How to wingfoil! Part 2 - Body position and pumping! Lets get flying

We are back with part 2 of our beginners guide. Like before we are coming at you from Reckless Riders wingfoil club, the best place to wingfoil in Rhodes, Greece!
Today we are looking at how to get flying. In other words, after getting your wing control mastered and you can taxi up and down on the water it is time for the next steps:
1. Make sure that boady position is good and comfortable
2. Get used to pumping the wing
3. Get used to pumping the board
and
4. Combine it all together!
Once you can do all of the above while maintaining a nice flow and stability in your gear you will be flying in no time!
I hope this video helps you out on your wingfoil journey! and if you do enjoy it, drop a like, subscribe to the channel and make sure to share it with anyone that might benefit from it!
And of course remember, if you are still looking for a summer destination, visit Reckless Riders in Rhodes, Greece and we will make sure to fulfill all your wingfoil needs!
Have fun and see you on the water!

[@mindofown]

Great teacher, I'm a 40yr windsurfer and have had 2 x attempts at Winging (Unsuccessfully), and your 2 lessons have shown me a lot of my flaws and the proper technique.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I am glad I could help! Keep pushing and you will progress in no time! Just remember, although you can use a lot of your windsurf skills, it is NOT windsurfing! So start thinking differently while foiling 🤙

[@flyingfootage]

Probably the best tutorial I have ever seen and believe me I have seen a lot of videos, this one takes the first prize. 👍👍

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I am glad you liked it! Always happy to help :)

[@louise8752]

Such a great tutorial. I re-watch it a lot. Very helpful, thank you!!

[@davidnix7485]

Thanks for the super helpful masterclass Kyriakos! Great tips for those of us aspiring to fly!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad you liked it! Hope you get flying soon! Thats when the real fun starts! :D

[@aaronjacknz]

Excellent tutorial. As others have said, probably the best beginners vid for winging I have seen. Cheers from New Zealand.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thanks for the kind words! I hope you enjoy your time on the water! :D

[@robsinHL]

This is great for people like me that have a windsurfing background (decade or so). The body positioning section in the beginning is super helpful, as you said, it’s similar, but placing your weight over the center of the board instead of back foot is critical. I’ve done winging for two weeks, my biggest problem once I got up on the foil was leaning too far back - the foil would breach and shoot straight up. I learned to get my front foot ready to shoot up front to counter it (a short board windsurfing standard move) , but this simple demo you gave is a much better approach. I find it’ll get tiring leaning forward like this, and will just lean back like an old windsurfer - when I’m just cruising up wind and waiting for the next puff to get up, but purely to conserve energy. Thanks for this series, great videos.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad you liked it and glad I could help! 😊

[@martinminar1949]

Thank you. Amazing instructions!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad you liked it! Hopefully it gets you to the next level. :)

[@Olle-br7to]

Kyriakos, thanks for the tips, without it I would still be taxing, now I’m flying!!! My short story, was trying to fly in my home spot in Stockholm Sweden, no great success but saw the video and booked a flight to Reckless Riders in Rhodes. Meet Kyriakos in person and the rest is history, I’m flying!!!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I am glad I could help Olle! Keep pushing! 🤙

[@bogdansulima]

Bro, thanks for the excellent break down of foiling stance - you are targeting all my pain points.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad you liked it! :D

[@rogerdodger3125]

Absolutely the best beginners tutorial well done & thankyou 😊

[@dakcn]

Fantastic. Used to windsurf and your tips about not using the windsurfing stance was right on the money. Thank you for sharing.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad I could help! Keep pushing 🤙

[@peter-cal]

best explanation i’ve seem by watching videos, thanks alot!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I am glad you enjoyed it! Good luck on your wingfoil journey and stay posted for more!

[@harrievandekimmenade4420]

Very good video this gives a full explanation of pumping with board and wing thank you so much

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I am happy you liked it! I hope it helps

[@franciscomiami5896]

Amazing video, probably the best I’ve seen so far for beginners

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad you enjoyed it! Hope it helps

[@rogerdodger3125]

Awesome tutorial 👌

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you! I hope it helps

[@joseclaus9869]

I have watched this video about 3 times now as I have progressed. I now understand that pumping the legs is first then only when there is not enough wind the pumping the wing.

[@ellenwulfers450]

Very very helpful !!! Thank you

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad you liked it! Hope it helps you progress fast and smoothly.

[@motsnik2264]

Very good summary!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it

[@mollykissinger5251]

Hiii from Hood River!!)

[@florianbertram9451]

Best video I watched on starting out as a beginner. Spot on

[@Style-plus-renovations-NZ]

Nice video. great instruction!

[@sparky6612]

Great instruction. 👍

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you!

