Faster Progression For Windsurf Wave Foiling
(Written September 2023)

Often, I'm asked online and in person what I mostly attribute my progress to in the sport of windsurf wave foiling. Over the last year I've given considerable thought to this question with hopes that I can help other athletes learn the sport more quickly and progress faster. Is it natural talent/skill? Is it more days on the water than other athletes? Is it longer sessions than other athletes? Is it from working with a coach? Is it from specific drill work? Is it my fastidious training program? Is it due to the optimal conditions at the locations where I ride? What is it that contributes most to my progress? The answer to the question "how to learn most quickly" can be different for different people, but, upon analyzing my own experience, I have narrowed it down to one major reason that has allowed me to progress in this sport. I then detailed some items below that are worth sharing and that I think can help everyone.

I'll give you the direct general answer right up front. Here it is. The biggest reason for my progress in the sport of WWF is how I spend my time when I'm not on the water. Yes, that's correct. After analyzing this for a year I've come to the conclusion that the greatest factor in determining my progress is what I do when I'm not on the water windsurf wave foiling. I am not a great WWFer, but my progress is constant and consistent. There are other riders who progress faster, but would they attribute their progress to how they spend their time when not on the water? This is significant because most of us live in places where it's not windy every single day, but we would still like to do something that can help us progress in the sport when we are not on the water. So, let's discuss this.

First, let me address natural talent and skill. As an overall skills athlete I consider myself average at best. Any prior successes I've had in other sports has been in endurance sports and speed sports, not skill sports. And even in those endurance and speed sports I was never much better than average, and much of that success was also attributed to what I did when not directly engaging in those sport. As far as skills sports, in middle school I played hockey in a town league. In high school I rode the bench on the JV basketball team. Table tennis took many years for me to become barely average. I was a big chicken in mountain biking, and it took me many years to overcome my fears that inhibited my skill performance. In my early 40's I Iearned snowboarding, and now, nearly 10 years later, I'm barely average. Most of the WWF riders I know personally or know through social media are better skills athletes in sports other than WWF compared to me. But I spend a lot of time working on WWF when I'm not on the water. How?

1. Perform off the water drills - There are many skills you can train when you're at home and not on the water. And when you're at home you are rested and fresh, which is a bonus way to practice skills. Here are a few examples of drills you can do at home. Stand in your kitchen and find a straight line in the tiles on your floor. Pretend that line is the centerline of the board. Now put your feet in the position around that centerline as you would if you were jibing. Then look down at your feet and switch your feet as if you were jibing by moving the front foot to the back position and then the back foot to the front position. Give specific thought to which leg your weight is over when your feet land. Simply noticing which leg has more weight over it will teach you how to control foil pitch when you actually get on the water. You MUST take deliberate notice of how your weight is distributed when you feet land, and it's much easier to pay attention to this when you're in your kitchen than when you're on the water. If you notice more weight on your rear leg (which is most often the case) then deliberately land your feet with more weight on the front leg. Do it hundreds and hundreds of times. Now close your eyes or look straight ahead and switch your feet again. Then look down and take note of where your feet land. Are they in the correct spot? If you are unsure of the correct spot then call a friend who is proficient in the foot switch and let them show you. Repeat the exercise with your eyes closed hundreds and hundreds of times and each time look down to check where your feet land. Now, do the same thing, but this time move the back foot to the front position first, and then move the front foot to the back position. Why? Because this works better in overpowered high wind conditions. This holds the nose of the board down in high wind. Moving the front foot to the back position before moving the back foot to the front position works better in light wind. Repeat both patterns hundreds and hundreds of times. This is training. This builds muscle memory.

Another drill you can perform at home is hand control on the boom. WWF requires an immense amount of hand work on the boom. This is very different than regular windsurfing which requires less hand work on the boom. It takes consistent practice of this hand work for it to become second nature. I have a scrap bottom half of sail mast to which I attach my boom and perform the drill on a mast base attached to a piece of wood. Of course, in order to do this successfully you must first know what the proper hand work looks like. That's in section #2 below.

If you are a beginner, get a 2"x 4" and put it under an old windsurfing board in your backyard. Stand on the board with the 2"x 4" located where the front foil wing will be located. This is roughly between your front foot and back foot. Now stand on the board with your feet in sailing position over the 2"x 4" and move your front hip and shoulder toward the nose of the board until the nose rocks down to the ground as it tips on the 2"x 4". This is how you will control the foil pitch. Front hip and shoulder. Now rock your front hip and shoulder toward the tail of the board until the tail rocks down to the ground. Practice this. This is how you will gently initiate flight and landing of the foil as a beginner. Make sure you use an old board in case it gets damaged.

