Spectacular aerial flips over the blue sea lent 26 years old Nguyen Thanh Trung –aka Can or Can Chocolate-- popularity among local youth and foreign visitors to Mui Ne in the central city of Phan Thiet and the status of youngest local kiteboarding coach.
Kiteboarding, introduced in Vietnam in recent years thanks to its unexploited beautiful beaches, is a surface water sport using the wind to propel the rider across the water while standing on a board with or without foot-straps and holding a large controllable kite.
Trung started his career in 2004 as assistant to foreign kiteboarding trainers in Phan Thiet. He quickly mastered the advanced techniques and after barely two years of training, thanks to his hard work and dedication, he began the performances which eventually made him a local celebrity among the sports’ enthusiasts.
In 2007 the International Kiteboarding Organization officially recognized him as an international coach.
“I love it when foreign visitors watch me perform, jump and propel my small-sized body into the air to the rhythm of the waves with just a flying kite and a surfing board”, Can told Tuoi Tre.
Trung mastered several riding styles from wave-riding, freestyle, free-riding, jumping and cruising.
Of the US$50 tourists pay for an hour of kiteboarding, he gets $16 the remainder going to the resorts’ club. It is much more than his previous assistant wage of just VND 1 – 1.5 million ($53 - $79) a month.
Since 2008, he left Windchimes water sport club in Mui Ne and moved to the kiteboarding club of the five-star resort Princess d’Annam in Ham Tien District of the central Binh Thuan Province, just 30km from Mui Ne.
Kiteboarding techniques
A beginner to the sport is first introduced to the most basic techniques such as kite launching and handling of the string bar, lines and safety devices, and then begins practicing advanced skills such as flying and landing on the water surface.
Balancing on the board is also an important basic step to master.
Most riders can’t wait to jump the waves though it is a very risky advanced step requiring much preparation, Can said.
Before jumping, the surfer builds up tension in the lines by strongly edging the board. Then the kite is quickly flown to an overhead position, sometimes just as the surfer goes over a wave, he explained.
As the kite begins to lift, the board edge is “released” and the rider becomes airborne. The kite is then piloted from overhead to the direction of travel. A large variety of maneuvers and tricks can be performed while jumping.
