NEWS: MAKING HEADS SPIN!

If the meaning of the terms backflip, back loop, backside 360 ​​and other variations makes your head spin, figuratively, rest assured, you are not the only one! 😉

The tricks quickly multiplied in wing foiling as did their denominations, in particular for the different types of rotations that this young sport allows. These are largely inspired by what is done in other board sports. As a result, we now have to cope with a mix of terms coming from windsurfing, kiteboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, etc. A clarification is needed to see clearly! 😉 Here’s a stab at it :

For an universal understanding of the denominations of the different rotations,we first need to agree on a common lexicon. This arbitration was done to define the rules of the Surf-Freestyle events on the world tour. The easiest way is therefore to follow the Rule Book of competitions which are now well established, which incidentally involved a couple of updates in the How To section of our magazine, where the names of the moves were often inspired by windsurfing and kite tricks whereas the world tour rather follows the snowboard and skateboard definitions.

Regarding rotations, the main change for many is the disappearance of the term Flaka which comes from windsurfing. It is replaced by the term Frontside 360 ​​(or FS 360) as understood by snowboarders or skaters. That is to say with a direction of rotation that is defined by the orientation of the shoulders. Take a rider with a Regular stance who sends a Frontside 360 ​while sailing on his strong foot, he must swing his right shoulder facing forward to perform his rotation. If he follows up with a backside 360, he will have to send his right shoulder backwards.

It may seem logical but for a windsurfer or a kiter for whom the movements of flat rotations (backside and frontside air 360) are close to those of loops, it is less so. Indeed, a Flaka in wing foiling, now called Frontside 360, can turn on an angle very close to the one of a backloop. Talking about “front” and “back” for two seemingly very similar moves can be confusing, but we are talking about Frontside and not just front. And the angles are very different. Again, you have to start from the shoulders to fully understand. For a frontloop, you do a somersault forward around your shoulders (the shoulders do not rotate in the horizontal plane). A frontloop is therefore still a frontloop. Same for the backloop. No change either for the backflip.

At this stage you may be wondering what is now called the Front 360 if the term Flaka is replaced by Frontside 360. The question is a legit one! 😉 As mentioned above, if you are used to reading our How To’s, we now use the direction of rotation as understood in skateboarding or snowboarding. As a result, the front 360 is now a Backside 360 ​​Spin… quite a plot twist ? The “Spin” means that you make a complete rotation under the wing with a switch of the hands.

If we recap:

Flaka becomes Frontside 360 ​​> Full How To Back 360 becomes Frontside 360 ​​Spin > Full How To Front 360 becomes Backside 360 ​​Spin > Full How To

If you still can’t see any clearer, just remember that a backside 360 ​​is the opposite of a flaka while the old front 360 is a Backside 360 ​​Spin… and vice versa!