2. Study and Learn the Movements - In order to successfully practice drilling as discussed above, and to practice movements on the water, you must first know the correct technique. You can't practice something well if you don't know the correct way to perform it. Well, the good news is that you can learn the correct technique at home. I've made this part easy for you. In 2021 I wrote an article called Windfoil Wave Technique. This article explains step by step movements of both your upper and lower body. Read it over and over and over. Visualize it in your head. Rig a sail in your backyard and stand on your board. Practice each movement. It's a lot easier on land than it is on the water, so learn the basics at home. You can then watch it with your own eyes in this video of Casey Treichler, the developer of our sport. When you are ready to learn the jibe you can do the same thing. I have found it much easier to learn wave riding before learning to jibe. In 2021 I also wrote an article called Wind Foil Jibe - Flagging Technique. Read it 20 times. Visualize it in your head. Stand in your kitchen and practice the movements while you visualize it.  You can also watch Casey Treichler perform jibe after jibe in this video. Sam Ross does a great job of providing videos of many other aspects of foiling including how to rock your front hip/shoulder to initiate flight as described above. Once you have solid understanding of these skills you can watch video of Lisa and I as beginners, and you can analyze our weaknesses, strengths and progress. Then you can compare that to where you are on your journey. Here is that series of videos and blog posts showing beginner progress. There is also a list of additional resources at the bottom of that page to help you learn quicker.

3. Learn Wave Riding First and Temporarily Forget the Jibe - Everybody wants to learn the jibe first and wave riding later. Don't fall into that trap. It will set you back years. YEARS! Learn proper wave riding FIRST and forget about the jibe for a little while. Why? One, because proper wave riding teaches you the jibe much quicker than learning the jibe directly, and you won't even realize you're learning it. And, two, you won't fall in the water as much, so you won't get tired as quickly, which means you can train longer with higher quality. Why won't you fall in the water as much? Because you will practice a wave ride, and then you will tack out of it. Then you will practice a wave ride in the other direction and tack out of it. These big boards are so easy to tack, so you won't fall in much. You will get dozens and dozens of wave rides without falling in the water. All of this wave riding is training you for the jibe. I started practicing wave riding on my 10th overall session in May of 2020. Three wave sessions later I had begun using the proper technique. And after my 20th overall session in 2020 (my fifth overall wave session) I wrote a blog post called Foil Break-Thru During Session #20 which explains how I was able to let go of the boom with one hand and just glide on the wave. It doesn't take long for an average skills athlete to learn this if you study a lot at home. Remember, I'm not a natural skills athlete. Neither is Lisa. We're barely average. But studying and practicing at home is the key! Study, study, study at home. The skills you learn wave riding are the exact same skills you will need in order to jibe. Exactly the same. Follow the technique in Windfoil Wave Technique and Wind Foil Jibe - Flagging Technique discussed above. Then all you need to do is add the foot switch when you are ready to jibe, which you have been practicing at home. I did a total of 42 sessions before I ever started focusing on the jibe. Most of those 42 sessions were in the waves. Then it only took a few sessions to learn the foot switch which completed the jibe. Lisa learned the same way. It's so much quicker and easier than directly focusing on the jibe. The wave helps you maintain speed throughout the entire jibe so you never have to worry about slowing down. You get so much more time during the jibe to think about the steps. It's way easier than learning in flat water, but you must get comfortable wave riding first in order to have height control. So get out in the waves as much as possible and learn the proper wave technique. And that leads us to the next item.

4. Weather Forecasting - In order to improve you need good wind and wave conditions. Dedicate time at home to becoming the best weather forecaster you can be. This will get you more time on the water in the best conditions for the skills you will be practicing that day. I've made it as easy for you as I can with the article Weather Forecasting for Wind Driven Water Sports in WNY. Read it dozens of times. Set up your computer and phone the way the article suggests. Take some meteorology courses or watch my Youtube videos on "How To Predict Wind". Design your approach to search for wind in the 14-25mph range with swell 2-5 feet. Learn how fronts work, how pressure systems work, how temperature affects wind, what the clouds mean, how the lake effect process works, what causes upwelling, how bubbling occurs, and more. Increase the probability that you will arrive at the beach to find the conditions that will offer you the best opportunity to learn and progress. You can learn how to be the best weather forecaster you can be while at home having a beer. It's fun!

