Hi Rob I have taught many people to foil and taking 1 hand of the bar definitely gets them progressing faster to start riding the foil. We definitely do not teach them to stretch their one arm back like that, so that I agree with. The arm should hang down and relaxed. When you are an absolute beginner by putting both hands on the bar you automatically go into that twintip stance which is to straighten front leg and lean back. By dropping front hand it does not allow to you to lean back as much forcing you to stand more upright. I completely agree that once you are competent and sailing in different directions there will be many times to have both hands on. Thanks again for all your videos!! It’s great info to all foilers.
Thanks for that great tip! Actually yesterday after a long session working on improving my balance and steering the kite I tried to bring back my front hand on the bar and my kite control improved. The timing Today after watching your video made me more conscious of what I was doing wrong and why I was falling down and why I was not when I was bringing back that front hand on the bar! So what I was precisely doing is after my waterstart I let one hand go to get a better balance and let the FoiKite FS Soul 10m breeze but slowly I was loosing control of where I was putting my kite in the wind window but when I was bringing my hand back on the bar and focusing on flexing my front knee was the solution and than I was doing a lot better. Thanks for your tip. By the way I bought in the past Progression 1 and 2 DVDs 8 years ago and did help me a lot in my progression and now I am back learning the basics and you again helping me a lot!!!!!!! Thanks and keep them coming please LOL, Cheers,
Interesting. I would say that the single most useful tip I received when learning to foil was ... to take the front hand off the bar! I don't believe this leads to leaning out necessarily, which is what your exaggerated clip shows - rather it allows you to centre your weight over the foil in a neutral position. I keep 2 hands on the bar going upwind or when needing to work the kite to get more power & of course in transitions.
Yeah my video may have been a bit of an exaggeration! but that is often the way it ends up and hopefully illustrated that particular point - most people, in my experience, take the arm off to try and gain balance and then everything slowly (or quickly) falls apart. In your case it obviously helped but it is hard to visualise how taking an arm off allowed your weight to stay in over the foil, unless your arm is relaxed and then whether its on or off the board is somewhat irrelevent, if you have that control already. Normally the front hand on the bar is what allow someone to keep their front shoulder forward, in board over the foil. My worry is that by taking the hand off, even if it solves one problem, it introduces other issues and there maybe better ways to solve the problem of getting your weight centred over the board and foil. New foilers have so much to think about with the board and foil that they can easily forget about the kite and controlling it with one hand can be quite hard, particular when the power should be pretty neutral. Having said all this it's interesting to hear that it helped you and I will have a play around today and see how taking one hand off can help to get weight centered over the board, and see if I can work out how this worked for you. Though it sounds like you are way past worrying about this kind of technique at the level you're now at anyway. Thanks.
OMG best piece of advice ! I had that low kite issue which was creating too much power and pulling me sideway applying foot pressure on the mast and not on front foot. Thanks
@@progressionsports just adding another 2 points on the safety side. Having 2 hands on the bar is creating a safe zone for your face and chest when crashing. Quite a few times when learning, I crashed many times and the foil was still going around me. My arms on the bar and kite close to noon allow my head to be protected behind my arms + bar and a better control of the kite. I also learnt not to look for the foil board straight away during a crash because the board might be just behind your head with speed when crashing. So I turn my head after a 2-3 seconds delay to be sure it is not foiling by itself.
Thanks Rob, it worked for me very well! I immediately increased my speed by holding both hands on the bar. I would nevertheless recommend a beginner to take one hand off for balancing. But putting that hand back on the bar as soon as balance is not a problem anymore. Kind regards, Roland (Abu Dhabi)
I have now done about 18 sessions kite foiling and have been progressing very slowly, until I did what Rob says and kept both hands on the bar. Wow, what a difference it made! Felt weird to start with, but it was an amazing difference. The other little thing that I have found that makes a difference is looking where i am going, not at the water immediately in front of me, but maybe 100 metres ahead. I think this forces me to feel the board more. Anyway, thanks Rob for such an amazingly simple tip!
