— Alexia Keller —

Learning to ride the wind and waves

Mar 31, 2023 | Monthly Misogi, Uncategorized

Learning to ride the wind and waves

Mar 31, 2023Monthly Misogi, Uncategorized

MARCH Become a kitesurfer

On March 13th, I hailed a taxi on the streets of Bangkok and set out on a 16-hour journey to reach a small island in the south of Thailand. One car, two buses and a rusty-looking ferry later, I arrived on the island of Koh Phangan, known for its beautiful beaches and infamous Full Moon Party.

As the ferry pulled into the island’s main harbour, I jumped out of my plastic seat and dashed towards the railing. Speeding around the rear of the ferry was the real reason I’d travelled all this way: a kitesurfer glided into view, swerving past the boat and heading for the nearest beach. I’d waited 8 months to try this sport again and couldn’t wait to kick off my March misogi of becoming a true kitesurfer.

A chance encounter

Not many people know this but I have a phobia of the ocean. I grew up a 15-minute drive from it, yet swimming in the sea felt more like a punishment than a treat. I’m fine on boats but show me a video of the seabed and my pulse quickens in dread. I don’t know where this fear comes from but I’m blaming the evil Ursula from the Little Mermaid. I think she traumatised my 2-year-old self. However, to be a kitesurfer, you can’t be terrified of the sea. So what changed?

A chance encounter with a Vietnamese man called Kahn on the beaches of Mui Ne in July 2022. I’d come to this small fishing village 5 hours drive from Ho Chi Minh to enjoy my last days in Vietnam by the sea. On my first day, I remember sitting on the beach watching two kitesurfers glide and jump across the ocean as though they could fly, kites stretched out above them like bird wings. I’d never seen kitesurfing before and it was mesmerising. One of them came up to me afterwards and asked if I wanted to give it a go. Baffled, I said I had no upper body strength and would just fly away. He laughed at me, introduced himself as Kahn and explained that it was all about technique, not strength. There and then, he helped me strap on the harness and launched the kite. I felt the pull of the wind for the first time and had never sensed anything like it: such power, all tethered to my waist and controlled from a handlebar. I was entranced.

Somehow, the excitement for this new sport and the concentration needed to learn the basics left little room for my irrational fear of the ocean. Just like that, I started getting over it. I cycled to that beach in Mui Ne every day for a week, staying there from morning to sunset, learning how to control the kite and do body drag under the guidance of Kahn who was a kitesurfing instructor. By the end of that week, I managed to stand up on the board but not ride it. As I left Mui Ne, I knew I wasn’t done with this sport and couldn’t wait till the next opportunity to practice it.

Koh Phangan and setting my March misogi

Becoming a kitesurfer was one of the first misogis I jotted down when I began making my list of monthly challenges to face in 2023. Since Mui Ne, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I was really excited at the prospect of pushing myself to learn how to ride but also scared that I’d been idealising the memory of kitesurfing. What if I wasn’t skilled or determined enough to become an actual kitesurfer? Despite these doubts, I knew that by trying I would at least challenge myself physically and mentally regardless of the outcome.

Kitesurfing isn’t the most accessible sport geographically or financially. The equipment is expensive to rent, it’s time-consuming to do and you have to travel to a location that has the right wind and water conditions. However, I didn’t want to brush this idea aside just because it would be complicated to organise. I’m lucky that I currently work remotely and have a lot of flexibility, so what was my excuse? Since I didn’t have one, I committed to the idea and did my research. I ended up choosing Koh Phangan because it ticked all the boxes:

  • A coast with miles of shallow, smooth waters making it ideal for beginners
  • Reasonably-priced kitesurfing lessons
  • A wind season that stretched into March
  • Relatively low living costs

Within hours of arriving on the island, I found a kite school and had my first lesson that very day. It didn’t go well. I was tired from the overnight bus journey, made a bunch of mistakes and felt as though I’d forgotten everything. Despite this, I was back the next morning and it was much better. A week later, with 10 hours of class time behind me and a multitude of advice from the amazing team of instructors at Siam Pro Kite, I was riding on my own. I’d achieved my goals of learning how to ride upwind and downwind, perform a transition (inconsistently but getting there) and gain enough confidence to go out on my own without an instructor.

