What to Expect at Your First Kite Lesson – Step by Step

What happens during your first kitesurfing lesson? Theory, kite control, bodydrag, waterstart. A detailed step-by-step breakdown of instruction at Kitepower El Gouna.

Feeling nervous before your first kite lesson is completely normal. You don’t know what to expect, the kite looks enormous, and everyone around you seems like they’ve been doing it forever. So let’s walk through exactly what’s going to happen — no surprises.

Before You Even Start

You arrive at our centre, where your instructor greets you. First, you’ll cover the basics — how the wind works, what you’ll be doing, and most importantly, what to do if something goes wrong. It’s not a boring hour-long lecture — more like fifteen to twenty minutes of practical information.

You’ll receive all the equipment: a harness (the belt around your waist that connects you to the kite), a two-way BB Talkin Bluetooth helmet, a vest, and a wetsuit depending on the season. In summer (April–October), boardshorts or a rashguard are enough; in winter (November–March), you’ll wear a full, long wetsuit. Everything is included in the course — you don’t need to arrange anything yourself. (For the full kit walkthrough, see what to wear and bring kitesurfing.)

Phase 1: Theory and Safety (on the Beach)

It all starts on dry land. The instructor will explain:

The wind window — this is the key concept. Imagine a quarter sphere in front of you. The kite moves within this space, and depending on where it is, it pulls more or less. At the edge of the window (above your head) it pulls the least; in the middle (directly in front of you) it pulls the most. Understanding this principle is the foundation of everything. If you want to read it up first, here’s how the wind window works.

Safety systems — every kite has at least two ways to disconnect. The first is the quick release on the harness — one motion and the kite loses most of its pull. The second is a complete disconnect — the kite falls into the water and generates zero pull. You’ll practise this several times before you even go into the water. It has to be automatic.

Signals — how to communicate with the instructor on the water. Thanks to the two-way helmet you and your instructor can simply talk to each other, but basic hand signals are still good to know as backup.

Phase 2: Kite Control (Shallow Water)

We don’t park beginners on the beach all day flying a trainer kite — at Kitepower you go straight into the water, because that’s where you actually learn. After rigging and the safety briefing on the sand, you head into the shallows. In El Gouna, that means standing in water up to your knees or waist. The instructor hooks you up with a full-size kite (sized to the conditions and your weight).

You start by learning to steer the kite — up, down, left, right. You fly it in the safe zones of the wind window where it doesn’t pull too hard. The goal is to be able to send the kite wherever you want and keep it stable.

This is the phase where a lot of people say “this is easier than I expected.” And they’re right — basic kite control isn’t complicated. What’s complicated is doing it automatically while you’re doing five other things at the same time. But that comes later.

Because you’re standing in shallow water, there’s no stress. If the kite does something unexpected, you just let go of the bar, the kite drops into the water, and you’re calmly standing there. Try doing that in two-metre waves.

Phase 3: Power Stroke and Bodydrag

Once you can steer the kite, it’s time to discover its power. The instructor teaches you the power stroke — a quick sweep of the kite through the power zone. The kite pulls you through the water. At first just a few metres, then progressively more.

Next comes bodydrag — being pulled through the water by the kite without a board. You lie on the water, the kite flies, and you glide across the surface. It looks simple and usually it is. Bodydrag serves to help you:

1. Understand how the kite generates pull and how to control the direction of that pull
2. Learn to retrieve your board from the water (because it will occasionally drift away)
3. Master self-rescue — getting back to shore with the kite and without a board

At Kitepower, body-drag drills use the first roughly 800 m knee-to-waist-deep sandy teaching area when conditions suit. Learners can often stand and reset within that area; depth changes with tide and daily conditions.

Phase 4: Waterstart and Your First Metres

This is the moment everyone’s been waiting for. You get the board. The instructor shows you how to put it on your feet in the water, how to position yourself correctly, and how to combine the kite’s pull with getting up on the board.

The waterstart is technically the most demanding part of the entire learning process. You have to simultaneously:

• Keep the kite in the correct position
• Have the board on your feet at the right angle
• Execute a power stroke at the right moment
• Shift your weight to the back foot
• Let yourself be pulled out of the water
• And not panic

Sounds like a lot of things at once? It is. That’s why it usually doesn’t work on the first try. Or the second. But somewhere around the fifth to tenth attempt — click. Suddenly you’re standing on the board and riding. Three metres, five metres, splash. But those three metres are pure euphoria.

And right at that moment, the instructor says through your helmet: “Excellent! Now the same thing, but keep the kite a bit higher.” Instant, two-way feedback that without the BB Talkin helmet would have come five minutes later back on the beach — by which time you’d have forgotten the feeling.

How Much You’ll Cover in a Day

A standard day with us includes two water sessions, each about 1.5 hours. That’s roughly 3 hours on the water per day. Between sessions, there’s a break for lunch and rest. With a maximum of two students per instructor, you get genuine attention on every run.

Why not more? Because kitesurfing is physically demanding. After three hours on the water, you’ll be more tired than you’d expect — especially your arms, back and legs. And a tired person makes mistakes and learns more slowly. Better to do three quality hours well-rested than five ineffective ones while exhausted.

What to Bring

Not much, really. We provide all the equipment. You need:

• Swimwear — you probably have that covered
• Sunscreen — high SPF, the Egyptian sun doesn’t mess around
• Water shoes — recommended, there are occasional shells on the bottom
• Sunglasses — for the beach between sessions
• Water — available at the centre, but having your own bottle is practical
• A good mood — can’t do without it

What You’ll Take Away from Your First Lesson

By the end of day one, you’ll know how to steer the kite, you’ll have mastered the safety systems, you’ll have done bodydrag — and, conditions permitting, your first water starts. If the first metres don’t come on day one, they come on day two — no stress.

Most importantly, you’ll know whether kitesurfing is for you. Kitepower’s school history dates to 2004, the current northern base has operated since 2016, and about 8 in 10 of our guests return. That return rate is context, not a promise about any one student’s reaction or progress.

The full Beginner course is 8 hours, typically spread over 3–5 days. The plan progresses from body-drag and water-start work towards controlled riding, but wind, fitness and demonstrated skills set the pace. Your included IKO certification records the level you actually achieve; course hours do not guarantee independent-rider status or automatic rental access. For the detailed progression, read how long it takes to learn kitesurfing.

See full details on our Beginner course page, or browse all kite courses — and you can reserve your spot through online booking.

And if you have any questions beforehand — just reach out via contact. We’re happy to explain everything.