Good to hear of another convert! I have some more footage I've filmed of clients kitefoiling and it just crazy how when they take a hand off you see everything slowly start to fall about, its root cause of so many issues. There is a time and place where taking a hand off can be helpful but glad you've found it helpful for your general riding :-D And yes to hands on the board, gives you so much better kite control and that in turn means you can control the board better and get the intuitive feel of the board and foil.
Thank you!! I have to admit I did not believe this would help and would be a step back. Tried it for a whole session... Both hands gives much more stability and I even managed to foil in gusty, over powered conditions.
Brilliant - this exactly what I hoped, people would at least give it a go and see if it would help. Definitely can make a difference in more challenging conditions where kite control becomes even more crucial. Keep it up :-)
right its natural for a rider on a twin tip to open up to get a better upwind angle, but I can see why in foiling it puts more weight on the rear foot, thanks for the tip. Leaving for OBX to start my foiling
Glad we are helping. I have written a follow up to this video that does discuss why taking a hand off can be a quick fix to get you up and riding but its just important, in my mind, to quickly learn to get your hand back on once you understand about having weight forward. Check out the blog post: www.progression.me/blog/learning-to-kitefoils-no-1-bad-habit-taking-a-hand-off-the-bar/ Good luck with the next stages of foiling :-D
Great advice, I'll give it a go! I was out last Sunday at Lancing learning to foil- and I think you were there too, probably cringing at my one hand off the bar antics (which I think I picked up from watching a different youtube video that claimed it was a good idea)!
One hand and looking twisted helps to adjust the most upwind position, sometimes while you are overpowered, after adjusting you put both hands on the bar and burn your legs and abdomen to keep your most upwing position. Also, one hand helps in the start of front roll tack
I agree but this is more of an advanced technique, the point I was trying to make in the video was aimed at beginner/intermediate kitefoilers who commonly ride with one hand off the bar, as a means to try and stay balanced and in the process have less control of their kite. The aim is get people to realise that often riding with one hand is the sub-optimal technique and that there are better way to achieve the same results. But I agree regarding tacks, I pretty much always drop my front hand as I carve into them, definitely helps to open the shoulders up, so an advantage for some people - others swear by two hands for proper racing tacks to again give maximum control of the kite and weight positioning, but I guess at that level personal preference takes over :-)
Great clip. There is almost NO insyruction videos for intermediate riders. beyond tacks and basic jumps there is one big NOTHING. Thank you for filling this void.
Thanks Dennis. I'd love to know if there are specific techniques or tricks you would like to see more videos for? We also find that when we coaching people 1:1 in-person, so much of what we work on our underlying foil and kite skills, that help you across everything you are trying to learn. So I hope to release more videos that will give better understanding into these core principles and practice drills you can use to better understand them on the water.
@@progressionsports A year ago I bouts your foil progression course. Money, really well spent. Now I'm looking for the next step: advanced techniques. a few ideas: catching waves (surfing) with a kite, jumping tricks, speed racing...
Once you are relaxed and your arm can sit relaxed at your side, then no worries, take it off the bar when cruising that is no problem at all - I tried to make that clear near the start, maybe not clearly enough. If you are trying to go fast or really point upwind or downwind then two hands will help. But maybe the most important result of this video is hopefully to make people think about it and see if this might be something that will solve underlying issues. Let us know how you get on, love to hear your feedback.
Hi Rob. Another good point I've noticed for keeping both hands on the bar is I don't get as much wrist strain. I found that the amount of kite steering corrections needed when learning with one hand and a bigger kite was killing my wrists. I wonder if you have seen this problem before?
Yeah, that is a definitely issue, kite flying when foiling can be very dynamic. When first learning the kite either needs to be flown a lot if you are riding a bit underpowered or off the foil, and even once foiling so much concentration is focused on the board and foil that the kite never stays where you want it so you end up having to the fly the kite too. Two hands is definitely gonna be less stressful on your wrists - great point, thanks.
