The Best Wing Foiling skills for Beginners- Wingin' It Now!

Welcome to the new article on Lahoma Winds for everyone. We are excited to start a new series entitled just winging. Don't forget to reach out to Lahoma Winds for all your kind of wingfoiling needs. So we have been waiting for warm enough waters to embark on our wing journey. We cannot quite yet but we are very close to saying that we are thrilled this journey has begun the plan is to have a series of videos that will follow our development of learning on how to wing it. Hopefully, our failures and experiences can speed up the learning curve for your wing foil. The wing handles gusty conditions will also it's a safer sport. We think wing flowing has a really good chance to reach a population that could be initially overwhelmed by kiting but has a real interest in participating in wind water sports. 

We do believe there are many great wing options currently on the market. We would predict are far from being tapped foil wings need to be larger than a kite hydrofoil. Especially, we are at the entry-level stages. So we have gone to Delta eighteen eighty front wings for a few reasons it's a setup that it can use. While kite foiling by just switching out the front wing this will also hopefully allow progression to Delta's fifteen hundred centimeters square wing on the same set up this would mean that we will be able to use the same light wing kite foil wing.

We would use it for wing 40 but right now at this stage we just want lift. We are not breaking any speed records out there. We are not getting up on full until seven to eight miles per hour. We are maxing out in the low to mid-teens on foil. Full size as we haven't seen the need or benefit of starting on a 60 centimeter there are so many variables on front foil wing decision making are you attempting to ride waves flat water.

We will say that if riding a hydrofoil is extremely foreign to you then jumping in the wing foiling will probably be overwhelming at the minimum. However, if you already kite foil surf full or sub coil this aspect will be an easy transition. We opted to not go with foot stress for a couple of reasons for one the rocket board do not have strap inserts.  We like to move our feet around on the board.

We feel that straps can get in the way when kneeling with transitions and they would not allow me the flexibility to change foot positions as easily. When we feel necessary the negative at least early on is that it probably does limit our foil pumping by not being connected better to the board. Your first session on the water the wing ding is a new tool for many and getting used to it whether you're a kite wind surfer or have no wind sports background will take only minimal time and effort for entry-level ability on the water.

We recommend starting on land in a grassy area or beach because the tips of the wing will touch down early on with mistakes. You don't want to destroy your wing before you've even hit the water just standing. Statically initially gets used to wing control just a small breeze will suffice at this point keep your back to the wind.  So never leave only your backhand on the wing transitions should always take place by leaving a hand on the front handle of the wing as your anchor point. If the wing gets too low the front may want to dive into the water which is pretty tough to recover so make sure to keep the wing high enough and if the front begins to dive down pull in with the backhand.

You want to simulate maneuvering the wing from heel to toe side in a dynamic environment on the water. You can also benefit from using a large to work on wing control not only just in a standing position but also in flipping the wing over in the water which may be one of the more difficult things to do in the water in a kneeling position. All of these micro-investments will carry over to proficiency when combining the whole wing foiling setup there are a few ways. 

We usually just jump on from the posterior lateral position in a prone position for board control especially when learning on a smaller volume board practice tall kneeling on the board. You'll notice immediately that this is not that easy. You feel more comfortable in the water try tall splitting which is the position you will be in before coming to a standing position.

It's pretty difficult to do this on a small leader board when you don't have any speed or momentum let's stop right here for a second. We would make sure that you do wear booties in the early stages of board control regardless of the temperature. We went out on my first water session with no booties and I didn't realize how much the dorsal side of our feet was working in a kneeling position to maintain balance on the board. 

You can easily fall over the front of your board. Get used to riding the board pretty flat and pretty balanced become comfortable moving your feet a little bit on the board and weight distribution around on the board and see how it all reacts. If you're able to ride this setup on the water for a substantial time in both directions then honestly everything up on foil will be a easier.

You're having difficulty returning to land. You have a few options initially you can straddle the board like a surfboard and use the wing to direct you back towards land if you need a little more upwind ability just tall to kneel and use the wing in the same way if you're out. And the wind dies or you're not having success using the wing to redirect to land you can take the wing leash and put it around your ankle while lying prone on the board and then swim back to land if the wind has died. If you have no other options deflate the wing on the water fold it up to put it under you and swim prone on the board back to safety.

Put the wing leash around the base of the foil if winds are turbulent and inconsistent and there is concern that the hydrofoil may shoo kebab the wing. We would recommend securing the wing separate from the hydrofoil with an anchored device. Where we're going to stop for today this episode is obviously for the person contemplating are just now stepping into the sport the next episode in this series. We'll look at getting up on foil riding on foil upwind downwind riding beginner transition points and another developmental emphasis please comment with some of your pointers and experiences in this fairly new endeavor and hope you join us next time on Lahoma Winds.

Video credit & lesson Credit from Kyle Oklahoma.