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Foil · Intermediate

Touch-and-Go

See it in the Trick Tree

Touch-and-Go is a kitefoil drill where you let the board rise onto the foil and set it back down to taxiing, over and over, until the balance point clicks.

Also called: touch down · short gliding · short glidings

Prerequisites

Foil Waterstart

Unlocks

Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.

Schools teach this differently

Our sources split on two points. Straps: Zephyr Kite Tours teaches a single front foot strap so the back foot sits directly above the mast, while Elite Watersports says to use two straps or ride strapless and never one, on injury grounds. Where the lift comes from: BINDY frames the rise as speed plus front-foot pressure, while Progression Sports describes weight moving back over the back foot as what loads the foil and causes it to rise. Zephyr Kite Tours teaches both cues as one sequence — practise more front foot pressure, then slowly move your weight backwards, putting more and more pressure on your back foot until you feel the foil lift — so which cue you hear first depends on which source you learn from.

Ideal conditions

Flat water, and 12 to 15 knots is the most commonly cited beginner window (Zephyr Kite Tours, Elite Watersports, Kitesurfist). BINDY places the foil's usable band lower and wider at 8 to 15 knots, noting 8 to 10 knots is already enough to ride, and says to pick the twintip back up once it blows 18+. Progression Sports describes a workable first day as cross-onshore and a little gusty at 10 to 15 knots. Water must be deep enough that the foil won't hit the bottom, with no rocks or reef under you.

How to do it

  1. 1. Taxi before you fly

    • Mount the foil on the beach with the board on the sand and no kite, stand on it, and work through your balance, foot placement and range of motion before you get wet.
    • Spend one to three whole sessions riding with the board flat on the surface and no liftoff at all. It is the balance tutorial, so you are not managing flight control and kite control at the same time.
    • Point the board across the wind and carry only the slightest edge.
    • Park the kite high, above 10:30 or 1:30 in the window, and don't let it drop below 45°. The higher the kite sits, the slower you go while your feet learn.
    • Stack your weight straight over the board and don't lean back too much.

  2. 2. Let it come up

    • Build speed on the surface, then press through your front foot. Speed plus front-foot pressure is what lifts the board.
    • If it stays glued down, let your weight drift back over your back foot. That loads the foil and causes it to rise.
    • Ride a short mast for this, around 75 cm. Short mast means low flight, a lower fall and an easier restart.
    • Count on five to ten seconds up before you breach or stall on the early ones. That is what a normal first takeoff looks like.

  3. 3. Put it straight back down

    • The instant you feel the board lift off the water, shift all your weight forward again to get it back down. Getting the foil down is often harder than getting it up, and doing it straight away is what speeds up your progression.
    • Lean forward with your full body weight centred over your front leg, and the board will settle back onto the surface and ride along happily.
    • Rise, touch down, resume taxiing, and rise again. Chase repetitions of the short glide.
    • Work the pressure forward, then slowly back until the foil lifts, then all the way forward again. The balancing point you are hunting sits somewhere in the middle of that shift between your front and back feet.
    • Ride enough board that a touchdown becomes a bounce you can keep riding out of. If the board is big enough to touch down and keep going, you are not wasting energy swimming, you are getting reps.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Carrying twintip habits onto the foil, with your weight sitting over the back foot.

Fix

Lean forward and centre your full body weight over your front leg. Weight back over the back foot loads the foil and causes it to rise when you did not ask for it.

Mistake

Breaching on repeat: the board goes too high, the front wing comes out of the water, you drop, and the next rise does the same thing.

Fix

That loop is your instinctive back-foot pressure. Move your weight forward. After each drop it takes a second for water friction to re-engage over the front wing, which is why you lift straight back up and breach again, and again.

Mistake

Trying to get onto the foil straight away in your first sessions.

Fix

Ride taxiing long enough to accumulate board feeling before trying to rise up and glide. The riders who skip that stage are the ones who get frustrated early.

Mistake

Picking a front wing that's too small.

Fix

Start in the 1250 to 1500 cm² range. A larger front wing gives low-speed lift and forgives your errors, while the small one punishes them.

Mistake

Wanting a 100 cm mast right away for your first setup.

Fix

Start at 75 cm. With a long mast you miss takeoffs and fall from higher up, which is more dangerous.

If it goes wrong

  • Wear a helmet and an impact vest every session, especially while you are learning. A wetsuit protects your body from cuts and gloves protect your hands.
  • Fall away from the board and use the kite to pull you away from it.
  • Protect your head when you fall and again when you come back up out of the water.
  • Expect the foil to shoot forward in an unexpected direction, or even fly through the air, and expect it to bump into you again while you are recovering from the crash.
  • If one foot slips out of a strap, get the other one out immediately. Ride two straps or ride strapless, never one.
  • Learn in a spot with water deep enough that your foil won't hit the bottom, and with no rocks or reef underneath.

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

What wind do I want for practising touch-and-go?+

Zephyr Kite Tours and Elite Watersports both put the beginner window at 12 to 15 knots, and Kitesurfist adds flat water. BINDY sees it differently and treats 8 to 10 knots as already enough to ride a foil, recommending you keep foil sessions in the 8 to 15 knot band and pick the twintip back up as soon as it blows 18 or more. Progression Sports' example first day was cross-onshore and a little gusty at 10 to 15 knots.

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

Megaloop Kiting says it's good to already know how to downloop water-start and transition on a twintip or surfboard. BINDY has you stand up as you would on a twintip and then spend one to three full sessions riding the board on the surface with no liftoff at all, so you don't have to manage flight control and kite control at the same time. Progression Sports adds that time on a surfboard lets you practise the new stance without the extreme crashes.

How many sessions before I get short flights?+

BINDY's answer is 3 to 5 sessions for the first short flights of 10 to 30 seconds, 10 to 15 sessions for stable long flights, and 30 or more for fully autonomous foil riding. Its stage breakdown expects the first takeoff to last 5 to 10 seconds before you breach or stall, then 2 to 5 sessions to reach stable 30-second flights.

Why does the foil keep popping out and dropping me?+

That is breaching. Zephyr Kite Tours defines it as the board being moved too high so the front wing comes out of the water. It repeats because after you land it takes a second for water friction to re-engage over the front wing, so you lift straight back up and breach again, and again. If breaching continues, it's because you have too much of your instinctive back foot pressure.

What gear makes this drill easier?+

BINDY recommends a 75 cm mast, a 1300 to 1500 sqcm front wing, a board of 4'8" to 5'4" (140 to 165 cm) at 35 to 50 L for 70 to 90 kg riders, and a kite 2 to 4 sqm below your twintip size. Elite Watersports is in the same territory with a 1250 to 1500 cm² front wing, a 60 to 70 cm mast, a board of 5'2" or longer, and your existing 9 m or 7 m kite, and points out that a board big enough to touch down and keep going saves you the energy you'd spend swimming. Megaloop Kiting gives beginner board length as 130 to 150 cm.

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.