Damn, was foiling today and would always go two handed when trying to control the kite after losing said control by letting go one hand. I found it was less about balance for me and more about being used to snowboard/twin tip stance with body facing in the direction I want to go. The entire session I was wondering what I was doing wrong failing to keep control of the kite as I got a major change in apparent wind either raising or diving the kite beyond what I could control one handed..
I have a question. When I get up on my foil my board does not go flat and stays sideways and and then the foil comes up and I can’t get up and fall back. Any tips
It sounds like you are lending back (as it outwards) with all your weight on your heels as you get pulled up. This is what you probably do on a twintip but for a foil you need to come up and allow your weight to come right up over the board, so you have even weight on your toes and heels. - To start with aim to keep your knees bent, your weight really low as this is a far easier stance to keep your weight even across your feet, and to get more weight over your front leg. - With your kite, drop it hard down into the powerzone, like normal, but be sure to turn it back up before it gets too low and drive it back up high - use the pull and lift as it drives upwards to keep your weight forward and generate some speed. - Overall you need to change your mindset of how the kite pull "feels" when riding a kitefoil compared to a twintip or surfboard. You don't need or want the same level of pull (power) and you have to trust that if you get your body up and over the board, keeping it level with enough weight forward, that even if it feels like there isn't much pull from the kite you will still keep moving forward. The foil, even when under the water with the board on the water, is generating lift and helping you to stay afloat and move forwards. Let me know if any of that helps.
Hey Chris. Over coming the twintip stance is a hard one for some people and takes a really chance of mind set. We strong advise getting your stance worked out riding off the foil, making sure you can do this really conformably first before you start trying to rise and glide on the foil. In fact, tell yourself that any hint of foiling is a failure and your mission is to ride off the foil for long runs and you ONLY rise up on the foil when you choose too, not by accident. The riding off the foil stage of learning is so important because it allows you to work on changing that stance, with less consequence and the board and foil will be less susceptible to small changes in body position. You can massively over exaggerate putting weight forward on your front leg - I don't think I have ever said to a student "you've got a bit too much front foot pressure, lend towards the tail a bit" :-) Focus on three things: 1) keep you kite high, only drop it low initially to waterstart and then fly it in the top part of the window - unlike riding a TT, on a foil you can't handle the power from a lower kite, you will lend back and out, and you don't have the skills initially to handle this 2) Bend your legs, get really low if you have to, survival stance. It doesn't have to look pretty but a lower centre of mass helps in foiling. Think of it like a squat at the gym - dropping your whole body down but not sticking your arse out. Also it will make it easier to keep weight across your whole foot - as much weight on your toes as your heels. 3) Trust that you have enough power from the kite even if it feels like there is little pull - the foil is way more efficient than what you are used to riding a TT, it needs way less power, even riding off the foil, so have the confidence to stand on the board, legs bent, weight forward over your front leg and just plod along, you'll soon realise you don't need to feel the kite pulling hard to stay riding. This is a big change in mindset. Let me know how you get on.
Not yet, definitely on the cards but I have the foiling gybes video to finish first! Tacking is a hard trick to teach - or more its complicated with may moving parts so quite hard to generalise. I am working on it and we now have a clear method of teaching tacks in person so that will help me figure out how to generalise it into a video format. Which of the four tacks are you trying to learn?
@@progressionsports I am working on a heelside upwind tack coming out toeside. Have done about ten of them in 5 months of trying. Also pulled off 2 coming out with a foot change. Its a bloody hard move I reckon ! I am a confident foiler doing good gybes but just cant seem to get the tack sorted as 95% of the time I flip off the back of the board. I reckon there would be a lot of interest in a good tacking lesson video. Keep up the good work M8.
