Maui Sports Unlimited is dedicated to friendly and professional kiteboarding lessons and our ongoing ocean sports education programs. Close attention paid to every detail of the lessons so that the student receives the best experience possible. The utmost care is given to assure; comfort, quality and above all safety.
You’re in Good Hands
We are a legitimate permitted service provider with State and County Permits for commercial operations. Do not be fooled by imitators. Plus we only use experienced and Current Certified instructors. Our instructors are all qualified kiteboarding instructors and all have current Kiteboarding Instructor Certifications, all instructors also have CPR, First aid, training and Opaca training.
Maui is the Best place to Kiteboard
Kiteboarding evolved right here on Maui, and we are fortunate to be at the heart of the world’s best place to kiteboard. Maui has the most reliable wind for kiteboarding, so we get more days to ride here than anywhere else. We also have warm water to practice in too. Learning is easier when you enjoy falling in the water as much as riding on top of it. We believe that learning to kiteboard should be fun. So we take our time to ensure that you learn all the necessary skills.
How difficult is Kiteboarding?
Kiteboarding combines wind and water, so it can be a technical sport in the beginning. In our kiteboarding lessons, we explain the steps thoroughly so that you will understand the principals as well as feel in control. We know that when you feel in control, your comfort level goes way up, and you will learn much faster, and build your motivation. For a full detailed description of the learning progression, we have an entire section.
Try Kiteboarding
Day one is lots of fun and might be the beginning of your new favorite sport. Try our one-day intro to kiteboarding class, to check out the sport. After your first day you will want to do some more kiting, so we have longer courses for you too. Go day by day or book one of our longer courses. You can go 1-day up to 20-days or more, it is all up to you. There are many different options available for you, so check out the lesson packages below to see which one is right for you. Our classes are available seven days a week, at Kanaha kite beach on the north shore. There are two times per day, 10:30 am or 2:00 pm. All lessons are strictly by appointment only and must be pre-booked. So please call ahead to make a reservation.
About Our Kiteboard Lessons
If it is your first time, you are in good hands. We have the Best kiteboarding instructors and we want you to have a safe and fun learning experience. Toward this goal we offer:
* Experienced Certified instructors.
* Kiteboard safety and skills manual.
* Helmets, Vests, Shirts, & Shoes.
* The Best safety systems.
* Easy to fly 4 line “bow” kites.
* Easy to ride “twin-tip” boards.
Our Location
Our kiteboarding lesson programs are taught at world-famous Kite Beach Maui which is on the western end of the Kanaha Beach park. This North Shore location has the best wind for kiteboarding, and some long sandy beaches great for kiteboarding. Kitebeach is just 2 minutes drive from Kahului Airport. Click here for our Maps page.
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Equipment
Our school uses the best equipment available. We are fortunate to have the very latest equipment in our school. We have selected the latest and easiest equipment that will help you learn faster and safer. Do not be confused by all the different gear that is available, we will provide you with all the gear you need, select the kite sizes for you, and explain to you the different types of gear that is available. After your lessons you will have a clearer understanding of the different kite types, and which equipment you might want to buy later.
Bow Kites & Twin Tips
We use the latest Best Bow kites in our lessons. Bow kites are much safer and easier to use because you can stop whenever you want. Bow kites have 100% depower, which means you are in control, not the kite. We have all different kite sizes to suit riders of different sizes. Small people will use smaller kites, and beginners will use smaller kites than advanced riders. We also change kite sizes depending on the wind’s speed. Best Kites are the world’s most popular kite brand, and you get to test drive the latest models during your lessons.
Board Types
Twin-tips are boards that look like wakeboards or snowboards. They have foot-straps to hold your feet, and they have fins at both ends. They ride forwards and backward without having to change your foot position. These boards are the easiest boards to learn on. If you have ever snowboarded or wakeboarded, you will find the board skills very similar. Twin tips are small and compact, and stay with you when you move. These twin-tip boards are more intuitive to ride than other board types.
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Kiteboarding is a Technical sport: Kiteboarding is a technical sport, you need to master the kite before you can get into the board. “KITE-BOARDING” as the name suggests is actually 2 sports combined; Kite-Flying and Board-riding.
Kite-Boarding is a Combination sport that has two skill sets: “Kite Skills” and “Board Skills”. Some people come with pre-existing skills from say “wakeboarding” or “Power kite flying” or even “Snowkiting”, and the progression will be somewhat shorter, but this sport can also be learned by someone with no preexisting skills at all.
If this is your first board sport or first wind sport: However if this is your first board sport or first wind sport, please do not give yourself unrealistic expectations. Don’t try to be a “total kiteboarding master” in just one day. There is a definite skill set you must have to do this sport safely and without risking injury to others.
Kiteboarding is Not and Intuitive Sport: Kiteboarding is Not and Intuitive Sport, so you cannot figure it out on your own without going through a high-risk and dangerous learning cycle. People can and do have accidents teaching themselves to kite. Having instruction helps reduce the risk, However, only lessons from a Certified Professional Kiteboarding Instructor will ensure that the risk will be managed and minimized as much as possible.
