Picking up winging this week and I hate riding
on my switch stance.
I used to kite foil and was pretty ambidextrous then I dialed in surf foiling hard and lost my switch stance(regular - I'm goofy) it was fine cause I could truck upwind just as good backside.
Is that ever going to be the case winging or do I HAVE TO figure out that foot? Not looking to race, wave stuff only.
Lots of very good Foiler's don't switch.
I think you are crazy not to learn switch for winging in waves though, gets you back to the peak heaps easier.
Yes it feels weird at first but do it enough and then get foot changes dialed and life is so much easier.
With a kite I don't think it is so important, with one hand on the bar you don't have to get into as much of a twisted stance to pull the power on and get upwind.
I haven't heard of anyone who ONLY rides regular but that doesn't mean it's not possible. But yeah I think if you just practiced, you would pick it up. I would recommend learning it.
Sailing switch felt a bit weird for me at first too but now I'm comfortable both switch and regular, as well as toeside regular and toeside switch.
It's really just practice.
I am crap at switch so have learnt to change my feet.
But learning to sail switch is next on my list.
I only ride goofy. I can go upwind just as good and comfortably on my toeside. I can't give up ripping my hardest on both tacks. I agree with tightlines somewhat. If I regularly winged at a wave riding spot, I would probably switch to go back upwind. I ride inland lakes and there is radical **** to be done all the time on both tacks. Don't beat yourself up trying it especially while you are learning all the other stuff. There's a lot going on in your first 20 sessions. This isn't windsurfing.
When I wingfoil (and I'm only 6 months in, swapping between windfoiling & windsurfing), I don't ride switch; coming from Windsurfing it felt odd not to swap over (although I can't jibe it yet...pretty new). I'm goofy and riding swell feels much better in that direction so I might need to do what those who ride switch do and stay planted ... ToW as always :-).
k.
I think the biggest downside to not switching feet is that it's a lot harder to pump the wing and foil to take off toeside vs heelside.
I can switch, longtime windsurfer and kiter. But I never switch anymore, and the only downside is upwind ability on toeside. With more practice you get almost as good upwind as heelside but it is a lot harder work.
Riding waves switch is very ordinary, especially strapless.
I don't switch my feet, can go almost the same angles up wind on my toe side. It's only a little trickier to sinker start toe side and your back leg can get a little tired if your pumping heaps. The only reason I would consider switching feet is to rest my leg while tacking long stretches back up wind.
it's heaps better staying in you natural stance when waves are involved, especially if your tacking or gybeing onto the wave face.
do what every you feel comfortable with, there's no right or wrong way. Most importantly have fun. Yeww
While its a bit counterintuitive once it clicks you
won't have any issues riding switch if you've done it before on a foil. This is probably not the norm but I found it easier to start riding switch with a flying foot swap, its the same as kiting and then you get a feel for riding. Pumping up on your non-natural takes a while to get used to.
first five sessions i thought it would never happen but it quickly becomes 'natural'. 
agree do what floats your boat but its defo helpful for local sessions to be able to hammer upwind. While you can point quite high toeside if you're good at it, you can point much higher heelside once you're good at that too.
I ride both and can pretty well start just as good switch or natural stance but I'm very weak at a toe side start. Plenty of my very experienced rider mates don't switch at all but on a hard upwind reach when I switch and they don't I point much higher upwind. I don't switch all the time but do when I need to get some ground back. It's a handy tool to have and gives the back leg a break on mega long sessions. I also punch out through the white water switch I find I'm alot more balanced .
I always change my feet after gybing, but I used to windsurf and ride a surfboard kiting so it's natural to me. You can go upwind better, deal with on coming waves better too. I turn onto a wave carry through on teesside to control the speed and swap feet at the bottom of the wave.
I think also always riding with the same foot forward won't do your body and back any good over the long term, makes it a wonky sport like golf or tennis where one side over compensates.
I do swap my feet to topside for a while before tacking though.
Mike
I'm a newb to winging - about 20-25 sessions in now. I'm a natural footer but due to a kite foiling background, I am comfortable swapping feet and riding natural or goofy. I did initially stay toe side in my first 5 or so sessions, but the upwind benefits of riding heel side both directions won out in the end. Compared to kite foil (and probably windfoil too), upwind angles on wing are pretty average so any advantage is good. Once I hit the waves, that will probably change, as I can't imagine riding a wave right foot forward. It's certainly not necessary to switch feet when winging, but it's a good skill to develop and will help with leg fatigue and your angles upwind.
I never learned to switch my feet, so I ride heelside and toeside with my left foot forward, always.
Yes, I could probably get 10-15deg more upwind angle if I learned how to ride with my right foot forward, but I find I'm pretty good upwind toeside anyways so marginal benefits there.