@@SailingREHAB The heel to toe is a great tack to start with. Whenever you are getting pulled off backwards it's because you haven't got the kite in the correct position earlier on in the tack. Try directing the kite up so its nearly at 12 before you start carving upwind, then as you carve, sheet right out, so the bar hits the stopper - this will luff the kite over head and allow you transfer weight forward on your front foot, twist your upper body to face the new direction, and as you do all of this you can start to sheet in to get power and better steering control of the kite. All the tacks hinge on getting that kite in the correct place as you enter the carve - much like the gybe, we want the kite leading us through the carve - getting it to 12 and sheeting out makes this possible. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. And tacking videos will come, just need more hours in the day!!
Hey Rob. Thanks for taking the time to give me a few Tack tips. I tried what u said today and WOW what a difference that made. Holding the kite high enabled me to get through the tack and I pulled of 3 out of 10 attempts as I rode out toeside so I am stoked. Stil a long way to go but this has helped. Thanks again ~ Paul
Definitely not looking for a fight but I am interested if anyone has a good justification for why we would want to tell people to take a hand off or let them do it. in my experience, it purely adds problems or is the result of issues and a great sign of how to fix them. I just want people to be better kitefoilers but always welcome differing views and looking to broaden my experience through that.
Hi Rob I have taught many people to foil and taking 1 hand of the bar definitely gets them progressing faster to start riding the foil. We definitely do not teach them to stretch their one arm back like that, so that I agree with. The arm should hang down and relaxed. When you are an absolute beginner by putting both hands on the bar you automatically go into that twintip stance which is to straighten front leg and lean back. By dropping front hand it does not allow to you to lean back as much forcing you to stand more upright. I completely agree that once you are competent and sailing in different directions there will be many times to have both hands on. Thanks again for all your videos!! It’s great info to all foilers.
Thanks for that great tip! Actually yesterday after a long session working on improving my balance and steering the kite I tried to bring back my front hand on the bar and my kite control improved. The timing Today after watching your video made me more conscious of what I was doing wrong and why I was falling down and why I was not when I was bringing back that front hand on the bar! So what I was precisely doing is after my waterstart I let one hand go to get a better balance and let the FoiKite FS Soul 10m breeze but slowly I was loosing control of where I was putting my kite in the wind window but when I was bringing my hand back on the bar and focusing on flexing my front knee was the solution and than I was doing a lot better. Thanks for your tip. By the way I bought in the past Progression 1 and 2 DVDs 8 years ago and did help me a lot in my progression and now I am back learning the basics and you again helping me a lot!!!!!!! Thanks and keep them coming please LOL, Cheers,
One of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten while learning to foil. Night and day when you force yourself to keep both hands on the bar!
Interesting. I would say that the single most useful tip I received when learning to foil was ... to take the front hand off the bar! I don't believe this leads to leaning out necessarily, which is what your exaggerated clip shows - rather it allows you to centre your weight over the foil in a neutral position. I keep 2 hands on the bar going upwind or when needing to work the kite to get more power & of course in transitions.
Yeah my video may have been a bit of an exaggeration! but that is often the way it ends up and hopefully illustrated that particular point - most people, in my experience, take the arm off to try and gain balance and then everything slowly (or quickly) falls apart.
In your case it obviously helped but it is hard to visualise how taking an arm off allowed your weight to stay in over the foil, unless your arm is relaxed and then whether its on or off the board is somewhat irrelevent, if you have that control already. Normally the front hand on the bar is what allow someone to keep their front shoulder forward, in board over the foil. My worry is that by taking the hand off, even if it solves one problem, it introduces other issues and there maybe better ways to solve the problem of getting your weight centred over the board and foil. New foilers have so much to think about with the board and foil that they can easily forget about the kite and controlling it with one hand can be quite hard, particular when the power should be pretty neutral. Having said all this it's interesting to hear that it helped you and I will have a play around today and see how taking one hand off can help to get weight centered over the board, and see if I can work out how this worked for you. Though it sounds like you are way past worrying about this kind of technique at the level you're now at anyway. Thanks.
