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The secret to moving your feet Hydrofoiling

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Created by KIT33R > 9 months ago, 2 Apr 2020
KIT33R
NSW, 1714 posts
2 Apr 2020 1:59PM
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I saw this recently and thought you might find it useful (if Covid19 ever lets out to play again)

horey69
QLD, 495 posts
2 Apr 2020 7:29PM
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It's a good clip.

AquaPlow
QLD, 1051 posts
2 Apr 2020 9:19PM
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Like Sam Light - Like those tips - perfect timing - he has a built in "lazy susan" - thanks AP

SaveTheWhales
WA, 1869 posts
3 Apr 2020 9:55AM
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Excellent tip - really like his straight shooter vids. Gonna give it a whirl today

Gone to dark side
NSW, 379 posts
3 Apr 2020 2:08PM
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Great Video

Gorgo
VIC, 4911 posts
3 Apr 2020 6:18PM
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The problem with the method he describes is that you only get one shot to get it right. Get it wrong and you're in the water.

The method is based on two things, Doing a pump on the front wing to get power, and swapping your feet fast. You might as well tell people to just get good at foot swapping.

There's a much easier way to do a foot swap, and you can practice it as many times as you want without too much crashing.

Start by positioning your back foot just in front of the mast. Put your weight on your back foot.

Move the front foot back to be near the back foot. You can move your front foot back and forth as far and as many times as you like. With a little practice you can ride with both feet together, just in front of the mast. It's called "ski stance".

Get comfortable riding in ski stance and moving your front foot in and out of ski stance. Practice it from toeside and heelside.

When you've practiced a bit, move your front foot back. Now move your back foot forward. You've just done a foot swap. It might take a few dabs to get your feet exactly where you want them. With practice you can hit it in a single fluid move.

The advantages of this is you can practice this all you want with very little crashing. Following from this, you can swap your feet your feet anytime you want. You don't need loads of power or smooth water.

More importantly, you can can swap your feet whenever you like. You do a lot of foot swapping and you really get to feel the power of the foil through your feet. Once you're feeling the power you can place your feet wherever you want, including strap to strap changes.

KIT33R
NSW, 1714 posts
3 Apr 2020 6:30PM
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Select to expand quote
Gorgo said..
The problem with the method he describes is that you only get one shot to get it right. Get it wrong and you're in the water.

The method is based on two things, Doing a pump on the front wing to get power, and swapping your feet fast. You might as well tell people to just get good at foot swapping.

There's a much easier way to do a foot swap, and you can practice it as many times as you want without too much crashing.

Start by positioning your back foot just in front of the mast. Put your weight on your back foot.

Move the front foot back to be near the back foot. You can move your front foot back and forth as far and as many times as you like. With a little practice you can ride with both feet together, just in front of the mast. It's called "ski stance".

Get comfortable riding in ski stance and moving your front foot in and out of ski stance. Practice it from toeside and heelside.

When you've practiced a bit, move your front foot back. Now move your back foot forward. You've just done a foot swap. It might take a few dabs to get your feet exactly where you want them. With practice you can hit it in a single fluid move.

The advantages of this is you can practice this all you want with very little crashing. Following from this, you can swap your feet your feet anytime you want. You don't need loads of power or smooth water.

More importantly, you can can swap your feet whenever you like. You do a lot of foot swapping and you really get to feel the power of the foil through your feet. Once you're feeling the power you can place your feet wherever you want, including strap to strap changes.


I'll try this method too

Kamikuza
QLD, 6493 posts
3 Apr 2020 9:00PM
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Don't have to pump, just ride the board near the surface then wait for a bit of chop and change feet as the board crosses the crest, so as your CoG goes more forward the board has the space to dive while you change feet.

Advantage of a pump is the flow it initiates and you don't need to rely on lift from the kite. It's like a hop with a foot change at the apex, when you have the least amount of weight on your feet. Gives time to feel your balance on the board as your weight comes down. As you get better, the pump gets more subtle.

Handy if you change feet before or after the transition...

This is the only video I've found with a good example of a pump: 2 minutes 15 seconds in.




Select to expand quote
Gorgo said..
[snip]



Like this? Two minutes 9 seconds in...