5. Practice Visualization - This was briefly mentioned above, but it deserves its own section. Visualization is a key component of sports progression for serious athletes around the world. Science has demonstrated that visualization improves kinesthetic motor skills. And you can do it anywhere. All you need with you is your brain. Sometimes I lie down on my bed and practice visualization of wave technique or jibing technique. But other times I do it while I'm going for a walk or bike ride. This type of visualization is named recalled visualization. You recall the movements in your mind as a way to solidify the technique in your memory. It helps tremendously. The reverse form of visualization is called applied visualization where you watch a video of a movement performed correctly by someone and then you apply that memory when you are on the water. It's all really fun, especially when you haven't been on the water in a few days. Commit to it.

6. Study and Learn the Gear - This sport is very, very complicated. There's a lot to know. Your understanding of the gear will help you on the water. You'll know what gear to use for the conditions you encounter and for the skills you want to practice. You will need to have solid understanding of the front and rear foil shapes and sizes, fuselage lengths, foil distance from the foil mast, foil mast height and chord, foil mast position where it is attached to the board, foot position on the board, mast base position, sail mast stiffness, sail design, sail rigging, and boom height. Recently, I wrote an article called Reduce Over-Foiling When Windsurf Wave Foiling which discusses many of the aspects of gear. I also have a Youtube video called Foil Wings For Windsurf Wave Foiling that describes foil wing characteristics. Another video is entitled Sails For Windsurf Wave Foiling. Study these tools frequently. Learn the technical differences between regular windfoiling and windsurf wave foiling in the article entitled Difference Between Windfoiling and Windsurf Wave Foiling. You can do all of this at home on days when there is no wind. It's fun and it will help you immensely on the water. You will understand what your gear is doing and this will make you a better rider because you will have the correct gear for specific situations and you will be able adjust your riding for better performance.

7. Get Organized - On days when you're stuck at home spend time to organize the gear in your vehicle. Make it efficient so when you arrive at the beach you can be on the water quickly if necessary. Some days the wind will blow all day and there's no rush. But other days there is a narrow time window that you will know from your newly advanced weather forecasting skills. On those days with a narrow time window you may only get an hour of wind to help extend your progress. Be well organized and efficient so you can make the most of a sketchy wind situation. Learn to rig quickly too. Here is a video called Rigging Faster! that will help you.

8. Make Good Use of Video Technology - We have the technology. Use it to your advantage. Take some video footage of the best rider you know. Study that video over and over and over. Watch it hundreds of times. Each time you watch it make note of the specific things that the advanced rider is doing. Write it down and bring your notes to the beach. Memorize it. Read it right before you go out on the water. Then apply those things when you are on the water as mentioned in section #5 above. You can prepare all of this at home on days when it's not windy. Then get someone else to take video of you at the exact same location where you took video of the advanced rider. Pull up both videos on two side-by-side screens at the same time. Find clips of yourself and the other rider on the same tack riding similar waves. Then play the clips and compare. You will learn so much! It's an amazing tool. Then make a written plan of what you intend to practice next time you are on the water. 

9. Keep a Detailed Journal - Write down the things that are working and the things that are not working after each session. Go back and read your journal entries often. You'll be amazed how much you learn. And you will inspire yourself because you will notice how much progress you are making. You may have been struggling with something a few weeks ago, but when you go back and read that journal entry you find that you have figured out that point and now perform it well. It will help you to get to the next point, and so on. As part of the journal keep track of session details such as sail size, foil size, wind conditions, weather conditions, location, etc. This is very valuable as you expand your knowledge about weather forecasting.

10. Plan Your Next Session - The down time when there is no wind is the perfect time to design your training plan for your next session. What is your goal for the next session? How long will your warm-up be? What drills will you start with? What drills will you focus on? How many repetitions will you complete? Will you begin training any new moves? What moves? What is the progression of moves you want to learn? There are many, many questions you should ask yourself when you are designing the training plan for your next session. This is the perfect time to do that. Be detailed and specific. Then summarize it on an index card and bring it with you to the beach at your next session. Read it several times before you enter the water and memorize your plan.

Conclusion: All of the above has led to one drill on the water that makes all the difference in progressing on the water. Read this blog post for details about The #1 WWF Drill On The Water.

The links and resources in this article are the result of many hours of work and many interviews with athletes to bring free material to you so that we may all learn this sport as quickly as possible. Please make use of these resources and share with friends. It is super fun creating this content, and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do.