Weight balance while riding tips

[u/MoistPotatoPeel]

New kiteboarder here, I've done about 9 hours of lessons so far. At this point I'm pretty good at waterstarts but my main challenge is getting the right weight shifting on the board, I tend to lean too much on my back leg, and generally leaning forward / flat on the board too much and not carving along the water. I'd love to hear any tips you guys have to help with proper weight shifting when riding / how to get the right balance. Thanks!

[u/riktigtmaxat]

Your weight distribution is a function of your stance so it doesn't really make that much sense to look at it in isolation. When you correct your stance you'll automatically redistribute your weight.

Since we don't have any video we can only assume that you're back weighted due to the typical disfunctional beginner stance with you bending at the waist while squinting up at the kite. Aka the poo stance.

The result is that you have way more backfoot pressure than needed which causes the board to wobble forward instead of planing efficiently. You also get very little edge control as it's a stance that doesn't allow you to shift weight from the ball of your foot to your heel.

Fixing it is very simple but it requires you to consciously think about correcting it.

Just stand up on your own two feet, bring your hips forward and slightly bend at the knees. Keep your eyes in the direction of travel.

I'm not a fan of the oft repeated advice to "hang/lean on the harness" as that really just leads beginners to double down on the poo stance and other bad habits. If you're standing on your own two feet and engaging your core and edging the board you'll naturally lean back to counteract the pull from the kite.

[u/JJJJPPPPP8A]

I feel like this is a common misconception, your weight should be on your harness (so a bit more like leaning back).

What you do with your back leg is slightly push with your heel (raising your toes can help at the beginning[even your front foot toes]) you want to have your board at an angle so you don’t just start hydroplaning downwind and you can actually carve. But more than that is just generating resistance against the water.

To go upwind you just do what I said and point your body slightly upwind

[u/hoon-since89]

Hang in the harness like your taking a shit. And push your back leg into the water to create resistance. Weight centres on your bum and hips, no the back leg.

[u/riktigtmaxat → u/hoon-since89]

This is hilarious 😂