The Top 3 Tips for WWF
November 2024
Tip #1: Back in 2018, two years before I ever rode or purchased any windfoiling gear, I began interviewing foiling athletes from the intermediate to professional level to understand what it takes to learn these foiling sports as my wife and I were interested in learning. At that time, these were mostly windfoilers and wake foilers, and a year later I added wing foilers to the interview process as that sport emerged. I needed to know how one improves quickly in these sports because I didn't want to spend 3 years falling in the water if I decided to learn WWF. I wanted to learn fast if I was going to do it. Now, I've been successfully windsurf wave foiling for almost 5 years, and I've interviewed over 90 foil athletes of different disciplines trying to find the quickest ways to improve as a WWF rider. As I've mentioned in previous articles and blog posts, I have very little natural talent when it comes to skill sports. I rode the bench on my high school basketball team. I was an average player in the town ice hockey league. It took me many years to learn how to snowboard at an intermediate level, and I'm still not much better than intermediate after 12 years of snowboarding. I played table tennis for most of my life until I finally reached an intermediate/advanced level by the time I hit age 40. My improvement in WWF comes by using my talents other than natural skill like persistence, creativity, innovation, and inquisitiveness. These talents led me to interview many athletes and that process led to the #1 drill to learn WWF quickly.
Through this interview process I found that the biggest challenge these athletes faced with foiling under the power of wind seemed to be that single moment when your board is headed directly downwind and you lose all power in your sail/wing like when jibing or wave riding. At that precise moment the board usually takes an abrupt small drop while at the same time you have nothing to lean against because the sail/wing is not engaged against the wind as it is flagged out, and athletes fall. I found that those athletes who had learned wake foiling prior to wind-powered foiling generally had better success with this precise moment probably because they were trained to ride unsupported by a sail/wing, and especially if they had practice learning to ride a wake after releasing the tow rope. This precise moment is very, very important because it is part of the jibing process in both windfoiling and wing foiling, and it is part of the wave riding process.
As a result of my early findings I made it a priority in my first year of WWF to focus on getting comfortable with that precise moment when the board is headed directly downwind with no power in the sail/wing and that abrupt small drop occurs. What was the drill that made all the difference? Very simple. The #1 drill to learn WWF quickly is wave riding with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom. If you practice staying on a wave for 5 seconds or longer with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom you will quickly learn all the skills needed for WWF. This one drill will save you years and years and years of time. I began wave riding on my 10th overall session after studying how the pros did it, and by my 13th overall session I began training with proper wave riding technique. This made all the difference. I see the exact same results with all other WWF riders. Those who learn to stay on a wave with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom for at least 5 seconds improve soooooooooo much faster than those who do not learn this. Why? Let's break it down.
First, your body will be in that position for a long period of time giving your brain more time to develop the muscle memory. When jibing you are only in that downwind position for about one second, but when wave riding for at least 5 seconds you get at least 5 times as much time in that position and so you will learn 5 times more quickly. Once you can do it for 10 seconds you get 10 times more practice and you will learn 10 times more quickly. By learning to ride a wave directly downwind with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom you physically put your body and brain in the position to learn muscle memory for an extended period of time. Second, you won't fall as much because after you ride the wave for 5 seconds you simply head back upwind and either do it again or set your board on the water and tack out of it. There's no need to fall in the water especially if you have a big board that you can tack on. Eventually you will extend your wave ride into the position where your body starts to go frontside. By going frontside on a wave you are training your body for the jibe, but you won't fall in as much because you are only going as far frontside as you feel comfortable and then you go back to your original tack. This process literally saves years and years of learning because you learn at a rate that is 5 to 10 times faster than trying to jibe alone as you put your body in this proper position for a longer period of time. You don't get nearly as fatigued or frustrated from falling in the water giving you more energy to train longer, and you have an absolute blast riding waves. Third, you will quickly learn to anticipate that small abrupt drop that occurs when you are directly downwind in the middle of a jibe or wave ride. You will expect it to be coming, you will anticipate it, you will learn to overcome it quickly, and you will no longer be afraid of it.