OMG best piece of advice ! I had that low kite issue which was creating too much power and pulling me sideway applying foot pressure on the mast and not on front foot. Thanks
Glad it helped!
@@progressionsports just adding another 2 points on the safety side.
Having 2 hands on the bar is creating a safe zone for your face and chest when crashing.
Quite a few times when learning, I crashed many times and the foil was still going around me. My arms on the bar and kite close to noon allow my head to be protected behind my arms + bar and a better control of the kite. I also learnt not to look for the foil board straight away during a crash because the board might be just behind your head with speed when crashing. So I turn my head after a 2-3 seconds delay to be sure it is not foiling by itself.
Thanks Rob, it worked for me very well!
I immediately increased my speed by holding both hands on the bar. I would nevertheless recommend a beginner to take one hand off for balancing. But putting that hand back on the bar as soon as balance is not a problem anymore.
Kind regards, Roland (Abu Dhabi)
I have now done about 18 sessions kite foiling and have been progressing very slowly, until I did what Rob says and kept both hands on the bar. Wow, what a difference it made! Felt weird to start with, but it was an amazing difference. The other little thing that I have found that makes a difference is looking where i am going, not at the water immediately in front of me, but maybe 100 metres ahead. I think this forces me to feel the board more. Anyway, thanks Rob for such an amazingly simple tip!
Good to hear of another convert! I have some more footage I've filmed of clients kitefoiling and it just crazy how when they take a hand off you see everything slowly start to fall about, its root cause of so many issues. There is a time and place where taking a hand off can be helpful but glad you've found it helpful for your general riding :-D
And yes to hands on the board, gives you so much better kite control and that in turn means you can control the board better and get the intuitive feel of the board and foil.
Also, just got a new North Code Zero 7m. Amazing difference having a lightweight kite that stays in the air in very light wind.
In lightwinds kit really does matter and can make a huge differences to your riding. The Code Zero looks like a great kite, have fun on that!
Thank you!! I have to admit I did not believe this would help and would be a step back. Tried it for a whole session... Both hands gives much more stability and I even managed to foil in gusty, over powered conditions.
Brilliant - this exactly what I hoped, people would at least give it a go and see if it would help. Definitely can make a difference in more challenging conditions where kite control becomes even more crucial. Keep it up :-)
right its natural for a rider on a twin tip to open up to get a better upwind angle, but I can see why in foiling it puts more weight on the rear foot, thanks for the tip. Leaving for OBX to start my foiling
very good tip, thanks!.. you should do one with tips on how to slow down on the foil for beginners.
Was thought to open one arm on my $100/hr lesson. Thanks I learned more from you than my lessons.
Glad we are helping. I have written a follow up to this video that does discuss why taking a hand off can be a quick fix to get you up and riding but its just important, in my mind, to quickly learn to get your hand back on once you understand about having weight forward. Check out the blog post: www.progression.me/blog/learning-to-kitefoils-no-1-bad-habit-taking-a-hand-off-the-bar/
Good luck with the next stages of foiling :-D
Have never thought to focus much on this aspect, next session definately I will, very interesting , thanks.
Love to know how you get on it and if it helps.
Great advice, I'll give it a go! I was out last Sunday at Lancing learning to foil- and I think you were there too, probably cringing at my one hand off the bar antics (which I think I picked up from watching a different youtube video that claimed it was a good idea)!
Come say hi if you see me down the beach and let us know how the change of technique works for you.
One hand and looking twisted helps to adjust the most upwind position, sometimes while you are overpowered, after adjusting you put both hands on the bar and burn your legs and abdomen to keep your most upwing position. Also, one hand helps in the start of front roll tack
I agree but this is more of an advanced technique, the point I was trying to make in the video was aimed at beginner/intermediate kitefoilers who commonly ride with one hand off the bar, as a means to try and stay balanced and in the process have less control of their kite. The aim is get people to realise that often riding with one hand is the sub-optimal technique and that there are better way to achieve the same results.