To me, it's a question about how you want to invest your time on the water, and what your winging goals are. I'm a surfer first and I want to ride waves. So every time we have wind I can either (1) have a session in the waves or (2) go to a flat water spot. That choice is easily made. However sometimes there's no waves and only wind, and I'll go to a flat water spot anyways. But then the question becomes: what do I want to improve on? I could (a) spend time trying to switch my feet or (b) spend time perfecting my tacks on smaller/faster foils. I still go for option b, because I'm not at a level yet where I'm happy with those. Perhaps once I'm nailing them 100% of the time, I'll want to learn to switch my feet, but perhaps I'll want to spend time learning race gybes, or downwinding, or something else...
So ultimately it's a question on whether you want those extra 10-15deg of upwind angle, and how much value you place on that vs other aspects of wingfoiling.
Thanks for the responses! Mostly looking to confirm that its a viable approach and it sounds like it is.
I'll keep playing with it and see which i figure out first, my switch or backside.
Give it time.You will probably learn it all just because it is not that hard.
The progression in wingfoiling is very constant and smooth compared to prone.Wind is a very available and reliable "engine" compared to waves.
Select to expand quoteMikedubs said..
I think also always riding with the same foot forward won't do your body and back any good over the long term, makes it a wonky sport like golf or tennis where one side over compensates.
Mike
Exactly. Old back surgery and a bad right knee and left shoulder( I'm a walking basket case at 63!) forced me to change up all the time, otherwise the joints just wouldn't tolerate it. Learning to switch stance on-foil consistently with kitefoiling was pretty challenging for me at age 60, but it made learning switching feet on a wing foil completely trivial.
I would practice by going on either tack (port or starboard) and switching my feet back and forth in quick succession at least 4-6 times while maintaining constant direction and speed. Gets to be second nature pretty quickly
Select to expand quotemcrt said..
Give it time.You will probably learn it all just because it is not that hard.
The progression in wingfoiling is very constant and smooth compared to prone.Wind is a very available and reliable "engine" compared to waves.
I just get so many more prone days compared to wind sports that its hard to keep that muscle memory on the other foot. I was at the point kite foiling where i could throw 360 tacks and loops on wave but i couldn't even get up on foil switch.
First session. 100KG, 120L wing board, Naish 5.3 (which runs small i think) and the NL 160. 13kts. I felt great getting up on my good tack, could go upwind great on foil, almost made a transition to backside. Today should be windy enough to get up without pumping so i'll try some switch and some touchdown gybes to see if i can make some transitions
Also, i'm realizing today that while my NL 160 is feels like a massive surf foil wing for me riding prone, its probably quite small for my first session on the ding.
I'm sure this seems like much to do over a silly question but i'm on mostly borrowed gear now and i'm still on the fence on the ding.
My spot and chase boat for learning this week. Few miles of 3-4 feet of depth. Supposed to blow 20 today
It depends.Long time goofy wavesailor and sailed a lot on both tacks feeling equally comfortable on star and porttack. Wingfoiling on porttack I often switch feet for sailing out. it allows me an better angle. On starboard days it really depends on the mood. I can sail in switch and ride that way. its often slightly better, but also riding with my wrong foot in the back feels challenging/ like something to learn. I mean, I can do it wavesailing so why shouldnt I wingfoiling? It just takes time and practice.
When Suping in the waves on smaller days I try this sometimes as well. Yes it feels weird and at the start unnatural, but it makes you much more aware of what you do and I think overall more alround. 
Just got my 2nd session pretty lit solid 20 and found I could sail around transition to and from backside and stay upwind fine. Not switching seems great. Got a few runs on the switch foot and while it was annoying it's dooable. Gonna see about some footwork this afternoon.
Select to expand quoteTooMuchEpoxy said..
Just got my 2nd session pretty lit solid 20 and found I could sail around transition to and from backside and stay upwind fine. Not switching seems great. Got a few runs on the switch foot and while it was annoying it's dooable. Gonna see about some footwork this afternoon.
I kitefoiled with dominant foot forward only ... which works ok, other than muscle/joint fatigue becomes a factor. For winging I go both ways, but I switch feet before and after turns, as I only turn (point downwind) with my dominant surf foot forward.
I recommend you invest the time to learn to ride wrong foot forward winging -- comparatively it's easy enough that I bet you have it down in a single session anyway. The advantage in winging is the extra upwind capability and resting your body. No need to bother with the fancy footwork or turning wrong foot forward ... if surf is the focus, that other stuff is "nice to have" not "need to have".
As a natural footer over in the west (predominantly left handlers) when winging on a set wave, it pays to learn to ride switch on your non preferred and also to change feet quickly and smoothly otherwise you have no hope of getting upwind to the peak before our goofy brethren. They are ripping upwind on their preferred to a wave peak and you always find yourself on the inside of them. Bang up to the peak then a quick foot change into toeside preferred as you enter the wave.
On your toes you are also dealing with the swell running to the left against you as well.
downwinders - hardly ever switch. But get to a good peak its handy to have your switch game on the hang there a bit.
worth learning
I didn't switch initially when learning how to wing foil. Now I like switching to toeside just before the jibe. It helps for quick transitions back to heal side. What prompted the change was trying to conserve power in lite winds.
