Chapter 7: Progression

Alright, your foiling journey has officially started. Yewww!

Now comes the fun part - YOU get to decide on the direction of your foiling future. Do you want to be the pump master staying on foil for an hour straight linking a gillion waves? Or are you more excited about pushing your turns as hard as possible? Regardless of what you want, my recommendation is to set a goal and stay focused.

Look, it's easy to get distracted foiling. The limits of what's possible on foil and the gear are evolving so fast that if you aren't careful, it's easy to fall into a trap of constantly buying new gear that you think will unlock new maneuvers and better style. New gear is always fun but doing this too much early on honestly might hold you back.

To avoid this, I highly recommend committing to your initial setup and avoid making too many changes early on. I also recommend setting a few goals like connecting your first waves or turning harder.

And lastly - VIDEO FOOTAGE.

I can't stress this enough. Video is hands down the absolute best way to progress early on.

Let's look at a few examples.

5 months into foiling I felt like I was flying down the line, turning hard, and progressing faster than ever. I was so stoked to finally show my family and friends my new favorite hobby and asked my wife to film me. The result? I was SHOCKED by how slow I was moving, how stiff I looked, and my turns looked nothing like how they felt. Overall, I was extremely humbled - I looked like an old kook!

The cool part was - now I had this artifact. Something to look back on as I progressed more. And better yet - I had a video I could share with others to get feedback. So I popped over to my favorite foiling forum and posted: How do I loosen up more? I look like an old man out there - Technique - Progression Project Forum

After a few days, I had over 30 replies from foilers around the world providing tips on how to loosen up and turn harder. All for free! Incredible. Take a look at the link above - there's some pretty awesome feedback in there - even some videos to use for inspiration.

Long story short - now I had a whole list of new things to try in my next few sessions and a great video to look back on as I progressed more.

A few months later, I went on my first tow foiling trip - waves were shoulder to head high to start the week. This is about 2x bigger than what I typically foiled at home and I was having a really tough time. I was on gear brand new to me and had never towed before so I was getting gassed pretty fast. And the most frustrating part - after getting towed around to find the perfect wave - I kept breaching on my turns. I wasn't foiling my best and I could not figure out why.

Enter video: Classic Foil Breach - YouTube

Turns out I was WAY too high on my mast while initiating turns. Something that was fine at my home break in smaller surf but terrible in bigger surf.

Take a look at how high I was on my mast as I initiated my turn:

Textbook Taco Imminent

Now take a look at one of the coaches, Adam Bennetts, as he initiates a turn:

HUGE difference. The edge of Adam's board is literally skimming the surface of the wave as he initiates his turn. This lets him turn harder without breaching his tips and it gives him way more room on his mast if he generates more speed/power during his turn than expected.

This my friends, is a perfect example of a kook vs. one of the best foilers in the world.

And this is also a prime example of how powerful video footage can be. Watching my fall on repeat made the rest of the trip so much better. I quickly adjusted my technique and began riding lower on my mast - not just in the waves but also while getting towed. I was falling less while getting towed and able to turn harder in bigger surf.

In summary, go set a goal and be patient with your current setup. Get some video footage and use it to help your progression. If you have the means, I highly recommend attending a foil camp or clinic that provides video and coaching - there is no better way to create a better foundation for your foiling future.

And if you live somewhere remote like me, take advantage of an online coach! Tons of options out there. If you have the money, you can't go wrong with having James Casey, one of the best foilers in the world, analyze your technique for $180.

And if you'd like to support The Foil Kook - give me a shout! First video analysis is on the house :).