Author Topic: Getting Off the Back Foot  (Read 2592 times)

jrobmaui

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Getting Off the Back Foot
« on: January 26, 2023, 07:36:24 AM »
My foot switches are pathetic, and I feel like I still have too much weight on the back foot (windsurfer).  I was watching a video where the instructors said, in the space of 30 secs, if you have too much weight on the back foot you have to 1) move the mast forward in the track, and 2) move the mast back.  I then realized I have no good feel at all for how to do this.

Since I don't have footstraps, if I move the mast aren't I just going to adapt to the new position by adapting my feet until they feel comfortable, ie too much back foot pressure just like before?  My mast is fairly far back in my 125L board.  Mostly light winds and flat water, 6 or 8 m wing on top of GoFoil 2200.

The more I wing the more balanced I feel front foot vs back foot, and I've been narrowing my stance which has helped, but I would like to get over this early in the upcoming season if possible.  Comments appreciated.

jrob

PonoBill

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2023, 09:45:58 AM »
Yes, if you don't have footstraps you'll just move your feet to trim on foil. If your board is big enough it won't matter much, but you are likely to have to adjust foot position as soon as you're flying since the most comfortable board trim won't be the same as the most comfortable foil trim. Depending on your board design it might be hard to get up on foil since a very forward foil position means more tail to sink to get the angle of attack increased so the foil can lift. That can be a good thing with wide high-aspect wings that come up best with a low angle of attack (less stalling).

The trick to foot switching (yeah, I have to do it too, old windsurfer habits die hard, and I'm too stiff for that twisted shit anyway) is to practice at home, just like I used to do for cross-stepping. The temptation is to shuffle your way into a switch, but that doesn't work well for a foiling jibe. You don't need to hop into a switch, but you do need to be lightfooted and quick. For me, it's to turn the front foot to face the nose, step forward with your back foot so it's next to the front foot, step back with your front foot to the back foot position, and wiggle my feet around to fine-tune.

It sounds simple, but unless you practice enough to get that into muscle memory you won't do it, any more than you'll cross-step just by seeing someone else do it. Unfortunately, I can't foot switch my way to getting another cup of coffee, so I'll have to cross-step. Drives my wife insane. 

Most of the instruction videos I've seen focus on timing the switch to board movement, i.e. switch while the board is moving up. That's like patting your nose while you rub your stomach--too many things to think about when you're learning. Just focus on the switch. The timing thing is a refinement for people who have the switch firmly implanted in muscle memory.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2023, 09:49:25 AM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

StellaBlu

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2023, 09:54:14 AM »
I definitely feel that adjusting my balance and foil position to be more front foot oriented helped my foot switches.  For me, that meant moving the mast forward and keeping my feet in the same position.  That way, when you unweight the back foot and overweight the front foot (for a moment), you don't dive.

Another thing that helped me was adjusting angle to go downwind slightly, thereby depowering the sail.  This will center your balance more and simplify things.  Contending with the balance, while having the sail pull you is too many inputs to manage.

This is counter to what @ponobill says, but I found that being aggressive with the board pop was helpful.  This is going to be even more important if you have a back foot oriented setup.  If you don't pop, your foil is going to dive.  The timing also helps me.

PonoBill

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2023, 10:27:31 AM »
That's not counter to what I posted at all. Switching on the rise is important, but until you can make the switch cleanly instead of shuffling around, it's secondary. I can switch and stay foiling without worrying about the rise, but I can't take advantage of the rise and shuffle around. You've probably got the switch down pat if you're focused on balance and timing.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

jrobmaui

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2023, 07:34:07 AM »
Thanks guys.  Dry land exercises commenced.

jrob

surfcowboy

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2023, 07:42:46 AM »
This is right where I am. I can switch on the water but can't consistently land the flying foot switch. I've been practicing in the living room as well. Hoping muscle memory kicks in soon.