Select to expand quoteDspace said..Mikedubs said..
I think also always riding with the same foot forward won't do your body and back any good over the long term, makes it a wonky sport like golf or tennis where one side over compensates.
Mike
Exactly. Old back surgery and a bad right knee and left shoulder( I'm a walking basket case at 63!) forced me to change up all the time, otherwise the joints just wouldn't tolerate it. Learning to switch stance on-foil consistently with kitefoiling was pretty challenging for me at age 60, but it made learning switching feet on a wing foil completely trivial.
I would practice by going on either tack (port or starboard) and switching my feet back and forth in quick succession at least 4-6 times while maintaining constant direction and speed. Gets to be second nature pretty quickly
+1 to this. I would be surprised if there wouldn't be serious body imbalances in the long term if riding with the same leg forward all the time. Of course this depends how many times and how long one rides per week. Highly recommend switching the feet due to this but also for higher angles and resting the back foot.
Learning to switch feet will make you a more versatile rider. While kiting, I can ride waves equally well regular and goofy. That allows me to do whatever the conditions call for. As a regular footer, I'm currently working on winging toeside in goofy stance. That will really open up options the same way it did for me in kiting.
My strategy has always been to chip away at a new skill. Go out & have fun doing what you know you can do, but each session spend a run or two working on something new. No reason to totally pound yourself & waste a whole session.
Yes, it's well worth learning to ride (and water start) switch stance. I struggled learning to do foot switches but have them dialed now. Upwind angles are significantly better and it's easier on your body. When cranking GS turns downwind I don't switch though. So fun to jam turns back and forth in your natural stance.
Select to expand quotegreg87foil said..
I never learned to switch my feet, so I ride heelside and toeside with my left foot forward, always.
Yes, I could probably get 10-15deg more upwind angle if I learned how to ride with my right foot forward, but I find I'm pretty good upwind toeside anyways so marginal benefits there.
To me, it's a question about how you want to invest your time on the water, and what your winging goals are. I'm a surfer first and I want to ride waves. So every time we have wind I can either (1) have a session in the waves or (2) go to a flat water spot. That choice is easily made. However sometimes there's no waves and only wind, and I'll go to a flat water spot anyways. But then the question becomes: what do I want to improve on? I could (a) spend time trying to switch my feet or (b) spend time perfecting my tacks on smaller/faster foils. I still go for option b, because I'm not at a level yet where I'm happy with those. Perhaps once I'm nailing them 100% of the time, I'll want to learn to switch my feet, but perhaps I'll want to spend time learning race gybes, or downwinding, or something else...
So ultimately it's a question on whether you want those extra 10-15deg of upwind angle, and how much value you place on that vs other aspects of wingfoiling.
Spot on mate.
I used to only foil left foot forward
it torn my meniscus in my left knee
now.
i swap feet
As a long time kite foiler, I learnt to change feet as soon as I could, most kite foilers learn to do this. When winging, riding a wave flagged out, i generally like to ride open, it just feels nicer and more natural. This means if riding downwind on a wave I'm typically riding backside, so if generally heading right I ride goofy (my strong side) and heading left ride natural.
I can ride toeside, but don't do it much except for short stretches, would hate to do long stretches upwind, can't be good for the back.
Select to expand quoteStephenZ said..
As a long time kite foiler, I learnt to change feet as soon as I could, most kite foilers learn to do this. When winging, riding a wave flagged out, i generally like to ride open, it just feels nicer and more natural. This means if riding downwind on a wave I'm typically riding backside, so if generally heading right I ride goofy (my strong side) and heading left ride natural.
I can ride toeside, but don't do it much except for short stretches, would hate to do long stretches upwind, can't be good for the back.
Yeah, as i said above in my kite foil days i had that...then lost it fron excessive prone foiling. Loving the wing, probably not too keen on working out that switch foot skill set just to loose if like i did kiting.
Select to expand quoteTooMuchEpoxy said..StephenZ said..
As a long time kite foiler, I learnt to change feet as soon as I could, most kite foilers learn to do this. When winging, riding a wave flagged out, i generally like to ride open, it just feels nicer and more natural. This means if riding downwind on a wave I'm typically riding backside, so if generally heading right I ride goofy (my strong side) and heading left ride natural.
I can ride toeside, but don't do it much except for short stretches, would hate to do long stretches upwind, can't be good for the back.
Yeah, as i said above in my kite foil days i had that...then lost it fron excessive prone foiling. Loving the wing, probably not too keen on working out that switch foot skill set just to loose if like i did kiting.
Unless you are planning to give up the winging and go back to only prone foil, you won't lose it. If you learnt to swap feet on the kite foil board, the wing board and large span foil wing will seem so easy in comparison. Don't limit yourself. Learn everything you can within your natural abilities.
