Wing foiling is a unique sport. Maybe it’s the sense of freedom, the relatively simple learning curve, or the feeling of gliding over the water. For some reason, this sport just grabs you!
You might have reached a level where you can glide easily, but you see those riders on the water showing off their wingfoil tricks, like stylish jibes, perfect tacks, and even jumps. Maybe you think to yourself “Those must be pros. I’ll never get to that level“. But a part of you really wants to.
This guide will show you that with the right tips and gear, you can be the person others are watching from the beach. It’s time to level up and stand out from the crowd.
The Amateur’s Edge: Mastering Tricks with Limited Time
We aren’t pros; we’re just amateurs who love this sport. My husband, Damiano, is now jumping, tacking, and doing tricks. I want to share his journey and personal tips to get you there, even with a busy schedule.
He’s a working dad, so he has very little time for practice. We have to hope for a good windy day on the weekend at Lake Garda or get lucky during our wing foiling holidays. These are the moments when we learn the most.
This is to say that you don’t have to train every day to reach this level, you just need a bit more patience. We hope these tips help you reach your goals faster and more efficiently.
Mastering Advanced Wingfoil Tricks
Our previous post covered the basics of wing foiling (gliding, jibing). Once you’ve mastered those skills and can comfortably foil in various conditions, it’s time to level up. Here are some tricks you can learn, along with some useful tips.
Wingfoil Tack
Compared to a jibe, a tack is more difficult because you must push the wing through the eye of the wind while maintaining speed on the foil.
Damiano’s key advice for learning the tack is to focus on the sequence and speed. First, think about sailing far upwind (close-hauled), then initiate your turn and carve the board, and only then guide the wing through the wind.
It’s better to begin practicing in mild wind. You will notice that you easily lose speed and de-foil during the maneuver, so always approach the tack with more speed than you think you need. Expect to crash a lot while you’re learning to execute a clean tack, but once you get it, people on the beach will start noticing your style.
Stylish Wingfoil Jibing Tricks
Wingfoil Race Jibe
The Race Jibe (as the name suggests) is designed to minimize speed loss during the turn; the key is never letting the wing lose power from the wind, unlike a standard jibe. This results in you perceiving really high speed on the board, which might scare you the first time you are learning this trick.
As you notice from the picture , there is a critical moment where you have the wing briefly positioned between you and the oncoming wind. At this exact moment, you have to understand how to quickly turn the wing while it is pushing against you. Once you get used to that increased speed and understand the necessary movement with the wing, you’ve nailed it!
Wingfoil Duck Jibe
The Duck Jibe is an advanced maneuver that, like the Race Jibe, never lets the wing lose power from the wind. The signature characteristic of this jibe is that you flip the wing over your head while turning. This involves directing the wing in the opposite way from a standard jibe, often resulting in the top surface briefly facing the water. This jibe is both highly efficient and incredibly stylish to watch.
Wing Surfing
Start with small waves, even large wind-generated chops can be useful for understanding the dynamics and feeling the push. Position your wing to the side (flagging it) and preferably start with waves on your preferred stance. You’ll immediately notice a drop in stability because you lose the support of the actively engaged wing, relying instead solely on your board stance and core stability.
Living near Lake Garda, we only have wind-generated chops, which can get quite thick and high during Peler winds. This was great training for surfing real waves. Surfing chops is stylish and relatively easy compared to a tack, so start with small ones and then level up.
Our first time surfing real waves was in Puerto Lajas during our wingfoiling trip to Fuerteventura. Despite many crashes, this first experience was unforgettable and gave Damiano the most intense feeling of freedom and adrenaline ever. This motivated him to challenge himself further at more advanced wave spots in Fuerteventura, like Majanicho.
Damiano’s key suggestion for surfing is that timing is crucial. Just like in regular surfing, you shouldn’t try to catch a wave if you are too late or too slow, that means you’ll be on top of the wave before you can actually ride it.
Wingfoil Jumping
This might sound intimidating, but small jumps are actually some of the easiest maneuvers to learn.
Simply keep both feet in the straps, compress your body, and spring up, pushing the board out of the water. More specifically, as you glide high on the foil, you need to pre-load by pushing down the board with your front foot, almost letting the board touch the water surface. Then, you execute the pop by quickly unweighting the front foot and pushing explosively with your rear foot to make the board rise quickly. Small wind-generated chops can help act as a launch ramp!
Once you master small jumps, you can try bigger ones and even tricks like the 360s or the Palau. We’ll share our tips for those advanced maneuvers in a separate post!
Level Up Your Wingfoil Equipment
You might think you can do all these things with your beginner gear. We thought the same, but Damiano’s real improvement came when we decided to change our equipment. New gear won’t just make your standard wing foiling more exciting; it’s necessary to level up your skills.
Helmet
We hope you’re already used to wearing a helmet, but when you get to this level, the type of helmet is important. We learned this the hard way. We had a standard helmet with no ear protection. When Damiano was learning a new trick, he crashed laterally with his ear hitting the water first. He had a headache for the next day and felt something strange in his ear. The day after, a mucus plug came out of his ear. This happens, and he was lucky it came out on its own. In most cases, you have to have it removed by a specialist. To cut the story short, buy a helmet with ear protection if you plan to learn jumping.
Board
You need a board that’s at least close to your body weight in liters.
The first few times you get on it, you won’t enjoy it and will struggle a bit, but after a few sessions, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to go down in board size.
Now, Damiano weighs 83 kg and has a 65-liter board. We first changed from a 95-liter to a 77-liter board, and then to a 65-liter board. The first time Damiano switched to the 77-liter, it was hard to learn how to get on the board and manage balance. It felt like learning all over again, and I remember the first session was a nightmare for him. He came out of the water with blisters on his feet from putting all his weight on them.
But don’t get discouraged. It only took him about two sessions to learn how to water start and he immediately said, “Why didn’t I change my board sooner?“. After three sessions, he was already trying to jump and said that with a smaller board, it was a completely different sport, much more similar to snowboarding, with more control and more fun.
Foil
Everything tends to get smaller as you become more experienced, and that’s also true for foils.
To level up your skills, it’s time to go for a smaller front wing, like a 1100 or 950 cm2. You’ll immediately notice an increase in speed and quickness. If you can already glide and pump well, you’ll get used to this smaller wing easily and might only have difficulty getting started the very first session.
If you’re wondering if it’s the right time to switch from an aluminum to a carbon mast, a carbon mast will be much lighter, which will help you jump more easily. However, you can save this upgrade for later since it’s quite expensive. This is what we did, but of course, that depends on your budget. It’s not necessary for the tricks described above.
Wing
As you go faster with a smaller foil, you’ll notice that you can use smaller wings. At this point, you’ll get annoyed by large wings. We sold our 6 m2 wing, hardly use our 5 m2, and the 4 m2 became our favorite for around 15 knots of wind. The trend of going smaller is true for wings too, and a smaller wing will allow you to perform your tricks much more easily.
The Journey to Mastery
We hope these tips make your journey to wing foiling mastery easier. For any questions or suggestions based on our experience, feel free to contact us.
Remember, cultivating your passion is what makes you feel good. Don’t feel guilty about an equipment upgrade, investing in yourself is always worth it. We say this because we are not easy buyers and think thousands of times before buying new equipment.
Enjoy your winging, and we know you might be the one we’ll stare at from the beach!
