Adam Koch Riding ASV Kites after Testing Gear La Ventana, Baja

Adam Koch, an American pro kite racer makes his switch to the ASV Performance kiteboarding team after testing the kites with Paolo Rista and Simone Vanucci in La Ventana. In the past few years, La Ventana has become a place for pro kiters, kite designers, kite brand owners, magazine editors and people who are new to the sport to spend time testing gear, sharing and trying new kite tactics, and giving feedback to each other. Today, Adam Koch, an American pro-kiteracer and former world kiterboard racing champion, has endorsed ASV Performance kites by claiming them as his official kites after giving them a thorough test. During this season, Playa Central Kiteboarding in La Ventana became one of the R&D and networking centers for the kiteracing industry, attracting international kite racers and gear designers from Hawaii and U.S.A., Italy, Mexico, Canada and others.

The occasion of having Paolo Rista from Rista Fins, Simone Vanucci from ASV Performance, and Adam Koch, a pro-kite racer, kite racing together here in Baja lead to valuable time for their gear testing, tuning, and optimal riding for Adam Koch. Paolo Rista is owner/shaper of RistaFins, who works with Adam Koch to provide him with custom fins for his board and kite choices. Besides this trio of kiters, riders like Joey Pasquali (ASV), Brian Kender (Cabrinha), Johnny Heineken (Ozone), Bryan Lake (Cabrinha), Adam Withington (ASV), Catherine Darfur (Ozone), Nuria Goma (Ozone), Cynthia Brown (Ozone, Simone Vanuci (ASV), Alex Aguera (Aguera) and more top riders race at Playa Central and can test their performance in real time and with the right people. 

We interviewed Adam Koch about his decision to ride ASV Performance kites and what looks to be the main reason is that he can now work with a company that focuses all of their resources on kiteracing, and believes this approach already has lead to a quality performance kite that has helped Adam "go faster than he ever has before". Offering an easy platform for kiters who are just getting into kite racing will be a catalyst for riders who are on the edge of making a decision on buying the right gear from the right company. A one-stop place that can sell "race ready set up" to the average rider is the key to promoting the sport and also to putting all your R&D to making the gear the best it can be for ktieracing.

Watch when Adam Koch gets interviewed by Jessica Withington in La Ventana, 

at Playa Central, the place to race. 

Playa Central sells ASV Performance Kites and will have the ASV race boards and race kites available for demo in October 2013, to start out the next kiteboarding season. La Ventana is also a prime spot where people can try racing, as well as where new kite racers will vacation at for weeks or months at time to train and get better at kiteracing. For February 2014 Playa Central and ASV Performance will host  a one month kite race training schedule with races, clinics with pro riders including Adam Koch, morning and evening yoga, daily races, and an overall end of the month kiteracing tournament. If you are a racer or are going to get into kiteracing, make sure to be here in February. To keep updates with the latest on kiteracing in Baja, follow Playa Central´s blog. 

For information on racing, lodging, kite lessons or more, please visit our website. Playa Central is happy to see the kiteracing industry growing at such a great pace and are here to help new racers put on regattas, tournaments, and clincs. You can also book your kiteracing clinic with Adam Koch for February 2014, and more info on the enduro training month my e-mailing us directly. Thank you! 

Salsa Lessons at Playa Central in La Ventana, Baja!

Salsa is one of the most fun and popular dances people want to learn, and you can take free lessons in La Ventana every Tuesday at Playa Central.  Jessica from Playa Central and special instructor guests give a free lesson from 7:00- 8:00 PM on Tuesdays every week for beginners, and the class stays til after 9:00 PM dancing and practicing together. We´ve learned that having a margarita before the class seams to be a good idea to losen up and sometimes there is definitely a salsa party that gets started after the lesson.  

Here we have Jessica and Matt, dancing salsa in January 2013 as a promotion of their Tuesday Salsa Nights. 

You can come single or with a partner, we will have someone for you to dance with and people will often switch partners to improve on their salsa skills. 

A cool thing about the lesson is you can come alone and meet people; you can bring a partner and switch a few times during the lesson; or come with a group of friends. With just one lesson you can go from someone who has never danced salsa before and has no clue how to, to someone who can do the basics and be able to carry on a salsa dance next time. Sometimes really good salsa dancers who happen to be vacationing in La Ventana will come to the Tuesday class and share their time by teaching advanced steps to the class. After the one hour of lessons the class becomes a dance floor where people dance and help eachother improve their salsa moves. 