Whether you are just beginning to learn to windfoil or whether you've been doing it for a while commit to learning to ride a wave with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom for at least 5 seconds and do that drill hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times. After interviewing over 90 foil athletes of different disciplines I have found this to be the #1 drill to learn WWF quickly. It will save you years and years of learning time. You'll be doing downwinders very quickly, and you will be jibing years before other riders who do not practice this #1 simple drill. If you would like to review the wave riding technique you can read this article called Windfoil Wave Technique.
Through this interview process I found that the biggest challenge these athletes faced with foiling under the power of wind seemed to be that single moment when your board is headed directly downwind and you lose all power in your sail/wing like when jibing or wave riding. At that precise moment the board usually takes an abrupt small drop while at the same time you have nothing to lean against because the sail/wing is not engaged against the wind as it is flagged out, and athletes fall. I found that those athletes who had learned wake foiling prior to wind-powered foiling generally had better success with this precise moment probably because they were trained to ride unsupported by a sail/wing, and especially if they had practice learning to ride a wake after releasing the tow rope. This precise moment is very, very important because it is part of the jibing process in both windfoiling and wing foiling, and it is part of the wave riding process.
As a result of my early findings I made it a priority in my first year of WWF to focus on getting comfortable with that precise moment when the board is headed directly downwind with no power in the sail/wing and that abrupt small drop occurs. What was the drill that made all the difference? Very simple. The #1 drill to learn WWF quickly is wave riding with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom. If you practice staying on a wave for 5 seconds or longer with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom you will quickly learn all the skills needed for WWF. This one drill will save you years and years and years of time. I began wave riding on my 10th overall session after studying how the pros did it, and by my 13th overall session I began training with proper wave riding technique. This made all the difference. I see the exact same results with all other WWF riders. Those who learn to stay on a wave with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom for at least 5 seconds improve soooooooooo much faster than those who do not learn this. Why? Let's break it down.
First, your body will be in that position for a long period of time giving your brain more time to develop the muscle memory. When jibing you are only in that downwind position for about one second, but when wave riding for at least 5 seconds you get at least 5 times as much time in that position and so you will learn 5 times more quickly. Once you can do it for 10 seconds you get 10 times more practice and you will learn 10 times more quickly. By learning to ride a wave directly downwind with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom you physically put your body and brain in the position to learn muscle memory for an extended period of time. Second, you won't fall as much because after you ride the wave for 5 seconds you simply head back upwind and either do it again or set your board on the water and tack out of it. There's no need to fall in the water especially if you have a big board that you can tack on. Eventually you will extend your wave ride into the position where your body starts to go frontside. By going frontside on a wave you are training your body for the jibe, but you won't fall in as much because you are only going as far frontside as you feel comfortable and then you go back to your original tack. This process literally saves years and years of learning because you learn at a rate that is 5 to 10 times faster than trying to jibe alone as you put your body in this proper position for a longer period of time. You don't get nearly as fatigued or frustrated from falling in the water giving you more energy to train longer, and you have an absolute blast riding waves. Third, you will quickly learn to anticipate that small abrupt drop that occurs when you are directly downwind in the middle of a jibe or wave ride. You will expect it to be coming, you will anticipate it, you will learn to overcome it quickly, and you will no longer be afraid of it.
Whether you are just beginning to learn to windfoil or whether you've been doing it for a while commit to learning to ride a wave with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom for at least 5 seconds and do that drill hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times. After interviewing over 90 foil athletes of different disciplines I have found this to be the #1 drill to learn WWF quickly. It will save you years and years of learning time. You'll be doing downwinders very quickly, and you will be jibing years before other riders who do not practice this #1 simple drill. If you would like to review the wave riding technique you can read this article called Windfoil Wave Technique.
Tip #2: In Tip #1 I explained that, by far, the #1 drill you can do on the water is wave riding with the sail flagged out and one hand on the boom for at least 5 seconds with glide. Do that drill for 100 sessions and it will save you years of time. Not only will you learn to ride waves, but you will learn to jibe, you will learn to ride switch stance, and you will learn pitch and roll control. It's like magic! It is the very first drill and skill you should learn. If you are a beginner, get a half dozen sessions on flatwater and then IMMEDIATELY get in the waves and practice this proper wave technique. I was fortunate enough to take this advice in my beginning season. You can learn that proper wave technique in my article Windfoil Wave Technique.