?t=129

Gorgo
VIC, 4911 posts
3 Apr 2020 11:25PM
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Select to expand quote
Kamikuza said..

....

Like this? Two minutes 9 seconds in...

....


Sort of. There's a zone of stability stretching from the top of the mast to about 3/4 the way to the front foot position. The size of the zone depends in the amount of power you're putting into the foil and the sea state and the size of the wing and the colour of your undies and stuff.

You can put your feet pretty much anywhere inside this zone and ride. At the end of a session I quite like to stand in the "foiling Jesus" position as I ride into the beach. Both feet together. Stand bolt upright. Arms outstretched. Smile.

If you're nicely powered up you can put your feet quite forward like the guy in the Mac video.

If you're less powered up you put your feet further back towards the mast.

So, yes practice the footwork that the Mac guy shows in the video. Yes practice it out on the water. But maybe start off with smaller steps and keep your weight back towards the mast.

dafish
NSW, 1631 posts
4 Apr 2020 8:54AM
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Once you practice the ski step and get your swaps down, then you can try the pump and swap which is the most fluid of the moves. I don't even think about the move anymore, it's just muscle memory. I learned of course the hard way, a Paipo with zero rocker, and no room for error. I got punished a lot, but eventually got there. I later shaped another board with rocker and it was pretty easy to refine the move as the odd splashdown didn't result in a crash. Gorgo's method of the ski stance I think is one of the easiest. After you get that part wired then try staying in your natural stance and practice pumping once, then moving your rear foot and tapping your front heal and move it back. This helps with timing and also the fear of too much forward pressure. Once comfortable with that the swap will be easier.

eppo
WA, 9372 posts
4 Apr 2020 9:23PM
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Found the pump method naturally worked for me. Never liked the ski stance thing with feet together.

Alysum
NSW, 1024 posts
5 Apr 2020 7:22PM
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Bloody hell this is so hard to learn to do. My feet are too scared to want to move. I probably managed just one switch where I said to myself just DO IT and it worked. It seems the trick is to really commit to it.....

Kamikuza
QLD, 6493 posts
5 Apr 2020 8:21PM
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Select to expand quote
Alysum said..
Bloody hell this is so hard to learn to do. My feet are too scared to want to move. I probably managed just one switch where I said to myself just DO IT and it worked. It seems the trick is to really commit to it.....



Start with hopping your back foot forwards and backwards a few inches (assuming you're strapless). Easier with a stable foil too...

Got to be able to get the weight off them to move them :)

djdojo
VIC, 1607 posts
5 Apr 2020 8:24PM
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If you're finding it scary, try it with a brief touchdown on the top of a bit of chop as you do the switch. This fits in easily with the pump technique. As with anything you could break it down into smaller steps by practising deliberate brief touchdowns, getting used to how this affects speed and balance.

I'd also suggest a small kite so you can keep it lower in the window. This means that you're getting used to regulating your height above the water by adjusting fore-aft pressure and through boardspeed. This is the opposite on flying a big kite way overhead and sheeting in and out to take weight off the foil or put it back on. A big kite overhead reduces your feel for the foil and its relationship to the water. (Obviously racers are using max kite size and are initiating foot switches for tacks and gybes with the kite overhead, but for freeriders, this is the opposite of what you should be working towards.) This is one area where freeride foiling and twintipping have something in common - riding with your kite low in the window (and a size that allows this) will increase whatever style you already possess and help you develop more.

Swavek
WA, 393 posts
4 May 2020 6:56AM
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Bought Progression video on switching feet 'Foiling Gybes: The Foot Change' - well spent $10. Was trying all summer to somehow do it without success (occasional wobbly fluke does not count as I was not even able to recall what I have done different). 25 min detail description on how to do it, shots of board, kite, bar separately from different angles, slow motion vids, common errors etc. In 3 sessions on perfect conditions and just the right size kite I was getting close to 50 % success from regular to toeside (not much the other way somehow). Too bad the season is over, not many perfect condition days for few months.

Disclosure:
I am not affiliated with 'Progression' in any way and I not getting any discounts for saying good things about what they sell.

Lorgra
WA, 215 posts
6 May 2020 12:46PM
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This is how you do it.



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"The secret to moving your feet Hydrofoiling" started by KIT33R