In my stubborn progression to get better at foot switch exercises, I grabbed the most interesting ones from Kitesurf College and Progression and tried them out on the water
These users thanked the author bkkite for the post (total 3):
Nice, I study from the same sources, cool to see your process applying it. It surprised me your on foil foot swap went well after your taxi foot swap didn't, looks like the exercises in between really helped. I have been trying on taxing and a few went well, haven't tried on the foil yet, and I haven't tried the ski stance and foot together drills yet.
For me, what seems to be working best is
1) pre-set the upper body pointing to the front of the board, to minimize movement after the swap
2) have a shallower stance pre-swap, I set up my mast far ahead and the foot straps far behind
3) Using lift from the kite
4) I agree the land drills really helped, I think putting the front foot weight from toes to heel as you bring the back foot to the front also helps keeping the pressure point balanced on the board
Haha, i don't know why the taxi foot swaps never really worked for me. I rode a surfboard before foiling and had already learned to foot swap. The exercises definitely helped build muscle memory and get used tot he balance.
I think the lift from the kite is the part that I'm doing the least well. I'm not moving the kite enough to get enough lift. I was out yesterday doing the back leg lifts, and thats helping.