Misogi met!

Kitesurfing on the coast of Koh Phangan

What kitesurfing has taught me

Perhaps the most unexpected impact of kitesurfing is how it’s helped me work on skills beyond just the physical. It has especially helped me grow in three areas: perseverance, patience and being present. 

Perseverance

Learning how to kitesurf hurts. I got sunburnt, collected many bruises and small cuts, swallowed a lot of seawater, developed allergic rashes to some seaweed on both of my legs and felt like my ribcage had been compressed into a Victorian corset. It’s tiring and making mistakes is physically punishing but somehow, I can’t bring myself to give it up. I used to be very quick at abandoning anything a little physically challenging so what was different here?

I’ve never felt strong but kitesurfing gave me that sensation from the very first time I felt the power of the wind pulling my harness taut. Learning how to manage that power with my kite has gifted me a confidence in my body’s ability that I’ve never had before. When it feels painful or difficult, I don’t only think of that sense of strength but also what it feels like when things are going great: the sensation of gliding over the ocean, leaning back on my board, wind propelling me forward and one hand brushing the spray behind me. It’s magic and I love it so much that it far outweighs the discomforts of training my body to do it. For the first time, I’ve begun to learn the meaning of perseverance.

Patience

I’m not the most patient of people and kitesurfing is really testing me in this regard. I get very easily annoyed at myself when I fail to do something that I understand in theory. You’re also completely dependent on an element that you have no control over and changes at a moment’s notice: the wind.

On one of my last days, I rented the gear from the school and went out on my own. The wind was really light so I was flying a 17-meter kite for the first time and eventually, it went down. I tried getting it back up for a good 10 minutes but it just floated limply like a dead crab on the ocean. I was losing my temper, yanking the lines trying to get it up again. One of the instructors on the shore eventually took pity on me, came over to help and told me what I was doing wrong: I was being too impatient. All I had to do was let the kite drift to a better position, gently tug a corner and wait for the wind to pick it up. No secret tricks or shortcuts. I did as he said, and eventually, the wind caught the kite and up it went. Point proven. Lesson learnt.

Being present

I have a very busy mind and a core reason I love kitesurfing is that it’s teaching me to be more present by focusing on a single thing at a time. 

When you’re still getting to grips with the basics, you need that focus to control all the small movements that have to eventually become instinctual, such as the angle of your board, body position or tension of your kite. During my second lesson, another kitesurfer I’d met sped past me and shouted words of encouragement. I looked his way, grinned and before I knew it, felt my kite swerve dangerously low to the water’s surface. It nearly crashed simply because I lost focus for half a second. Next time, I didn’t let my concentration slip.

Once you start getting more comfortable though, your focus changes to enjoying the moment. There’s something very calming about kitesurfing because even if others are doing it around you, you’re in your own bubble. There are no other sounds than the wind and water, you’re free to do what you want and focus on your next move. One of the most magical moments I experienced was during my last week on the island. I was the only one out on the water that day due to the low wind. As I got ready for a water start, I noticed a small eagle gliding beside my kite straight above me. As I set out, it flew beside the kite for quite a while and I felt so calm and undistracted, simply marvelling at the experience. I was truly and fully present at that moment. A quiet and grateful mind. 

Till next time

Kitesurfing has taught me a lot and I know that I can apply these learnings beyond the practice of the sport. Although I might not be able to kitesurf often, I can’t wait to see the places it’ll bring me and the new skills I’ll learn. I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to fulfil this March misogi. 

The community I’ve found in kitesurfing has also been very special. Everyone I met, in Mui Ne last year and Koh Phangan this month, has been really friendly, encouraging and passionate. It’s such a privilege to have become part of that. As someone who’s not done a lot of sports in the past, that type of fellowship is a new experience. From swapping stories and drawing scenarios in the sand to asking for advice and being given tips for riding upwind, getting to share this passion with other kitesurfers makes it so much more fun. 

I can’t wait till the next time!

Alexia K.

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