Kiteboarding's Simple Plan (Paperback)

by John J. Holzhall (Author)
Key Phrases: kite clock, equal hand pressure, opposite power zone, Action Sports Maui, National Weather Service, Bay Watch (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
When entering the sport of kiteboarding it is crucial that the rider have a simple plan in place prior to launching a kite. After reading Kiteboarding's Simple Plan The Book, the rider should have a basic idea of how to formulate his "simple plan" to kiteboarding which, when properly used, will increase the enjoyment of the sport, while decreasing the damage to the rider, his gear and those around him.

Having a plan for kiteboarding is important. Effectively applying that plan in different places, conditions, and with equipment is the key to continued riding success and enjoyment. With professional instruction, lots of water time, good winds, great gear and this book, developing your personal kiteboarding plan should be filled with fun and "next level" excitement.

Aloha & Mahalo,
John Holzhall

About the Author
Since the dawn of kiteboarding, Instructor-Trainer John Holzhall has been developing Kiteboarding's "simple plan". Countless days of personal training, along with logging over 10,000 instructional hours in Maui's challenging conditions, helped provide him with the answers to safe kiteboarding. A steady stream of international kiteboard enthusiasts and rider's has put those answers to the test. The result...Kiteboarding's Simple Plan, The Book.

John makes his home on Maui. Teaching and offering instructor training continue to be part of his busy schedule. When he's not touring, teaching, or riding, he is working with print and film media.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155395081X
• ISBN-13: 978-1553950813
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #339,428 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kiteboarding's "A litte too" Simple Plan, December 6, 2003

By A Customer

I had a season of kiteboarding under my belt when I picked up this book. By the end of the season, I could maintain upwind ground pretty well, but actually getting upwind was still elusive. I had been reading Kiteboarding magazines feverishly and was excited to see someone had written a whole book on the subject. I was hoping for some good tips in such a concentrated source of kiteboarding knowledge.
I don't know how much money it takes to write a book that will be sold to such a small niche audience, but it seems that costs were contained by sending the book to press without it being edited. Their were-many annoying punctuation, errors not too mention sentences that were entirely to long with little continuity between paragraphs and peppered with a lot of slang probably in efforts of making the book cool. I didn't even know that this kind of thing bothers me until I picked up this book -probably because everything else I read HAS been edited fairly well.

I'm guessing that another cost cutting measure was the money saved not hiring a graphic designer to create diagrams that should have accompanied detailed descriptions of body position, wind direction and kite steering maneuvers. There were plenty of times that after I read a description of something I already knew how to do well I thought to myself "I can't see how a beginner will make ANY SENSE of this!" In the book's 278 pages I counted a whopping less than 10 diagrams.

Anyway with all that being said, if anything the book is comprehensive. It does cover quite a bit of material and the author's style is entertaining. And I did pick up some tid bits of knowledge after all. If you wanted to get into kiteboarding you may still like to have this book around. With any luck, you might even find a future "volume II" that flows well and includes many clarifying illustrations.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars lengthy but lacking, December 6, 2003

By	kevin (Perth,Australia) - See all my reviews

Unfortunately this doesnt give enough basics and shows very little structure in its outline.Few diagramns that are really instructional.
Strong on safety and danger but little direction to the beginning kitesurfer.
It seemed more like the dialogue that a instructor would give you through a series of lessons and in that context would most likely be excellent.
I have been kitesurfing for about 5 months and can ride a board in and out - so I'm still learning alot but found the thrust of the book not really helpful.
With the amount of experience the author has,he would have a huge lot more to offer and perhaps may do next time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kiteboarding's "A litte too" Simple Plan, December 6, 2003

By	Alfred Raschdorf "Al" (Kings Park, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had a season of kiteboarding under my belt when I picked up this book. By the end of the season, I could maintain upwind ground pretty well, but actually getting upwind was still elusive. I had been reading Kiteboarding magazines feverishly and was excited to see someone had written a whole book on the subject. I was hoping for some good tips in such a concentrated source of kiteboarding knowledge.

I don't know how much money it takes to write a book that will be sold to such a small niche audience, but it seems that costs were contained by sending the book to press without it being edited. Their were-many annoying punctuation, errors not too mention sentences that were entirely to long with little continuity between paragraphs and peppered with a lot of slang probably in efforts of making the book cool. I didn't even know that this kind of thing bothers me until I picked up this book -probably because everything else I read HAS been edited fairly well.

I'm guessing that another cost cutting measure was the money saved not hiring a graphic designer to create diagrams that should have accompanied detailed descriptions of body position, wind direction and kite steering maneuvers. There were plenty of times that after I read a description of something I already knew how to do well I thought to myself "I can't see how a beginner will make ANY SENSE of this!" In the book's 278 pages I counted a whopping less than 10 diagrams.

Anyway with all that being said, if anything the book is comprehensive. It does cover quite a bit of material and the author's style is entertaining. And I did pick up some tid bits of knowledge after all. If you wanted to get into kiteboarding you may still like to have this book around. With any luck, you might even find a future "volume II" that flows well and includes many clarifying illustrations.