Wingfoiling 101 - Stop Trying to Knee Start!! How To "Squat" Start Instead! 🚽 AWKWA Wingfoil Series
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- There's a ton of great videos about how to get on foil, pump, gybe, etc. wingfoiling, but not so much when it comes to just how to get on and stand on the board as a beginner (maybe it's just obvious lol?). Most students are taught to “knee start” but this is not always feasible (or practical) for a lot of people (bad knees, anyone?), myself included. And so, I came up with the "Squat Start".
In this video, I go through the reasons for this alternative approach and break down several on-the-water examples. Squat starting allowed me to more easily get on my (then much) smaller board, get situated quicker, turn crosswind or even upwind to prevent that dreaded downwind "slippage"! Nowadays, the Squat Start is an invaluable way for me to get on and up fast to take advantage of a good gust and flying asap!!
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GEAR DETAILS:
Rider weight - 70 kg
Board - F-One Rocket V2 120L
Foil- Axis S-series 920
Wing - Gaastra Poison 6.2m
UPDATE: Some additional advantages I overlooked in the video (but will stick in maybe in a later update):
Uses your feet and ankles to balance, as opposed to having to use your mid- and upper body to balance laterally
Soles of your feet take the load and stress points, not your knees and shins (and topsides of your feet)
Less wear and tear on your knees and shins but also your wetsuit (darn things are expensive)!
It's a position you're (probably) in once or twice a day haha ;)
#wingfoil #tutorial
As surfer for 30 years this start and stance makes sense!! I’ve tried the ‘tripod’ start, can sometimes get up with knee start but can’t wait to try this! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom 🙂👍
I been on my knees for almost two weeks very challenging to stand up!
Will try this method next time.
My goodness! So glad this came up on my TH-cam feed… this is great! I can’t wait to try this! I’ve been struggling for a looong time now with my knee starts, and always sort of felt that it wasn’t for me, and that there has got to be a different way. Maybe a better way? Watching this just now… I can’t wait to try this out. Somehow, this also just feels more intuitive for me. ?? I shall call this the gopnik start, if you don’t mind. This should come quite naturally for me, as in all squatting endeavors. 😎 🙏
Hey Shredding P! Thank you for watching and for all your kind words! I know exactly what you mean and how you feel. Did I give knee starting a full chance? Probably not, since I went right to the squat start after a disastrous first session. I probably could've figured it out, but I also would've left a lot of skin on my board and probably displaced some cartilage, too lol Your response makes me feel somewhat validated in my struggle with the conventional start and, also, putting out more videos like this one. Do let us know how/if the technique works out better for you! And, if I may ask, what is a "gopnik" lol?
@@awkwa haha… and thank you! I will definitely let you know how it goes next time I’m out on the wing foil. This has empowered me to actually try what would feel more balanced for me! Ahhh… the gopnik .. haha… the gopnik is a worldwide phenomenon now, friend. Ummm… definitely check out a few TH-cam vids from Life of Boris. I think you will instantly feel the camaraderie … 😃 🙏 🤙 … honestly, this is just what I needed.
Gopnik indeed. Don't forget your sunflower seeds.
Been practicing your technique....really helped on my twitchy board.
I agree with your dislike to the knee start. I have never wanted to waste time on my knees or be in that forward facing position. Get up on your board sideways and use the wing leading edge for balance. I quickly get one foot in a squat and the other on my knee, then I just standup and let the sail help with balance and start moving. Fun sport!!
Thanks for viewing and the feedback, John! You're so correct; I like to call the wing my "third leg" haha and I'm always telling new wingers struggling that once they go from constantly fighting the wing to letting it help them with their balance, their progress will be explosive. Great to hear you found a startup process that has worked for you. Wishing you a great year on the water!!