JohnnyTsunami

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2023, 11:49:48 PM »
You should ride with your weight balanced, especially when switching feet. Start there. Then figure out what your problem is. Sounds like you know the problem, so... what's the problem? Move back.

Typically, your feet don't end up in the right place and you breach because you end up too far back or forward and you're not sure what's going on for a second and you lose your balance on the foil. A front footstrap helps a LOT with this since you will never have any doubt about your front (most important) foot. It will be in the strap, or you will have kicked the strap and know how far off you are.

Absent a footstrap, you should have some sort of marking or indentation on your deckpad where your front foot goes (i.e. "a couple inches from the end," or "right over the last holes" or something like that). Personally I had to actually look down exactly when my new foot was about to land to make sure it was going far enough forward. Like .2s looking down. Once your foot is down and in the right spot, have CONFIDENCE that you are in control of the board. Thinking you aren't in control is the same thing as not being in control in my experience on the foil.

Work on the little pop as well, ride low, pop up, switch and come down all set on the other side. You can work on that without switching your feet.

Land practice is great, just do it in your living room. If you can nail the swap on land there is nothing at all stopping you on the water, just the good ol' brain overthinking.

PonoBill

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2023, 12:05:36 AM »
You should ride with your weight balanced, especially when switching feet. Start there. Then figure out what your problem is. Sounds like you know the problem, so... what's the problem? Move back.

Typically, your feet don't end up in the right place and you breach because you end up too far back or forward and you're not sure what's going on for a second and you lose your balance on the foil. A front footstrap helps a LOT with this since you will never have any doubt about your front (most important) foot. It will be in the strap, or you will have kicked the strap and know how far off you are.

Absent a footstrap, you should have some sort of marking or indentation on your deckpad where your front foot goes (i.e. "a couple inches from the end," or "right over the last holes" or something like that). Personally I had to actually look down exactly when my new foot was about to land to make sure it was going far enough forward. Like .2s looking down. Once your foot is down and in the right spot, have CONFIDENCE that you are in control of the board. Thinking you aren't in control is the same thing as not being in control in my experience on the foil.

Work on the little pop as well, ride low, pop up, switch and come down all set on the other side. You can work on that without switching your feet.

Land practice is great, just do it in your living room. If you can nail the swap on land there is nothing at all stopping you on the water, just the good ol' brain overthinking.

Now that I think about it, adding some strips of deck pad so I could feel where my feet are is when I started nailing the switch. After realizing that I went out to the garage and glued two strips to the floor exactly the same as on my board. I did a few switches and was surprised that I screwed up 3 out of 5 of them. I spent about 20 minutes garage foot-switching until I got 10 for 10 in exactly the right spot. I also increased the speed of my switch. Hopefully, there will be some wind tomorrow so I can see if this is helping. When I nail my foot switches both jibes and tacks are easy. When I'm off on timing or position everything goes to shit.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

surfcowboy

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2023, 08:24:50 AM »
I gotta do two things. 1. Move my stance back (or my foil up.) And then 2. Put some strips of deck pad on as angled front foot guides. I'm landing wrong and sending my foil into a turn.

Also when I'm playing with foot position I use the green masking tape (3m) and it sticks to a deck pad for way longer than you'd think. If you just want a visual reference.

Thx guys.

PonoBill

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Re: Getting Off the Back Foot
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2023, 01:19:45 PM »
Board board and garage board. Look at the fucked up foot position (ignore the chewed-up geezer feet)--The front foot is the one turned perpendicular to the bump. My back foot is well past the center on the inside (I marked the centerline after shooting the pic, but it's obvious). I did probably 50 switches yesterday, came out this morning, and missed the first four. Geez. Then I started looking at my foot position and immediately could see why I fall to the inside so often (Or my jibe tightens up so much I can barely control it). If I'm making the wing switch at the same time it's almost guaranteed to pull me off the board. I did about fifty more switches and got the position a bit more reasonable.



Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

 


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