When I was a little kid, I loved to make kites out of bamboo and paper. Every kite had to be done just right, allowing it to fly high and sturdy. I enjoyed every moment, watching my kites fly far away in the sky. I spent most of my time and money buying material, and making kites. As I grew up, kites started to fade away as I started to do other things.
I came to Canada in 1979. In the summer of 1985, I met an older gentleman in a park who was flying a delta kite. At that time, I didn't even know that kites were made out of material like nylon and fiberglass because I had only known kites that were made out of bamboo and paper. Not too long after that, I found a kite store in downtown Toronto which was called Touch the Sky. I began to buy material and learn how to sew kites. In the beginning, I made simple designs such as delta kites and box kites, to increase my experience in kite making.
I later discovered a group of people who flew every weekend at Humber Bay Park,which is West of Toronto. In late 1986, I switched over to flying dual line kites, which were the flexifoils. At the same time, I met Jim Poy, who only flew stunt kites. From that point on, I started buying kites such as the Hawaiian Team Kite, Spinoff, Superdark, Skydart, and so on.
In 1987, I designed my first stunt kite, called the Lamborghini. This was a two headed dual line stunt kite. Each time I designed a kite I tried to create something special, making it look different from any other kite. Every year, I designed a different kite. My successful designs were the Heartbeat (1989), Swallowtail (1992), Dream Kite (1993), Dream Machine (1996), and my latest one, the Master Control (1998).
In 1988, I competed in my first competition at the AKA in Chicago. Since then, I have made more and more kites, competed in many competitions, and gained valuable experience. I watched and learned from many master kite fliers, kite makers, kite designers and music mixers. My willingness to listen and learn gave me a solid foundation, and in turn, has rewarded me with great success in kite piloting and design.
Since there are so many great kite makers out there, I have begun making single line kites sewn with intricate and detailed graphics. This new field has made my kiting career more interesting and has tested my limits.
I would like to thank all the people that I have learned from, you know who you are. Remember, each time you go out there, you can always learn something new. That is what makes life exciting. |