I tried it, and it was very easy to start up.
i am a beginner..come from windsurfing..and had real problems with this knee start right from the start...in windsurfing we stand at the "schot start" just like at the "squat start"...at some point i just intuitively had this "squat start". made on the wing foil...from then on it went great...regardless of whether it was a strong wind or a bit of a wave...simply good (for me).. to get more stability I sometimes support myself with the wing (Tri - pot )..to get extra stability - greets from germany
Thanks for sharing, scounter! Yes, that's basically how it came to be for me. I was, like, "I already intuitively do this for windsurfing (to uphaul) and to get out of the water wakeboarding and wakesurfing, why can't I just do this to wing lol?" As a few others have pointed out, it's not great for super windy or choppy conditions, but I've made it work, especially if you can get to the wing handles quickly. I'm now working on a modified start method that can handle the chop and swell better. Stay tuned and happy riding, freund!!
I'm gonna make comment here about something that this method overlooks. Just for the sake of newbies. There is NO way this method works in wavy or choppy conditions. Absolutely not - I've seen people try and try as well. ALL of your stability comes from having the wing overheard. I would hate to watch somebody trying this out in dodgy conditions. They will fail for sure. Also - this is an extremely buoyant board for your weight. I agree that the conventionally sit on your knees sideways is silly as well. Ironically you have to get onto your knees for the same amount of time that I do to get the stink bug method to work and the chance of falling while in the squat position is SO high that you will probably be on your knees again trying to get into the squat position because you've fallen over.
I'm a huge stink bug proponent . I think getting the point across that you really have NO stability in real world conditions with the wing in your hands is super important and any method that gets the wing above your head quickly is the knee saver. Hope this doesnt come across as negative or anything. I've just seen so many people get stuck in the 'get up' phase and wanna add value wherever I can. Love what you're doing and the videos are great!
th-cam.com/video/fzRaTLQalS0/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=DaveWest
Thanks for the comment and the kind words, Dave. I actually have done this method in wavy or choppy conditions and, particularly when I wasn't able to get up on foil consistently yet, felt it saved my bacon and got me back to my car more than once. Perhaps that will be a future video for the nose cam. Yes, this was a 120L board, so not a true sinker, but I've used it on as small as an 88L, which is as low as I really care to go. I have seen the "stinkbug" video once but have never tried it, since the squat works so intuitively for me. Glad to hear you have found a method that works for you, as that is what counts!
Looks like it would be harder in chop than knee starting. Not sure I have the flexibility in the hips for this, but will try it next time
Hi BM. Good point about hip flexibility. I focused a lot on what knee starts do to your shins and knees and not enough on people with hip or flexor issues. Anyway, what I like about the S-Start is that I don't have to balance laterally using my torso or upper body (particularly since my COG is already rather high manipulating the wing or trying to keep it out of the drink). Granted, the day I filmed the on-lake footage it was a very calm day, however, I have used this technique in chop and swell to get me up and out of jams quickly. Again, nothing against the traditional knee-start. If it works for you (or works better in certain situations), terrific! The whole point is to spend more time in the air and less in the water, right? Do let us know how you get on if you try it and thanks for viewing!
Hi Ben. Is a 130 litre board for a 90kg rider stable/big enough for squat start? Thanks
Very professional! Awesome!!
Thank you, Ramona. I really hope it helps people flatten their initial learning curve!!
Hi Awkwa, this is an excellent idea and I'm certainly going to give it a go. From what you said I deduce that your board here is +50 above your weight. It certainly looks very stable in the calm conditions. Have you tried a board of around +20 to +25 and how did it compare? Did your smaller board of +10 just float you? I gave you a like and subscribed!
Hi Doc. Thank you for watching (and subscribing)! We're in the process of finalizing more winging content to upload soon :) In any event, yes, you are correct. I know it's not really a "sinker" board in this case, and the conditions were pretty mellow on this day, but, yes, I have tried this technique on my Starboard 88L and a Fanatic 95L in much choppier conditions and have been very successful (in fact, this method is the only way I could get started up and standing on them)! Obviously, on a lower volume board, it is a bit more challenging to get balanced at first-- particularly with a concave deck, which I find tends to be more sensitive to hand and knee pressure when you're on all fours. At some point, I will update this video to be showing a smaller volume board, but on this day, when I knew I would have a lot of free time out there, it was good enough to demonstrate the technique. Do let us know how it works out for you (if it did), and good luck!!
very interesting method
I have so much problems with the kneeling start ...