Jessica and Walid teaching variations of the basic salsa step to make sure first timers can start having fun immediately. 

Maybe this will help you dance salsa, this is Jessica´s best description of how to do the basic salsa dance, or you can watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDODx6qVuRg

* Small step forward with left foot, slight heal lift in place with the right foot, then bring left back next to your right foot. (Count to this would be 1, 2, 3) .
* Now you step the right foot back, slight heal lift in place with the left foot, then bring the right foot back next to your left foot. (Count 5, 6, 7)
* Notice that the 4 and the 8 are not mentioned above, that is because it is just a slight pause.

Playa Central will bring big salsa orchestras to play live music for the town. Azucar!!

 Once everyone can do the basic steps and turns, then Jessica goes into practicing with music and switching partners. At the end of the lesson they always teach a semi-advanced move to teach the regulars who are ready for a new move. Nowadays you will notice that there are a lot more salsa dancers on the dance floor at parties in La Ventana. Another great thing is that this Tuesday Salsa class gives Jessica and Playa Central a good excuse to throw salsa parties a few times a year for all the salseros in town! 

Everybody is welcome to get up and dance to the live salsa music! 

Let us tell you, some live salsa music, margaritas, and a few salseros can transform any room! Now we now!

Hope you get to come to one of our free salsa lessons. We would like to also recognize the Secret Salsa Society (or Not So Secret Salsa Society) from White Salmon, W.A., as well as the Hood River, O.R. area for the way they have started cultivating a dancing community in their active town. Jessica never misses their Wednesday Salsa nights while she is in Hood River during summer vacations and would like to thank the society for inspiring this movement at Playa Central and La Ventana. Check them out if you are in the area too! For contact or more info you can visit www.playacentralkiteboarding.com or our facebook page www.facebook.com/PlayaCentralKiteboarding

Baja Yoga, the "Mejor Que Nada" kiteboarding stretches in La Ventana

If you walk or stand up paddle by Playa Central in the mornings this season you will see our "Mejor Que Nada" kiteboarding yoga stretches happening on our front lawn. There are anywhere from 5-25 people who are here to stretch out their bodies and get ready for another day on the water. The whole routine is 20 minutes of basic stretches that help people kite board safely and better that day. When you are in La Ventana next time, drop by Playa Central and ask about the "Mejor Que Nada" yoga in the mornings.

The "Mejor Que Nada" starts with the typical morning squat that in past decades we have pretty much stopped doing regularly every day and through out the day in the Western World. 

Joyus Avait and Achintya Miranda Seeton are kiteboarders who take care of their bodies by stretching every day, strengthening through yoga and eating well. A special thanks to both of them who have started the Mejor Que Nada this year. 

Lots of the stretches are soft and easy to remember so you can take it home with you! 

Scapula and shoulder stretches. If these kiters crash in the water and stick their arm out and have it pulled back by the water, they wil be happy they did the Mejor Que Nada that day!

Our friends and fellow kiters, Achintya and Joyous, who are from California and spend time kiteboarding in La Ventana decided to share their morning stretching with other kiters in the bay. They came up with this 20 minute basic routine that really gets you going and helps your circulation, flexibility, and may prevent injuries throughout one´s active watersport-filled Baja lives. For Achintya and Joyus´ 2013 New Year´s resolution they decided to promote their daily stretching as a way of better health and better kiteboarding Since January 1st we have gathered on Playa Central´s front lawn every morning for the "Mejor Que Nada" daily free yoga session.

The balance pose, ground your leg on the floor and grab the inside of the other foot. Kick out and then lean forward focusing on something that is not moving. 

I think pretty much everybody can manage to do a 30 second meditation after some heated stretching. 

If you watch closely you can see the wind line coming closer! 

This season Joyus and Achintya have been leading the morning session, but their goal is to get enough people into doing it every day so that it will get momentum of its own and eventually be able to be lead by other people who have learned it and might want to pay it forward. You can also do your own "Mejor Que Nada" by checking out Joyous´ video of the routine.  The stretch session is free for everyone and is short enough to be able to fit into your every day. We hope to see you here on your next visit to La Ventana.


 For more information you can contact us at Playa Central or just stop by. Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/PlayaCentralKiteboarding for the lattest updates or check out our website www.playacentralkiteboarding.com for more. Hope to see you at the Mejor Que Nada. Namaste!