This blog post is about the #2 WWF drill on the water. That drill is simply to ride more sensitive foils. While I embraced wave riding in my first 10 sessions, I did not try riding more sensitive foils until the end of my first season. Looking back I wish I would have started in the middle of that first season. I did 63 sessions on the Maliko 200 in that first season, and then I spent the last 2 sessions (3.1%) of that season on the Iwa which is a more sensitive wing due to its smaller size. In my second season I spent 20.7% of my sessions on the more sensitive Iwa and the rest on the Maliko 200. Again, looking back, I wish I would have spent more time on the Iwa. In my third season I spent 51.8% of my sessions on the more sensitive Iwa, but I also added 3.6% of my sessions on the even more sensitive EZ1600 and 10.7% of my sessions on the most highly sensitive RS1300. That third season saw a MAJOR improvement in my skills. All my skills popped! In my fourth season I spent 74.5% of my total sessions on more sensitive foil wings as follows: 25.5% of sessions on the Iwa, 29.4% on the EZ1600, 13.7% on the RS1300, and 5.9% on the EZ1800. As of the time of this writing we are almost halfway through my fifth season, and I have spent 37.5% on the EZ1600, 37.5% on the EZ1800, 17.5% on the NL's, and 5% on the RS1300. As you can see, this season has been almost entirely on high sensitivity foil wings. It makes a huge difference in skill improvement.
If I could go back in time I would have started riding higher sensitivity foil wings sooner. It is a fantastic training tool, and it will help you improve much more quickly. In addition, it is a training tool you can use to improve your WWF skills when you do not have access to waves. When you're on flatwater use the most ultrasensitive foil wing you can get your hands on. It will improve your skills more than any other flatwater training tool. That was the initial reason that I purchased the RS1300. I bought the RS1300 as a flatwater training tool because at the end of that season, when the weather was cold, I wanted a training tool that I could use when confined to the safety of our harbor. When you get back in the waves after using a high sensitivity foil wing in flatwater you will notice improvement. But don't limit yourself to using high sensitivity foil wings in flatwater. They have amazing glide on the waves. They do not grip well, but the glide is a fun experience. Commit to using them in the waves as well. You will be very glad you did. Your skills will improve much faster than you ever imagined!
This blog post is about the #2 WWF drill on the water. That drill is simply to ride more sensitive foils. While I embraced wave riding in my first 10 sessions, I did not try riding more sensitive foils until the end of my first season. Looking back I wish I would have started in the middle of that first season. I did 63 sessions on the Maliko 200 in that first season, and then I spent the last 2 sessions (3.1%) of that season on the Iwa which is a more sensitive wing due to its smaller size. In my second season I spent 20.7% of my sessions on the more sensitive Iwa and the rest on the Maliko 200. Again, looking back, I wish I would have spent more time on the Iwa. In my third season I spent 51.8% of my sessions on the more sensitive Iwa, but I also added 3.6% of my sessions on the even more sensitive EZ1600 and 10.7% of my sessions on the most highly sensitive RS1300. That third season saw a MAJOR improvement in my skills. All my skills popped! In my fourth season I spent 74.5% of my total sessions on more sensitive foil wings as follows: 25.5% of sessions on the Iwa, 29.4% on the EZ1600, 13.7% on the RS1300, and 5.9% on the EZ1800. As of the time of this writing we are almost halfway through my fifth season, and I have spent 37.5% on the EZ1600, 37.5% on the EZ1800, 17.5% on the NL's, and 5% on the RS1300. As you can see, this season has been almost entirely on high sensitivity foil wings. It makes a huge difference in skill improvement.
If I could go back in time I would have started riding higher sensitivity foil wings sooner. It is a fantastic training tool, and it will help you improve much more quickly. In addition, it is a training tool you can use to improve your WWF skills when you do not have access to waves. When you're on flatwater use the most ultrasensitive foil wing you can get your hands on. It will improve your skills more than any other flatwater training tool. That was the initial reason that I purchased the RS1300. I bought the RS1300 as a flatwater training tool because at the end of that season, when the weather was cold, I wanted a training tool that I could use when confined to the safety of our harbor. When you get back in the waves after using a high sensitivity foil wing in flatwater you will notice improvement. But don't limit yourself to using high sensitivity foil wings in flatwater. They have amazing glide on the waves. They do not grip well, but the glide is a fun experience. Commit to using them in the waves as well. You will be very glad you did. Your skills will improve much faster than you ever imagined!
