Gybes while up on the Foil

[Mossy 757]

^whatever, can't get link to work. Look up Kai Calder on youtube and check out the video of Riley Gibbs from St. Petersburg

[Starsky]

Looks like a huge difference between jibing under foil kites and lei kites. The foil kites 11m and up give a really decent period of weightlessness to work with. You can draw out footwork in the middle of tacks and jibes. Have seen racers tack and come to a complete stop, actively holding the board up by the front straps as they switch front feet. Smaller kites its usually necessary to add a quick pump of the back leg or pulse from a wave to a pretty quick sheet in and foot switch. Learning to jibe on smaller kites It's a pretty natural progression to get decent at the jibing long before starting into switching feet. With foil kites it looks like people likely learn both parts simultaneously.

Even just locally its really interesting to watch the two different approaches and how they develop very different foilers. The local race guys are all using foil kites and learn to do their jibes and tacks on both sides at roughly the same rate, and their transitions look very much like those in that last video where the foot work is incorporated into the transition. The free riders on smaller faster kites may never learn all the same transitions bilaterally and sometimes separate transitions from a foot work by minutes at a time. None the less they end up stringing it all together pretty seamlessly. There are racers in town that I can't really fathom keeping up with around a course, that are not comfortable riding toe side for more than a moment.

[Adolfo]

I learned to kite in 2001, before bidirectional boards were used for kiting. So we had to learn to gibe at the same time we learned to kite.
Coming from a windsurfing background, at first I remember trying to switch feet while carving, windsurf style, and it wasn’t easy. But then I read an article in a magazine where Robby Naish recommended to favor you strong side, as Starky does, and everything was easier. I’m regular, and since then when going left, I fist change direction and then switch feet, and when going right, I first change feet and then direction. That’s on a surfboard. Regarding a foiling gibe I can’t give you any real advice, because I’m in the same boat as you are. But, as Robby said, I’m favoring my strong side for learning.

[Starsky]

Yeah, for pure free riders, its three moves to become functional. One jibe, and two foot switches.

The jibe in your strong stance comes first, Then the footwork from heel side in your week stance to toe side strong stance, and finally the move from strong stance toe side back to weak stance heel side.

I'll never spend much time working on the reciprocal two switches, or riding toe side in my weak stance beyond basic utility. Have never felt limited by it on any other board, with or without a kite. Rather move on to tacks, better waves and maybe eventually some little strapless airs. At this point I don't really care. All that can come at a natural pace. Tricks and fancy moves are fine and all, but it's those three first skills that really unlock foiling for the average rider so they can go out and ride without falling, go anywhere they want and really get into the terrain like on a surfboard or snowboard. The rest is gravy and just comes with time enjoyed on the water.

[windmlv]

And here I thought you were supposed to fall into the water on each jibe attempt.
almost two years later and I am still falling in 50% of the time on my on the water jibes ( non foiling ).
Getting really good with my water starts though.
Will keep trying as I have never had so much enjoyment on the water as with foiling.
Love watching the "experts" here in LaVentana out in front doing foiling jibes and tacks. Like a dance.
Maybe, one day.....
But then I never progressed beyond the basic jibe in windsurfing and never committed to a kiteloop at 30feet either.
Some of us must look like kooks but it sure is fun and we really do pay our dues.