Focus & techniques for kicking out?

Prone Surf Foiling
1

Are there things you focused on that helped you with your kickout?

When I am presented with a wave that dies out in front of me, it’s easy. I can cruise high up on foil out behind the wave and can pump way out back. When those waves happen I think “Stay high on foil”, “glide over the bump” and then “GO GO GO PUMP”.

But that scenario is rare. Here the waves typically close out down the line and I have a small section I can sneak out over. It all happens so fast! Sometimes I lose balance hopping over the wave. Sometimes I’m too low on foil.

So my question is, what are you thinking as you’re going down the line and have decided to kick out? What technique are you focusing on?

Thanks in advance!

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Feel your pain - we have lots of close-outs here too. You basically only have 2 options:

  1. Sketchy just aim high and try and hop off the back as soon as you’re on foil. Only works if you get lucky with the section and causes lots of tacos, but occasionally you get off ok.

  2. Wait until the wave has closed out then aim for the shore to get you clearance from the whitewater and then kinda like a long drawn out bottom turn angle your foil back at the wave once it’s lost a lot of its energy. Kinda like mounting a curb on a bike you have come back at it with a steep enough angle that the force of the whitewash doesn’t knock you sideways. Get high on the foil, glide as long as you can out the back then pump off.

Both don’t work all the time though! Just keep going until you get one that lets you out! :joy:

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I’m at the stage where I can pop up consistently but my feet are not always right where they need to be to pump efficiently. And since there is so little time to scooch around that has to improve. If it’s going to be closed out a straight takeoff is the way, and if you find that indeed you can’t make it then turning away from the shoulder gets you to where the ww has settled more than if you try to chase it but fail. As long as you’ve gained some separation from the ww I find that even a fairly slight angle works ok when jumping over. As long as you’re going fairly straight at that moment, and you time your jump for right before it hits. I went through a period of rushing it and that would invariably lock me into the turn out. Keep it simple and get up and pumping at the beach, you have more time than you think.

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