Frontflip

Just like a roller coaster passenger, a surf foiler is on a thrilling ride made of dizzying descents and full speed turns, with the highlight of the show being the full loop!

To send your first frontflips, place yourself facing a wave while pumping at full speed. Unlike the backflip for which the rotation naturally follows the curl of the wave in the air, the frontflip implies countering the direction of travel. While the foil spins up after take off, you have to go back over to go forward. It takes a frank intention to make this forward tilting happen. As for a dead start salto, it’s tough ! You need to perfectly dissociate takeoff and rotation, in a moment of transition which must be committed and explosive. In wing foiling or windsurfing this means firmly sheeting in to be kind of catapulted forward. No handles or wishbone in surf foiling, so you have to do everything with the abs. Note that a very slight voluntary fault at take off can act like a leg hook which would start the forward rotation. But to do a full flip it takes height so no misstep allowed. A light pressure on the heels at take off will be enough to send the foil a little on the side to pass over it 😉

Unlike a salto, you don’t have a support foot but the speed you have will give you the height you need. So you trigger the rotation with your arms and enter your head. Wrap the body by bending your legs towards the bust for rotation and unroll the body at the end of the jump to slow down the rotation and land.

It goes without saying that this trick cannot be attempted in the middle of the line-up. If you lose your foil mid-rotation it could badly hurt someone. If in any doubt as to what’s behind the wave, don’t attempt this trick ?.

Surf foiler: Malo, GONG team rider, with a Matata FSP Pro, Pro Fluid H Foil Set-up and HM 70 Mast.