struggling with feet switch

[winged surfer]

hello everybody,
i am at a point that i can jibe with 100% success but i find some problems when i have to change my feet stance.
I tried doing as someone suggested to rise a bit the foil and in that moment put both feet in front and then immediately one foot back, but it seems that my mind kind of block me one more second and i lose balance so it's not fluid.. any more suggestions please? thanks!!

[flkiter]

While you're riding find the spot in the middle of the board where you can ride with your feet together, side by side. This is your balanced spot. You can actually ride all over the place including toe side in this spot. So when you go for the foot switch, bring the rear foot to the balance spot. Then pump the board down away from your front foot so you can lift it and put it in the balance spot and then back foot can come forward whenever you want.

[winged surfer]

Thanks for the tip!!
I can’t wait to try next time. But does it work also with short board?  I mean mine  now is 6”3 and i think it will work, but if i go 5”0 ?

[flkiter]

I do it with a 5'1" 90 liter board and same technique for doing it with kite foil boards which are under 20 liters so it'll work for anything. The bigger the board, the less input your motions will have on the foil so you can go slow with your foot positioning. Also putting the wing above you will give you lift and make it easier to walk the board. Once you're dialed in then you'll be switching while having pull from the wing.

[supkailua]

I agree with advice. Set yourself up to go downwind for a while using the wing to control the foil height while you stand in the balance spot with feet parallel. Once you are comfortable with that spot things get easier.

I also found I would do more of a foot slide vs. jumping up and changing feet. I keep thinking my stance should be far and wide once the change is done. In other words the front foot should be pretty far up, this will allow you to keep control of the foil if a swell pushes you or you are going fast. The feet should be wide apart, again, just a balance thing, it is easier to balance the board when the feet are wide. A lot of my falls when learning were because after my foot change my front foot was not far enough up or my stance was not wide enough so I lost balance.

What I do is make sure I have good speed and good wind in the wing before I do my turn. In light winds I wait for the gust to jibe. As I start to turn I do the foot switch. Once I am done the foot switch I am in to the turn as long as I have enough speed. This makes things easier because I am not needing to ride toe side. I can ride toe side if needed to get more speed, but for me I noticed it is not my preferred way to do it. I do know others who do the foot switch after the jibe, so they come out riding toe side and then switch. I prefer to change feet during the turn. Keep as much speed as possible through the turn and then grab the wing on the other side and go.

Speed and control are key. If you have enough speed the foil will stay up. To generate that speed you need to always have a foot stance where you have good control.

[winged surfer]

Thanks guys for your advices, can’t wait to try!