Is it harder for women to learn kitesurfing?
 

In all the years that I have been teaching, I noticed that women usually show significantly more feeling for the kite and the “hows” and “whys”. It’s a fact that the guys tend to learn faster, especially concerning the waterstart and the riding – cause they don’t give a sh.. and just do it without worrying too much. Anyway, you have to challenge every student at whatever stage they may be. So I try to alleviate the womens’ fears through explaining them the background, helping them to judge situations correctly and of course, to motivate them all the time. Which mostly works very well – cause as long as a student knows what to do in a situation there’s no need to be afraid! And as soon as the ladies notice that they got the knack and just need to trust themselves there’s no way to stop them anymore!
 

What can the participants in your camp expect there?
 

I really wanted to organize a camp, especially for female kiteboarding beginners to challenge all these clichés. To give motivated and fun-loving girls and women the possibility to get in touch with our great sport in a relaxed atmosphere, in a lagoon with constant winds, in summery temperatures without a wetsuit and all these knick-knacks! Such conditions make it way easier to progress. And by the way, there’s something I forgot – an argument that might be interesting for women, haha: In addition to all the other benefits of kitesurfing it’s for sure one of the best training for abdos, legs, buttocks and thighs)
 

What about your personal kitesurf beginnings?
 

I think I had the same problems that many women have. I had lots of respect for the kite and the risks. I learned with constantly changing conditions, partially super strong winds and choppy water at the Neusiedlersee. In the beginning, I really thought that I would never ever be able to learn this! At that time there haven’t been a lot of female instructors who could have given me some positive input. Had I known at that time what I know now – how to properly start, and that as a kite instructor you need to communicate differently with women than with men – I would have learned faster, for sure.
 

If you are interested in participating in one of Theresa's camps or coachings check out her website: www.sevenseasriders.at
 

This article originally appeared at Kitejoy.
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