Learning to kite is not just about steering the kite: Learning to kite is not just about steering the kite and getting on board, it is also about learning the common hazards, risks, and risk-avoidance measures that you can use while kiting. Professional instructors will ensure that your knowledge and risk awareness is on-par with your riding ability.
Self-taught kiters are dangerous kiters: Self-taught kiters tend to be dangerous kiters, as they do not know the limits of their abilities and they are not trained to handle the incidents and accidents that are less frequent but inevitable. Just because someone can “ride”, does not mean that they are safe.
How many Lessons Does it Take to Learn? Learning to kite is a continuum. How well do you want to kite, will determine how many lessons you need. We find that the average person should do 15 hours of training spread over 5 days (3 hours per day) This is the Classic basic Course. After this they should be able to: Assess the conditions, select the proper kite size, set up the gear correctly, launch with assistance, ride out and back, and get themselves back to shore safely, and know the safety technology, trim settings, safe weather conditions, and Emergency self-rescue procedures. These are the core Fundamentals of Sport. However, people doing this as their first sailing sport or first water sport will prefer to take a 10 day Course (30 hours of training).
Is there a faster way to learn? There is a fast track course for water-sports-people with previous sailing experience and maybe some wake-board experience. We have a 3-day Short Course (9 hours of Private training) designed for “water-sport-athletes”. This covers the very basics of: the function of the gear, and the basic gear handling. Water-sports-athletes will already have a base knowledge of: Sailing theory, wind knowledge, sail trim theory, a high degree of comfort in the water. Plus they will already have experience riding a board, like a wake-board and or windsurf board etc. They will probably have pre-existing knowledge about dangerous weather and know the sailing rules too.
Can I learn to Kite in One day? The answer is No, you can learn to steer a kite in one day, but that does not make you a kiteboarder. To be a kiteboarder you need to know how to be safe, avoid accidents, and be able to handle your kite in emergency situations, and that means you need more training under the guidance of a professional instructor. If you try to go and kite on your own, after just one-day training you will be a danger to yourself and endanger everyone around you.
Can I do a single Day Lesson? the answer is YES. you can do lessons “One day at a time”. If you are not in a hurry and do not intend on going solo, you can do your training by installments. Many people sign up for a single lesson, just to “see if they like it” and then do more lessons when they have more time/money/motivation. We also have many people passing through, who will do training for a day or two with us, and then go to another location and do more training.
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STEP 1 ? Trainer Kites & Ground SchoolWhen trying kiteboarding for the first time we will start you on the trainer kites on the land to get all your steering skills, we call this ground school. The Trainer kites are not exactly like the kites you flew as a kid. They are mini-versions of the traction kites you will be using, to give you the simulator effect to learn the skills you will be using in the water later. Our trainers can be quite powerful, with about one half to one-third of the full power you will be using later. During the ground school, you will learn about the wind, steering theory, some safety skills, and visual communication that we will be using on the water. While flying the trainers you will be assisted and guided by your instructor who will give you vital feedback and information. Using a trainer kite properly serves as a functional simulator that is programming your brain and muscles to learn the kite steering so it becomes instinctive. The first sessions are the most influential in creating the correct kiteboarding reflexes. This stage is absolutely vital to long term success, as it will become your core programming, that all other skills will be built on.
STEP 2 ?
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- Our Professional Instructors are patient and will make sure that you always have a manageable kite size, so that you will learn control and get confidence faster.
- Instructors will do a risk assessment before and during each session to ensure that safe weather, environment, and equipment is maintained.
- Instructors will also ensure that you learn to do your own risk evaluations before kiting sessions.
- They will ensure that you learn what are the safe conditions, best winds, and hazards to avoid.
- The risk assessment is knowledge and skill that every kiteboarder needs to be safe and not risk injuries to others.
- Instructors also have the skills and experience to prevent most accidents, and can intercede in dangerous situations, and do emergency rescues.
- Even with all of its safety innovations, kiteboarding is fundamentally and ostensibly an extreme outdoor sport. There is always the risk of serious injury and death.
Safety during and after Lessons: Kiteboarding training should be taken seriously. And only an adequate amount of official instruction from a trained and qualified Kiteboarding Instructor will ensure that you will receive the proper training. Proper training makes you safer during your lessons, and It also increases your safety after your lessons, when you are kiting independently on your own.
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Universal Technique: Our Kiteboarding Instructors will provide you with a tried and tested “Universal” technique, that can be safely used in the widest range of conditions and locations. We ensure that instructors only teach the “Universal Techniques” derived from the global experience of the international instructor community.
Teaching Methodology: Teaching methods are developed professionally, and rigorously tested and thoroughly proven before they are officially approved. Thousands of the world’s best kiteboarding instructors have contributed to the development and refinement of the teaching methods, and these methods are constantly re-evaluated and updated.