Does anyone else have a strong side and weak side? I'm goofy foot and get up on foil with ease right foot forward. But Left foot forward back to the wind, is like trying to write with my left hand. I've made a few jibes and going toeside but can't seem to get the right body position.... still stuck going one way...so frustrating I can't get this as with windsurfing both directions no problem..tips appreciated...

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bluewave said..
Does anyone else have a strong side and weak side? I'm goofy foot and get up on foil with ease right foot forward. But Left foot forward back to the wind, is like trying to write with my left hand. I've made a few jibes and going toeside but can't seem to get the right body position.... still stuck going one way...so frustrating I can't get this as with windsurfing both directions no problem..tips appreciated...

Good skill to develop because you go upwind so much better heel side. Just takes time to retrain the muscles and brain.

The best thing is just to force yourself to keep practicing. Kitesurfing and wakeboarding helps, as does paddling a SUP with your weak foot forwards, but nothing is as good as just doing it as much as you can. We all have our strengths and weaknesses - I'm fine riding heelside both directions, and toeside with my normal foot forwards, but I still feel as sketchy as hell riding toeside with my weak foot forwards.

As a beginner just starting to feel more comfortable switch I found the following helpful. Practice riding normal stance bringing your feet closer and closer together. Once they are within about 6" of each other quickly switch your feet and weight your new front foot a bit more than your back. You want your feet straddling the centre line of the board not directly on the centre line. You'll have a few stacks but it won't take long to be doing long reaches switch.

Is your question about riding toeside with your weak leg forward? There is no reason to do that. To progress you need to be able to ride heelside and toeside with strong leg forward and heelside with weak leg forward.

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emmafoils said..
Is your question about riding toeside with your weak leg forward? There is no reason to do that. To progress you need to be able to ride heelside and toeside with strong leg forward and heelside with weak leg forward.

I'm look for help to improve riding toeside stronger side, which is goofy foot for me, or is it better to switch stance ...

The trades here are starboard, so as a goofy foot, going away from the beach is my strong side, it's coming back that feels awakward

I see a lot of goofy (and regular) footers here never switch stance, they ride toeside really well

One tip on switching just let the board touch down before you switch gives you are more stable platform so you can walk your feet around not jump them , once you get faster at switching you won't need to do that. With your switch stance open it up more across the board and don't have both your feet on the centre line of the board have them either side of the stringer a bit , thIs greatly increases your balance in switch . Again with practice you won't need to do this but it really does help .

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emmafoils said..
Is your question about riding toeside with your weak leg forward? There is no reason to do that. To progress you need to be able to ride heelside and toeside with strong leg forward and heelside with weak leg forward.

Note that some surfers don't ever learn to ride with non-dominant foot forward, just ride heelside one direction and toeside the other. But this less efficient for upwinding and gets tiring on your body.

I agree with the suggestions of getting proficient riding both feet forward. There's no shortcut, just requires time on the water and more practice. Though you'll find it much easier if you are well powered. As you won't be able to pump at first at all, you need enough wind power to get you up on foil without board assistance, just pumping your arms. I find wrong foot forward, my stance tends to be a little more off the rail.

I was going to say that I disagree about the toeside comment above, but then realized I mis-read it. Riding toeside is crucial IMHO as it is what opens up the world of downwind swell carving. But you really only need to be able to do this in surf stance, with your dominant foot forward. There's not much benefit in learning to ride toeside with non-dominant foot forward.

Theres no reason to listen to my thoughts as i am horrible at the moment. However it has struck me that to engage the foil as a newbie I need a heap of wind, 18 plus knts. So crap water and winds with the fronts on the river . So maybe facter this into progression. Not making any excuses , its what we've got . So giddy up in the washing machine mix .

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juandesooka said..There's not much benefit in learning to ride toeside with non-dominant foot forward.

Unless you want to do carving gybes switch as will as normal stance.

Thanks for the comments everyone..

Through sheer determination, today was a big breakthrough for me, I made 3-4 jibes, went toeside for a bit and switched stance and stayed on foil almost back to where I started. I think what helped most was going downwind on foil into the jibe and coming around with that momentum, I've been practicing this a good bit. It's been a bit of a challenge at 67, but still charging....so happy with today as I know I will be able to advance from here. And so it goes with foiling, I don't think it's something anyone can teach you - it's just passion to succeed, practice and time on the water... Aloha

Any sort of skateboard on a very very mellow slope(or even a flat,smooth area) is a good training tool for wrong foot practice IMHO.
If you have a flat area with wind you can also try skate wingdinging and train jibes,tacks etc.It is a lot of fun with about half the wind you need for foiling.
Better with a helmet and watch out for pebbles,cracks,lamp posts etc... :)