It is not every day that one uses their quick release - some might never have even used it after years of kiteboarding. Though does this mean one should not learn how to use or self rescue themselves? No.

Many people when they think of kiteboarding they are solely focused on learning how to get up riding and jumping. They do not think or really want to be bored with the theoretical or safety aspect of the sport. This is because it generally looks “effortless” when they see others riding and they might have never seen anyone ever need to rescue themselves or release in an emergency. With all this social reinforcements they don’t think they should learn it.

Just like scuba diving or skydiving training; it is important to be ready for the worst even if the chance of it happening is slim. So how do we prepare people for the worst? This is by teaching theory as well running controlled simulations.

Should students learn how to use their quick release the first day? A good IKO Instructor teaches the student to use the quick release twice on day one, one time in simulation when setting up the material and another time later when activating the quick release in flight and self landing the kite after.  

This should be repeated several times over the whole course and practiced always to strengthen muscle memory. Most serious accidents in kiteboarding happen, because the day something does happen, people stress over an uncommon situation, and fail to quick release since is not in the muscle memory. They trigger a natural reflex and start pulling on the bar and doing the fetus position which makes things worse.

A wise kiter will always activate his quick release and reset it before going out. This helps ensure the quick release function is working and reminds the kiter of this safety function that should be taken seriously as it is life saving.  

Do you have any stories to share about how the quick release once saved you?