Message
par regis-de-giens » jeu. 2 mars 2017 17:23
Je vous balance un peu brut de fonderie le tuto que j'avais ecrit en anglais ; j'ai du le faire en francais quelque part mais le temps me manque un peu en ce moment, je prendrais le temps de traduire dans quelques jours.
La principale inspiration a ete les conseils de Gwenole' (de la marque Gong) , mixe' a mon avis personel apres y etre passe' en me forcant a noter mes ressentis au fur et a mesure ( on oublie vite les difficultes). Et je pense que pour le debutant lambda qui n'a plus 20 ans, le plus important est d'y aller TRES progressivement dans le seul but de limiter les chutes (detaille' en point 6) car je trouve que on apprend pas de ses chutes en foil (incomprehensibles) mais presque uniquement pendant les moments de glisse pour renforcer les reflexes.
Je ne me suis pas applique' (a regret) l'etape 0, que je trouve utile pour ceux qui vont apprendre en vent on-shore avec clapot (pas ideal bien sur mais si pas le choix ...), surtout si petit gabarit et floteur avec volume.
0- Remove both wings of the foil and fuselage, and learn first waterstart phase with only the mast under the board (with one front footstrap only as you said); it will "decouple" the novelties and difficulties and shorten this painful and demotivating waterstart phase (you will have only to master the fact than you have a marine anchor below your legs); And board will be easier to put on its edge; (approx 1 sessions)
1- when 80% of waterstarts are ok , put the two wings back in place and re-learn the waterstart (it will be the same technique but with a front foot pressure, so you will learn very rapidly (approx 1 session ).
2- put your back foot far ahead of the rear strap holes; it will avoid you fatigue when trying to master the "board on water" ride (without foiling-up), which is to me (as an old 40's 
) the most articulated and demotivating part; so it needs to be comfortable to you (the more ahead the rear foot is, the less you will have to push on front foot) and avoid falling too often in the water because of foil getting up involuntary... the Foil is providing some lift, so do not be afraid of having your weight far more ahead on the board compared to TT or surf board. (80-90 degree ride from the wind direction, approx 1 session).
3- Try to ride like this in several directions like this (upwind / traverse, ect) , until you stop falling in the water anymore (approx 1 session depending on the conditions and skills). Be patient, the more you ride like this the more reflexes you take before foiling-up and without falling often and hardly. And you will fall less when foiling-up later on. (approx 1 session).
- Front foot gives the direction (pressure on toe= you go downwind; pressure on heel you go upwind) while rear foot remain flat and pressure balanced
- kite bar is your balance tool to stay exactly aligned with the mast : if you start to fall toward the back, pull the bar; if you start falling forehead, push the bar. It shall not be considered as a handle like for a TT but more like a command for the kite tension in the harness, so keep "light" on the bar.
3bis - : When not falling often in several directions, learning strapless is now possible if it is your final goal, with less injury risk; but you will need one more waterstart session to learn holding the board with one hand (back), and a few added falls on the next phases (but not a lot actually and more "decontracted" falls) (1 optional session)
4- When you are well rested, and not afraid of your damned foil anymore, and psychologically ready to foil-up, then translate your rear foot 1 cm backward and re-ride similarly, same pressure on both foots; if the foil does not get-up, relocate your foot 1 cm backward again; and so on, up to the first "natural" launch of the board up the water (with your increasing speed only, not by changing your foot pressure, in order to get a very smooth rise-up and avoid the awful yo-yo);
5- Then as soon as foil tries to rise-up, bend your knees immediately ("caca" position, sorry but it is a good reminder ) and at the same time push the bar very promptly to reduce speed. Foil will get back down in the water without you had enough time to fall (and avoiding another-tiring-waterstart). When comfortable with this operation, do the same by pushing the bar a bit slower to get 1 meter more flying distance, ect ... up to keep the bar in position and keep foiling-up 
(approx 2 sessions for long travels).
6- To me the key of first sessions, for "old-wise" people like us let's say, is "never falling philosophy" , is so avoid falling (unlike most of gliding sports ... where you often learn from your falls) ; Hence the stage without foil wings and also the patient stage without foil-up. Because falls are very tiring, demotivating , with real risks of injury, and, most of all, because "you learn nothing useful for HF when your fall". It will be indeed very difficult to understand why you have fall, and it is rather a matter of body reflexes unconscious learning (like human walk); hence the more you are ON the board the more you learn, even if not "trying new things" which will reduce your session by fatigue.
Last point: I recommend kite line extensions (7 to 10 meters) ; it will simplify your waterstart and first rides a lot, by giving you more time to waterstart and less kite management concentration during the ride. And you will use them you later on for light wind riding.
Voila c'est pas le tuto ultime (et je n'ai pas progresse' plus vite que les autres), on peut chacun l'etoffer ou le modifier (Marco si tu nous lis ...), mais ca evite de confronter le debutant a des " tu verras , C'est au feeling" ; et plutot coacher le pauvre cerveau perdu, fatigue' et rendu humide par les lavages de sinus successifs des premiers waterstart.
60kg, Kestrel 21UL / 18UL / 15 / 8, Gin spirit 15, Elf Joker 11 (A vendre), Hawk 5m , Hybrid 2.5 // OR Flite 17 Alula / 14.5 (A vendre) / 10 ; Crave 12m ; Solo 6.5m, Pivot 8m, One 9m ( A vendre), DNA 3m , Pansh Adam 5.5 B/C
Foil Ketos, TBK Mana
