding and foot wear.

Buggy

• You will be introduced to the different buggies and abilities of each one.
• Your teaching will begin with a pair of handles/bar attached to a teacher in place of a real kite. You will operate the handles/bar as if you were flying a real kite. As you learn what to do and what not to do the teacher will literally pull you along until you have the understanding of the wind in relationship to the buggy and yourself. When you are able to perform the basic moves with the kite and the buggy with the teacher such as launching, right down wind turn, left downwind turn, parking, up wind slowing down, scrubbing off speed, and emergency stopping, and landing the kite, and exiting the buggy,  you will be able to perform these skills with a real kite.
• After a bit of verbal help in fine tuning a few things you will be able to solo. After you have proven you’re able to perform each step, we will gladly move to the next one. After you have practiced and as you progress, there are more skills that you can learn to make you buggy experience even more enjoyable. Everyone learns and progresses at different rates while some just won’t make it. We will do everything possible to help you learn.
• The use of a harness will be allowed only after you have proven you understand the ramification of the harness and the different styles. Tuning and setup of the buggy will be explained, and if you need help in performing this on your buggy we will be happy to help.

 

As with all teaching, this is only a guide. We are not responsible for how you use this guide or not use this guide.

Read all of the instructions that come with your kite and buggy.  We hope you use due caution, obey the local laws, and keep yourself and others safe.

 

Thank you Jeff for sharing these fine teaching instructions with us

This entry was posted on Monday, September 16th, 2013 at 8:39 am. It is filed under Information and tagged with Jeff aka BigKidKites, Learning to Buggy, Tuition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.