Riding Upwind: How to Stop Walking Back

Riding upwind is the milestone that makes you independent — technique tips, how many hours it takes, and why a flat lagoon helps.

You know the feeling. You’ve just learned to ride, you’re finally standing on the board, the kite is pulling you and you’re going. It’s amazing. Then you look at the shore and realize you’re 300 metres downwind from where you started. So you take off your board, grab the kite, and walk back. Again. And again.

This is the reality of kitesurfing until you learn to ride upwind — that is, against the wind. And it’s precisely the milestone that separates “I’m still taking lessons” from “I’m an independent rider.”

What Is Upwind Riding and Why It Matters

Upwind riding means you can return on the board to the point where you started — or even farther against the wind. It’s not a trick or an advanced technique. It’s a fundamental skill without which you can’t kitesurf independently.

Why? Because the wind always carries you downwind. If you can’t ride upwind, after every run you’ll end up farther from the start. In a lagoon, that means walking back. In open sea, it can mean trouble.

In the IKO (International Kiteboarding Organization) system, riding upwind is a core part of independent-rider level — the normal baseline for requesting rental without an instructor. It does not guarantee rental: each centre can reassess skills, local rules, conditions and equipment availability. If the terminology is new to you, our kitesurfing glossary explains the key terms.

How Many Hours Does It Take

Let’s be honest: upwind riding doesn’t come right away, and there is no fixed hour count. Physical ability, coordination, demonstrated kite control, wind and water conditions all affect when the skill becomes consistent.

Our Beginner course uses an 8-hour plan typically spread over 3–5 days. It progresses from body-drag and water-start work towards controlled riding and upwind technique, but the actual sequence follows the learner and conditions. Some demonstrate the required skills during the course; others need further coached practice. For the honest skill-by-skill version, read how long it takes to learn kitesurfing.

The important thing is not to rush. Upwind riding requires that you have the basics down — kite control, water start, stable riding. If you skip steps, you’ll only get frustrated. For the full picture of the learning path, see our guide to how to learn kitesurfing.

Technique: What You’re Actually Doing Differently

Here’s what separates riding downwind from riding upwind:

1. Board Edge

This is the most important thing. When riding upwind, you need to “edge” the board — press the edge of the board into the water. Imagine you’re snowboarding and want to brake — you tilt the board onto its edge. On water, it’s similar.

The more you load the back edge of the board (the one closer to you), the more the board will cut against the wind instead of sliding downwind. Beginners often ride with the board flat on the water — and that’s why the wind carries them downwind.

Practical tip: Push your heels down. Not your toes — your heels. The feeling should be as if you’re leaning back in a chair — weight on the heels, body slightly back.

2. Kite Position

The kite should be at approximately 45 degrees — roughly between the zenith (12 o’clock) and the horizon. Not too high (there it pulls you up, not forward), not too low (there you risk the kite falling into the water).

At 45 degrees, the kite generates pull that moves you forward and slightly upward — the ideal combination for upwind riding. Don’t sine (don’t move the kite up and down) — keep it stable in one position.

3. Lean Back

Lean back. Seriously. Most beginners are afraid to lean back because they feel like they’ll fall backward. But the kite holds you — the kite’s pull is your counterweight. The more you lean back, the more weight you transfer to the board edge and the more effectively you ride upwind.

Arms extended, body like a rope between you and the kite. Hips forward, shoulders back.

4. Look Where You Want to Go

Look where you want to go. Not at the kite, not at the board, not at the water right in front of you. Look diagonally into the wind, toward where you want to end up. The body follows your gaze — this is a fundamental principle that applies in all board sports.

When you look downwind, you ride downwind. When you look upwind, your body naturally adjusts to ride upwind.

5. Stance on the Board

The front foot (closer to the kite) should be slightly bent, the back foot (farther from the kite) more extended and pressing into the edge. Weight should be mostly on the back foot — roughly a 60/40 or 70/30 distribution.

Most Common Mistakes

Board Too Flat

You’re riding on a flat board and wondering why the wind carries you downwind. Solution: heels down, edge into the water.

Kite Too High

The kite is nearly at the zenith and pulls you up instead of forward. Solution: bring the kite down to 45 degrees.

Too Upright

You’re standing straight as a candle. Solution: lean back, let the kite hold you.

Sining

You keep moving the kite up and down instead of holding it steady. Sining generates downwind pull. Solution: park the kite at 45° and leave it there.

Not Enough Power

The kite generates too little pull and you don’t have enough force to edge. Solution: either a bigger kite or more wind. Sometimes it’s simply not about technique — it’s about conditions.

Why the El Gouna Lagoon Is Ideal for Upwind Training

Most kite spots in the world have some catch — currents, waves, limited space, deep water. The El Gouna lagoon has several key advantages for upwind training:

• Usually flat water. There is no regular shore break, but short wind chop and water movement vary. The instructor chooses the active zone from the live conditions.
• No significant current in the teaching area in typical conditions. Wind, tide and the day’s water still affect drift, so the team assesses the live situation rather than promising that anyone stays put.
• A defined shallow teaching area. The first roughly 800 m is knee-to-waist deep over sand, where learners can often stand and reset. Beyond it the lagoon becomes deeper, and depth changes with tide and conditions.
• Space. The lagoon offers 2–3 km of space. You have room to ride without worrying about hitting obstacles.
• Sandy teaching area. The first roughly 800 m teaching area is over sand, but every route still needs a live bottom, depth and traffic check; do not assume the whole lagoon is free of hard hazards.
• Broad upwind area. Our northern position gives the team room to organise riding zones; the usable area still depends on the day’s wind, water level, traffic and operating boundaries.

Find out more about the spot on our website.

What If I Already Ride but Can’t Go Upwind

Plenty of people learn kitesurfing, then don’t ride for a year or two, and when they come back, they find the upwind riding they almost had is gone. That’s normal.

We have a Refresh course for exactly this — an instructor goes through the technique with you, corrects mistakes, and helps you regain confidence. Most people ride better after a refresh than before, because we fix the bad habits they developed over the years.

Every student wears a two-way BB Talkin Bluetooth helmet, so the instructor can both talk to you and hear you in real time, right there on the water. They tell you instantly what to correct — kite position, board edge, body weight — without you ever coming back to the beach. For upwind work, that real-time, both-way coaching makes an enormous difference.

Details are on the courses page or write to us via contact.

After Upwind: What’s Next

Once you master upwind, far more independent riding opens up. It is also a common prerequisite for renting equipment, but it never guarantees a return to the launch: current, wind shifts, equipment and mistakes still matter, so self-rescue and local briefings remain essential. From there you can work on jumps, transitions and foiling.

It also changes how lessons can work. As a beginner, you shared a kite with another student — at most two students per instructor, the instructor right next to you. Once you can ride upwind, the kite becomes second nature and the instructor can coach you from a distance. According to IKO rules, a higher-level instructor can lead a group of advanced riders — each on their own kite. This is the foundation of our kite camps: a group of friends, everyone on their own kite, the instructor coaching over the helmet and focusing on technique, transitions and jumps. A completely different experience from a beginner course — and significantly more affordable per person.

Upwind riding isn’t the end of learning. It’s the beginning of real kitesurfing.

And if you’re in El Gouna and want to work on it, you know where to find us. The lagoon is waiting, the wind is blowing, and walking back is a thing of the past.