Tip #3: Here it is. The #3 WWF drill on the water is to gather more speed before carving onto the wave. This drill requires proficiency in the #1 drill before proceeding to this #3 drill, so work on that drill first as you aspire toward gathering more speed going into your waves rides. The #2 drill will also help you to obtain success in this #3 drill, but it is not a requirement.
The first part of the drill is fairly simple. Get out of the harness, let the sail fill with wind as you accelerate as fast as possible going mostly parallel to the wave and aiming for the spot where you intend to carve down the wave. The next part is a little more technical. With all that speed there is a high probability that you will over-foil when you carve down the wave if the sail remains powered, so you must learn how to dump the power in the sail at the exact moment you carve. Here is the how you do it. At the exact moment that you intend to carve down the wave slide your hands up the boom closer to the mast to flag the sail, pull the mast close to your chest, and drop the mast and boom down toward your rearward hip. You can read about the handwork for this flagging technique here. This is the most neutral position to place the sail in order to dump the power so that you don't over-foil. It takes some practice, so don't get frustrated if it feels awkward the first 100-200 times. If you try it 25 times per session you will probably get comfortable with it after a half dozen sessions or so.
The extra speed is critical for long, snappy waves rides, but you can't get long, snappy wave rides if you over-foil. By pulling the mast close to your chest and dropping it down toward your rearward hip the clew of the sail will flag out and not hold much power. You can then snap the board down the wave with excellent height control so you can surf instead of sail. As you continue down and/or across the wave use the sail to help control foil height. If you want the foil and nose of the board to go lower then push the mast away from your chest toward the nose of the board. If you want the foil and nose of the board to go higher then pull mast closer to your chest toward the rear of the board. By pulling the mast closer to your chest you can also gain more glide when needed.
This is a drill you can partly perform even if you are confined to flatwater. Get out of the harness and power up the sail to go as fast as possible. Then, just as you are about to carve into your jibe at full speed, flag the sail and lower the mast and boom toward your chest and rear hip. This is also a super fun way to jibe on flatwater because you can easily place your rear hand right next to the mast on boom while it is down near your hip and then flip the sail one-handed as the board carves around. It a fun maneuver to practice when you are on flatwater. This one-handed jibe is equally as fun on the wave.
Have fun out there!
The first part of the drill is fairly simple. Get out of the harness, let the sail fill with wind as you accelerate as fast as possible going mostly parallel to the wave and aiming for the spot where you intend to carve down the wave. The next part is a little more technical. With all that speed there is a high probability that you will over-foil when you carve down the wave if the sail remains powered, so you must learn how to dump the power in the sail at the exact moment you carve. Here is the how you do it. At the exact moment that you intend to carve down the wave slide your hands up the boom closer to the mast to flag the sail, pull the mast close to your chest, and drop the mast and boom down toward your rearward hip. You can read about the handwork for this flagging technique here. This is the most neutral position to place the sail in order to dump the power so that you don't over-foil. It takes some practice, so don't get frustrated if it feels awkward the first 100-200 times. If you try it 25 times per session you will probably get comfortable with it after a half dozen sessions or so.
The extra speed is critical for long, snappy waves rides, but you can't get long, snappy wave rides if you over-foil. By pulling the mast close to your chest and dropping it down toward your rearward hip the clew of the sail will flag out and not hold much power. You can then snap the board down the wave with excellent height control so you can surf instead of sail. As you continue down and/or across the wave use the sail to help control foil height. If you want the foil and nose of the board to go lower then push the mast away from your chest toward the nose of the board. If you want the foil and nose of the board to go higher then pull mast closer to your chest toward the rear of the board. By pulling the mast closer to your chest you can also gain more glide when needed.
This is a drill you can partly perform even if you are confined to flatwater. Get out of the harness and power up the sail to go as fast as possible. Then, just as you are about to carve into your jibe at full speed, flag the sail and lower the mast and boom toward your chest and rear hip. This is also a super fun way to jibe on flatwater because you can easily place your rear hand right next to the mast on boom while it is down near your hip and then flip the sail one-handed as the board carves around. It a fun maneuver to practice when you are on flatwater. This one-handed jibe is equally as fun on the wave.
Have fun out there!