But I agree regarding tacks, I pretty much always drop my front hand as I carve into them, definitely helps to open the shoulders up, so an advantage for some people - others swear by two hands for proper racing tacks to again give maximum control of the kite and weight positioning, but I guess at that level personal preference takes over :-)
Great clip.
There is almost NO insyruction videos for intermediate riders. beyond tacks and basic jumps there is one big NOTHING. Thank you for filling this void.
Thanks Dennis. I'd love to know if there are specific techniques or tricks you would like to see more videos for?
We also find that when we coaching people 1:1 in-person, so much of what we work on our underlying foil and kite skills, that help you across everything you are trying to learn. So I hope to release more videos that will give better understanding into these core principles and practice drills you can use to better understand them on the water.
@@progressionsports A year ago I bouts your foil progression course. Money, really well spent. Now I'm looking for the next step: advanced techniques.
a few ideas: catching waves (surfing) with a kite, jumping tricks, speed racing...
Very good video, as always. Definitely going to try and concentrate to keep both hands on the bar. Not easy once you get relaxed on the foil.
Once you are relaxed and your arm can sit relaxed at your side, then no worries, take it off the bar when cruising that is no problem at all - I tried to make that clear near the start, maybe not clearly enough. If you are trying to go fast or really point upwind or downwind then two hands will help. But maybe the most important result of this video is hopefully to make people think about it and see if this might be something that will solve underlying issues. Let us know how you get on, love to hear your feedback.
Hi Rob. Another good point I've noticed for keeping both hands on the bar is I don't get as much wrist strain. I found that the amount of kite steering corrections needed when learning with one hand and a bigger kite was killing my wrists. I wonder if you have seen this problem before?
Yeah, that is a definitely issue, kite flying when foiling can be very dynamic. When first learning the kite either needs to be flown a lot if you are riding a bit underpowered or off the foil, and even once foiling so much concentration is focused on the board and foil that the kite never stays where you want it so you end up having to the fly the kite too. Two hands is definitely gonna be less stressful on your wrists - great point, thanks.
one hand on the bar is definitely a phase we go through and need to unlearn like poop stance and watching the kite when learning to twintip.
Damn, was foiling today and would always go two handed when trying to control the kite after losing said control by letting go one hand. I found it was less about balance for me and more about being used to snowboard/twin tip stance with body facing in the direction I want to go.
The entire session I was wondering what I was doing wrong failing to keep control of the kite as I got a major change in apparent wind either raising or diving the kite beyond what I could control one handed..
I have a question. When I get up on my foil my board does not go flat and stays sideways and and then the foil comes up and I can’t get up and fall back. Any tips
It sounds like you are lending back (as it outwards) with all your weight on your heels as you get pulled up. This is what you probably do on a twintip but for a foil you need to come up and allow your weight to come right up over the board, so you have even weight on your toes and heels.
- To start with aim to keep your knees bent, your weight really low as this is a far easier stance to keep your weight even across your feet, and to get more weight over your front leg.
- With your kite, drop it hard down into the powerzone, like normal, but be sure to turn it back up before it gets too low and drive it back up high - use the pull and lift as it drives upwards to keep your weight forward and generate some speed.
- Overall you need to change your mindset of how the kite pull "feels" when riding a kitefoil compared to a twintip or surfboard. You don't need or want the same level of pull (power) and you have to trust that if you get your body up and over the board, keeping it level with enough weight forward, that even if it feels like there isn't much pull from the kite you will still keep moving forward. The foil, even when under the water with the board on the water, is generating lift and helping you to stay afloat and move forwards.
Let me know if any of that helps.
Move feet away from centerline
Absolutely Right!
So helpful - as usual!
