If you have achieved goal 5 (removing weight from the foil to raise the board), you will have noticed that even though you gain height, you end up losing balance soon because the board is going slower and slower. It is time to think about the next goal, gaining speed, and this is achieved when going down the board.
After going up, you have to try to give weight to the board again, thinking about skating. It is not just about hitting it with the front foot to lower the tip, no. You have to give it weight with your whole body.
As beginners, it will often be difficult for us to give it weight and get the tip to go down, this can be for several reasons:
- We are positioned very far back on the board. Try to put your hands a little further forward in the initial jump, so that your two feet end up a little further forward.
- We have our feet very close together. The pros have their feet quite close together, but we are not pros. Put your front hand a little further forward in the initial jump to place your foot further forward.
- We lean our body back. You have to go without fear, body forward (especially when going down), and look (once again) a few meters ahead.
Record yourself on video and check if you lean forward well, if the tip can go down or if it only always points up…
Now it is time to clarify an important difference between low aspect and mid/high aspect. If you have listened to me and you are learning with a low aspect, you can use the front leg without fear to lower the tip and gain speed. But if you have not listened to me and you have a mid or high aspect foil and you press hard with the front leg, your foil will collapse and you will fall into the water. In this case, it is even more important to position yourself well forward on the board, and when pressing down, think more about pressing with the back foot than with the front, this way you will avoid
Once you have it under control, you will have to try not to give so much weight, just the minimum to propel yourself upwards, in this way the pumping will be optimized. But now you are not at that point, so focus on pressing your feet without fear.
I achieved this in my 11th session
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