Hi Laurence. Yes, to me it was just sort of intuitive (and a necessity) to get on like a surfboard, and not a SUP, given the board size I originally started on. Not to say the knee start doesn't work, it obviously does. It just wasn't for me. I tested this in my pool a bunch of times then took it out onto the lake and have been using it ever since. This was a flat day (unfortunately!) and a bit larger board, but the technique has worked for me with smaller boards and in chop. If you try it, let us know how it works for you!
@@awkwa
I won't try wing until the 3 next months, since I am on Paris now.
But sure that I will test it.
I saw a video of Alan Cadiz, in which he did an similar method than yours, but he goes stand up much more quickly than you, so impossible for me to be so quick : I never practiced watersport before, except sailing.
And he does it with strong wind, so the wing surely helps a lot for standing up.
@@awkwa
I am in Paris for the 3 next months, but be sure that I will try it ASAP.
@@laurencesapille615 Alan is a LOT more experienced and better than I'll ever be lol! Yes, Alan has figured out how to "waterstart" on wing like you would windsurfing. You need a lot of wind for that (not to mention skill!), which we don't really have where we are. The squat takes a little practice (the larger the volume or wider your board the better, obviously) but once you figure it out, it's hard to go back to knee starting. The one advantage I give to knee starting is that, since you're facing forward, you can change direction a little bit quicker, but I don't think that makes up for its deficiencies, especially if you have bad knees, are on a tiny board, have trouble balancing laterally, etc.
Interesting idea 👍🏄🏼♂️
I do jot understand, why you do not have the eing already grabbed with youf front hand at least on the leading edge handle at 05:40. Then you could already stand up and start directly after placing your front foot and can spare the whole squatting procedure...
would like to see this in wavy conditions
@Awkwa good luck with the technique with 100 or less litre boards, also waves. your board must be 130l or something. bad idea to learn incorrectly which will never work when you advance.
Does this only work of your board has enough volume for you to get up with out it sinking some what?
Hi Ryan. The smallest board I’ve used this approach with was an 88L (months before I filmed this) and, while somewhat trickier, I was able to get up fine. In fairness, I have never tried it with a super sinker board that’s less than my 70kg. Like with so many things in the sport, a larger volume board is going to make life much easier. Also, knee starting might be less demanding on a sinker board? I’m not sure since I’ve never done it
Ha, I have been teaching myself wingfoiling without any others around, just me and TH-cam. I’ve been squat starting since I began, it just came naturally, I just found your video now, 18 months later. I kite and have windsurfed too. I am on a 130 litre Pro Drifter and was thinking I might need to perfect the knee start before moving to a smaller board. Looks like the horizontal back knee will give more stability and control needed for a small board. I have yet to try a little board but was thinking about it.
@@petethenomad Nice! Yeah, kinda the same here... two years ago, it seemed there was maybe me struggling to learn on my own and, like, 2-3 others, if that. Fast forward to today and the wingers have taken over with more on the way! Great board to start out on. I'm still using the squat on smaller boards, but it is that much more of a challenge on the spicier days, that's for sure. I might play around with a modified "stinkbug" start tomorrow if I can't 'assume the position' haha. Thanks for viewing and good luck in the progression!!
Dude how many layers of waterwear do you have on? isn't that super-uncomfy? I never really understood the idea behind knee-start - if the board is big enough it's way faster and easier to start with the squat.
Lol hey, we're here in Phoenix and so I don't like to mess around with skin cancer, so, while it might have been 105 deg. on the beach, I'm still pretty covered up. To answer your question specifically, though, a long sleeve hooded rash guard, anti UV leggings, and some board shorts haha ;)
Couldn't agree more, though!
That's good but not everyone (like me...) can bend the heels so much to be squatted and mantain the foot flat at same time..
🌸 ƤＲＯ𝓂Ｏ𝕤ᗰ
If you lost a bit of weight (15kg), you would find it easier to get up.