Hey progression sports any tips to stay upright I am a big twin tipper and all I want to do is be on my rail. Should i
Hey Chris. Over coming the twintip stance is a hard one for some people and takes a really chance of mind set. We strong advise getting your stance worked out riding off the foil, making sure you can do this really conformably first before you start trying to rise and glide on the foil. In fact, tell yourself that any hint of foiling is a failure and your mission is to ride off the foil for long runs and you ONLY rise up on the foil when you choose too, not by accident. The riding off the foil stage of learning is so important because it allows you to work on changing that stance, with less consequence and the board and foil will be less susceptible to small changes in body position. You can massively over exaggerate putting weight forward on your front leg - I don't think I have ever said to a student "you've got a bit too much front foot pressure, lend towards the tail a bit" :-)
Focus on three things:
1) keep you kite high, only drop it low initially to waterstart and then fly it in the top part of the window - unlike riding a TT, on a foil you can't handle the power from a lower kite, you will lend back and out, and you don't have the skills initially to handle this
2) Bend your legs, get really low if you have to, survival stance. It doesn't have to look pretty but a lower centre of mass helps in foiling. Think of it like a squat at the gym - dropping your whole body down but not sticking your arse out. Also it will make it easier to keep weight across your whole foot - as much weight on your toes as your heels.
3) Trust that you have enough power from the kite even if it feels like there is little pull - the foil is way more efficient than what you are used to riding a TT, it needs way less power, even riding off the foil, so have the confidence to stand on the board, legs bent, weight forward over your front leg and just plod along, you'll soon realise you don't need to feel the kite pulling hard to stay riding. This is a big change in mindset.
Let me know how you get on.
Hey do u have a vid on learning to tack ??
Not yet, definitely on the cards but I have the foiling gybes video to finish first!
Tacking is a hard trick to teach - or more its complicated with may moving parts so quite hard to generalise. I am working on it and we now have a clear method of teaching tacks in person so that will help me figure out how to generalise it into a video format.
Which of the four tacks are you trying to learn?
@@progressionsports I am working on a heelside upwind tack coming out toeside. Have done about ten of them in 5 months of trying. Also pulled off 2 coming out with a foot change. Its a bloody hard move I reckon ! I am a confident foiler doing good gybes but just cant seem to get the tack sorted as 95% of the time I flip off the back of the board. I reckon there would be a lot of interest in a good tacking lesson video. Keep up the good work M8.
@@SailingREHAB The heel to toe is a great tack to start with. Whenever you are getting pulled off backwards it's because you haven't got the kite in the correct position earlier on in the tack. Try directing the kite up so its nearly at 12 before you start carving upwind, then as you carve, sheet right out, so the bar hits the stopper - this will luff the kite over head and allow you transfer weight forward on your front foot, twist your upper body to face the new direction, and as you do all of this you can start to sheet in to get power and better steering control of the kite.
All the tacks hinge on getting that kite in the correct place as you enter the carve - much like the gybe, we want the kite leading us through the carve - getting it to 12 and sheeting out makes this possible. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.
And tacking videos will come, just need more hours in the day!!
Hey thx for the advice. I will definately try that and let u know how I get on. Going to get there sooner or L8R.
Hey Rob. Thanks for taking the time to give me a few Tack tips. I tried what u said today and WOW what a difference that made. Holding the kite high enabled me to get through the tack and I pulled of 3 out of 10 attempts as I rode out toeside so I am stoked. Stil a long way to go but this has helped. Thanks again ~ Paul
Thanks I didn’t know
ok, from now on, two hands on bar unless toe side up winding ,then as required.
:) If you are looking for a fight, this crew does not seem to agree: ruclips.net/video/0yiXgIaJIPg/видео.html
Definitely not looking for a fight but I am interested if anyone has a good justification for why we would want to tell people to take a hand off or let them do it. in my experience, it purely adds problems or is the result of issues and a great sign of how to fix them. I just want people to be better kitefoilers but always welcome differing views and looking to broaden my experience through that.
Guilty
Half of the video is exaggerated
Exaggeration is a useful tool to illustrate points which can otherwise be too subtle to see!