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Foil · Intermediate

Sit on the Foil

See it in the Trick Tree

Sit on the Foil means dropping out of a deep squat onto the deck while up on the foil, taking the load on a planted hand and carrying on foiling seated.

Also called: Sit Down · Sit On Your Hydrofoil

Prerequisites

Foil Waterstart

Unlocks

Foil Foot Drag

Schools teach this differently

The two riders in MACkite's tutorial sit differently. Blake drops out of a deep squat with the back hand planted on the board next to the foot and the front hand on the opposite side of the bar just behind the centerline. Tucker rides it side saddle, flies the kite with the back hand, and puts the front hand toward the front of the board to steer over chop and block any sketchy bucking movements. They also split on foot spacing: Blake drills the squat at roughly shoulder width, while Tucker brings the feet close together to find the sweet spot before sitting. The article says outright that there is more than one way to do this.

Ideal conditions

Zephyr Kite Tours puts the best wind for learning to foil kite at 12 to 15 knots, with a big kite in light wind and the kite kept higher in the window when you want to go slower. For the sit itself, MACkite asks only for a comfortable foiling speed, the kite around 45 degrees, and the foil started low. No source we cite specifies a water state or a wind range for the seated trick on its own.

How to do it

  1. 1. Set the board up so a crash is survivable

    • Loosen your straps and take the back one off, or better yet ride strapless, so you can fall away from the foil when you mess up.
    • Use foot hooks if you want something under your feet without being locked down in a crash — you need freedom of movement in your feet.
    • Spend runs squatting while you ride, knees to your chest, feet roughly shoulder width apart. Start small and squat deeper over time; the lower you can go the better.
    • Start with the foil low. A low foil keeps the wings from breaching and the falls are much nicer while you are learning.

  2. 2. Hand off the board pressure

    • Settle at a comfortable foiling speed with the kite around 45 degrees.
    • Put your front hand on the opposite side of the bar, just behind the centerline, so you can pull the bar toward you to hold the kite up.
    • That hand moves first because it is much easier to gently pull up than it is to push the bar.
    • Take your back hand off the bar and set it on the board next to your foot.
    • Match the pressure you were carrying through that foot with the hand.

  3. 3. Sit down and ride it out

    • From the squat, bring your back leg forward and sit down on the foil. Keep your front foot down and balance between your back hand, your front foot and your butt.
    • Let the front leg stretch out, then bring both legs forward and use them to control the balance and weight the front of the board.
    • Trim your ride height by shifting weight forward and back over the front wing. Too much back-foot pressure breaches the front wing, and when it comes out of the water you lose all your lift and instantly drop back down.
    • Sheet in and ride away with your feet pointing downwind, like you are hiking a sailboat.
    • To get back up, run the same process in reverse.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Riding high on the mast while you are still learning the sit.

Fix

Start with the foil low. The falls are much nicer down there, and the wings stay buried instead of breaching.

Mistake

Holding your height with back-foot pressure.

Fix

Shift weight forward and back over the front wing instead. If breaching continues it is because you have too much instinctive back foot pressure, and once the front wing exits the water the lift is gone all at once.

Mistake

Sitting down with both feet strapped in.

Fix

Loosen the straps and remove the back one, or go strapless, so you can fall away from the foil when you mess up.

Mistake

Trying to rescue a diving kite by pushing the bar out.

Fix

Put your front hand on the opposite side of the bar, just behind the centerline, before you sit. It is much easier to gently pull up than to push the bar.

Mistake

Leaning back over the tail to get low.

Fix

Stand with your weight straight above the board and do not lean back too much. Get low by bringing your knees to your chest, feet roughly shoulder width, until the deep squat is automatic.

If it goes wrong

  • Set the straps up before you try it so you can fall away from the foil, and keep the foil low.
  • If the session has to end on the water, pop your quick release. The kite falls out of the sky onto one single line — that is your flag line.
  • Swim over to the board and mount it like a surfboard. The flotation makes the rest of the rescue easier.
  • Climb up your flag line hand over hand, and never wrap the line around your hand.
  • Keep one hand on the flag line while you pull the control bar to the quick release, wrap the flag line around one side of the bar, then wrap the bar up like normal while you straddle the board.
  • Get in one of three ways: toss the bar inside the canopy, grab a bridle line and bring one wingtip up with the leading edge facing shore; or deflate the leading edge, roll the kite wingtip to wingtip with the struts still inflated, secure it on top of the board and swim in; or leash the kite to the pump attachment rope and let it float behind while you swim the foil in like a surfboard.
  • When you hold the board on the way in, hold it by the nose to keep the foil from riding up if you have any speed.

Learn this with a coach, not from a page

This guide explains what the move is and what riders get wrong, so you arrive at the session knowing what you are trying to do. It cannot watch your kite, read the gust coming, or stop you committing to something you are not ready for — a coach or instructor can.

Find a certified school

Educational reference, not instruction. Kitesurfing is a risk sport: the steps here describe what named schools, instructors and technique libraries teach, and the page lists exactly which ones, but real conditions involve wind, gusts, water state, traffic and equipment behaviour that no written guide accounts for. Schools also teach justified variations — where our sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking one. Judge your own readiness, use the safety systems on your kite, and do not attempt a move because a page made it sound achievable. KitesurfingOfficial accepts no liability for the use of this information on the water.

Questions riders ask

How much wind do I need to sit on the foil?+

No source I opened gives a wind band for the sit on its own. Zephyr Kite Tours puts 12 to 15 knots as the best range for learning to foil kite at all, with a big kite in light wind for plenty of lift and support, and the kite higher in the window when you want to go slower. MACkite's tutorial only asks for a comfortable foiling speed with the kite around 45 degrees.

What do I need to be able to do before I try it?+

Foil comfortably first. In The Foiling Collective's series by Alex Buss, the opening tutorial covers carrying, handling and body dragging, then balance, weight distribution, depowering the hydrofoil and surface riding, then short practice flights and ascending and descending the foil — sitting on the foil is tutorial seven, after footswaps, tacks and turning. Zephyr suggests learning to foil behind a boat or jet ski first so you are not pairing the foil with the kite straight away. MACkite's own first step is a squat drill on the foil, knees to the chest, going lower over time.

Do I have to ride strapless?+

MACkite recommends loosening your straps and removing the back one, or better yet going strapless. Foot hooks are the middle option if you want support underfoot without being locked down. The reason is the crash: you want to be able to fall away from the foil when you mess up.

How much am I going to fall?+

MACkite's tip list says to accept that you will fall while learning this. Starting with the foil low is what makes those falls much nicer and keeps the wings from breaching, and the strap setup is what lets you fall away from the foil.

What comes after I can sit?+

MACkite's kite foiling trick list carries straight on from Sit down at number seven into walking on water, then seated carves, a seated transition and a seated one-foot drag. Standing back up is part of the same lesson — MACkite says to run the process in reverse, and Alex Buss covers standing back up in the IKSURFMAG tutorial too.

Keep reading

Sources

Every step on this page traces to the sources below. Where they disagree or stay silent, the page says so instead of guessing.