10 Tips to speed up learning to kite foil

[@andreaspoke8273]

1. Tip: not move your feet for swimming or bodydrag to prevent hitting the foil underwater. 2. Tip: front foot pressure. While waterstarting roll forward. Don’t stretch front leg. 3. Tip: feet have to stay flat on the board. No edging. Your body center should be in line with the mast. Than don’t give up. 2. or 3. day maybe you want to throw away the foil. But after 1 week you can Foil.

[@ThetinyhouseNet]

Great video. I''m in the messy middle of the learning process. I have the basics but I'm kind of scared of it, still finding it unpredictable. Leaning back and trying to edge is a major mistake I keep finding myself making.

[@erbartlett]

Yeah, none of it is natural at first. With repetition the more vertical stance starts to feel more comfortable. But really it was just repeatedly wiping out that got me to stop leaning as much :)

[@aaronknappster]

Great video, lots of good info for newbies.

[@erbartlett]

Any major tips I missed?

[@aaronknappster]

No I think you did a great job, covered all the basis.

[@mconti564]

Thx for the tips getting ready to tip toe toward the foil - most likely next spring just gathering gear over the winter…

[@mysweethubert]

Great video, thanks! My biggest fear right now when I kite foil is that i can't regulate my speed. It's like I'm constantly scared to go too fast. I also found that going downwind is so difficult, and going upwind is too easy. So I end up going too far upwind, then having to go downwind a whole lot, and pooping my pants the whole time 😅

[@erbartlett]

Yep, sounds about how it’s supposed to feel :) It’s all about speed control and it’s totally the opposite of twin tipping I learned on core XRs which are big heavy kites that don’t like to drift down wind. I would try to keep them moving and would go 45 degrees down wind instead of straight downwind. I switched to a single strut kite that drifts really well and everything got a lot easier.

[@stephen1445]

Mate I've just learned to foil. Had the same problem. Could get up on the foil but way too fast almost out of control. The fix is easy and no one talks about it. Get the kite higher once up. Get it to 11 or 1. Your speed will cut down and be totally controllable. Wish someone had told me before loads of high speed wipeouts😅

[@trexinvert]

I think that's a great advice to just get on hydroboard independent of kiting. However, the same should be said about learning to just kite with a trainer on land. That's where you can safely make mistakes and really learn to push the limits and feel the wind and bar control. Those are two separate skill that should be mastered or atleast to the point of competence/confidence and control. Then combining both skills is also a skill in itself. One thing I realize is that with a hydroplane board has much less water drag than a typical kitesurfboard/wakeboard. Thus, in effect you might travel "too fast" for the kite and lose tension if you are not competent with the kite.

[@erbartlett]

So true, I was very surprised how much more nuanced your kite flying has to be once on a foil. Even small mistakes with the kite will just rip you off the board. It’s definitely made me a lot more skilled with a kite.

[@glidejunkie]

@@erbartlett I agree, you think you know how to kite until you start foiling, then you find out you are making all kind of new small kite corrections to help with balance

[@SergiuPoenaru]

Awesome 🚀🏄‍♂️🏄🏄‍♀️

[@hugovdz]

Great tips🤙 I would add the tip to use two front streps. I don't think I could have learned kitefoiling without them (I tried but I found it really difficult). It will be different of course if you know already to use a strepless ktiesurf board (which is not my case).

[@erbartlett]

I totally forgot to mention straps vs no straps. I found straps much harder, so it seems pretty variable person to person. I did have some surf board experience before, but I also found that depending on the foil, the foot straps weren’t always in the right place to get enough forward pressure to keep the foil down. If the foil and board you have aren’t setup exactly right, or your board doesn’t have track, the straps positioning may not be useable.

[@TheChrisTerry]

Can you make a video about carving transitions? I’m finding the kite is too close to the edge of the window regardless of how tight my turn is

[@Rioku1]

I wish I knew to buy a board that had less buoyancy. It sucks trying to start with such a buoyant board.

[@erbartlett]

These tips did not come easy, every one of them was learned through blood / sweat / tears / or hard cash :( My only goal for the video was to spare other people in this situation and help a few avoid the same pitfalls. Sorry I didn't get this out in time to help you out!