[@bmurray2854]

Thanku great tutorial. I will try your pumping techniqe next time on water. I feel i am getting close but have not flown yet

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you for watching and I am glad you liked it! Keep pushing with the wingfoiling. It’s always something small that you do wrong and once you get it, it will jump you to the next level. Just about perseverance and trying different things

[@andredc9583]

Thanks for the great tips.

[@apostolistatakis3144]

Είσαι μεγάλος δάσκαλος ❤

[@thatanton5895]

So great.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you! Hope it helps

[@andreatopcat8180]

Great tutorial, Really!

[@Olle-br7to]

Thanks for the best tutorial ever, you are the best mentor. Hopefully I will come by your place for some time on the water. I have my own gear so I whats the best size on wing beginning of oktober? Regards Olle

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Hey! Thank you very much. October is not the best for wind and it is very random many times. So hard to say a correct size. Most days we ride 4 or 5 m wings.

[@alvergez]

Very Clear. And good separation btw the two movements, feet and arms. Does it make it easier to have the straps on for the legs pumping - similarly to doing the move on the snowboard when you want to create speed at the end of a flat so that you don't have to unbind the back-foot?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Hey! Glad you liked it. The footstraps do help with some things but I think strapless is better to start so you have a chance to really get the feeling of the board and the effects changing your feet have. Also, you just learn better and mire precise technique by not relying on them! Good luck and have fun!

[@davidsmith2372]

Very clear explanation! Thank you. When my weather improves, I'll get out and try this. Will this board pumping technique work on a long board with a big foil? I have a 125 liter Naish that's 195 cm long, and I've had trouble pumping it with a 2450 front foil. It flies when the wind is strong, but I haven't been able to pump successfully.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Glad it helps you! Yes it should work but you might have to play around with your stance and positioning of your feet. I have a very long board I use for beginners but the easiest way to get it flying is actually to stand further forwards on it while pumping my legs and then shuffle back once i am up and going. Some long boards tend to be able to pick up a lot of speed on the water so another option that could possibly work for your board is to focus on keeping it flat and creating as much power as possible in the wing to gain speed on the water. When you get the max speed you should feel it trying to come away from the water, in which case you simply put weight on the back foot and it takes off. Those are the best 2 options I can think of for the board you described, so I hope the work for you.

[@davidsmith2372]

@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind Thank you! I use that technique of maximizing speed and then lifting off when the wind is strong enough. (15-20) I'm trying to fly earlier with pumping. Today the wind was light and I tried pushing down with the front foot, but the front end submergs and I slow down with each pump. I'll keep trying.

[@vhb4302]

Great tutorial on stance, footwork pumping and wing pumps. Im just beginning on a Fanatic Skywing 5’8” 125L /2400 front wing and 6M CWC Fone wing. Hoping the short board will be okay trying all of these tips. I weigh 72KG.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

@@davidsmith2372 Keep trying! Also, make you front push not just weight downwards but more like you are trying to push the board forward. Like you are trying to throw the board away from you if that makes sense. Good luck!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

@@vhb4302 Should be no problem at all. You just have to regulate the forward force to make sure bot to over sink the nose. And like I said in my last reply on this thread try making the forward force not so much a downward one but a forward push propelling your board forward. Good luck

[@danthomas9624]

Great tutorial! However, in the video of you in closing it seems like your pumping technique is different than your described; i.e., you aren't holding your front arm more stationary and just moving the back arm. Did I misunderstand, or is that just a more advance technique?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Hey very sorry for the late reply and maybe you already figured this out but what you see if me pumping with both arms on a sinker board to create maximum power. Not a more advanced technique necessarily but harder to master without making everything shaky. So for beginners if there is decent wind I always recommend starting with the back hand pump as described for ease and control

[@jeffarcher400]

Great job! Maybe you can help. I'm just getting ready to try and honestly I'm nervous. Decades ago we were going to carry the first Air Chair hydroplane at the sports store I worked at. We were getting a demo to use free and were all looking forward to trying it. Then the first guy to try it got lacerated badly by the mast and they cancelled it as too dangerous. He was a skilled water and snow skier and surfer so he had a good shot at making it work too. Anyway I wonder how often you see injuries and what can be done to reduce the risks when crashing. All I can think of is getting far away from the mast and foil. Helmet? Any safety advice is appreciated 👍.

[@nicolasboudet9302]

It is good to see how to accelerate but I realized that no one explained me how to speed down fastly and safely without risk to fall down or loose control! Do you have video or tips to do it properly? 😇

[@pino_7428]

I’m 68kg, 98L board and a 4.5m wing with a 1,600 foil. I usually need a 5.5 to 6m wing to get on foil. I’m a beginner but is not only exhausting trying to get on foil the whole day but is frustrating. Even in 18 to 22 knots winds is was very hard to get on foil with the 4.5m wing.