I flew my first Rokkaku yesterday, approx 4ft x 6ft. There was hardly any wind at ground level, but once airborne it pulled hard. I have one of the plastic ball-bearing winders with 100lb (soon to be 200lb) line. Other kites (small deltas, box kite, small delta conyne) have been flown directly off the winder and reeled in under (small) tension. Obviously that's not going to work with the Rok!
What if I add a munter hitch on a caribiner between the winder and kite? I suspect this will add enough friction to fly directly; of course it will make it difficult to quickly switch to reeling in.