Hydrofoiling is the latest craze to hit Australian shores. Hydrofoils have been around for decades but in the last year or so we've seen them attached to just about every water based sport you can think of! A lot of new and exciting consumer models are hitting the market ready for this season. Excellent fun and they really open up a lot of opportunities in some sports that didn't exist before, like surfing unbroken waves or sailing in almost non existent wind. It's a feeling of freedom like no other and doesn't it just look so damn cool?
While the pro's make it look easy, turns out it's a little more challenging than you might initially think, and we've had a lot of people turning to Vew-Do balance boards as a training aid. Keeping that foil down in the water and correcting against the natural tendency towards "porpoising" takes quite a bit of skill and engages the front-to-back weight transfer and balance skills unlike any other board-sport around. Control over your centre of balance is key to smooth and consistent riding and out on the water this skill can take days and days of practise to nail down, especially if you're needing to catch a wave each time to get a few seconds practise in.
The Vew-Do Performance range is ideal for training this front-to-back balance and weight transfer. Being able to practise and train that skill and build the muscle memory in a controlled environment and out of the water is an invaluable tool in developing your foiling technique. As you enter the sport of foiling, Vew-Do boards can save you a lot of time and potentially frustration during the learning curve. That doesn't have to be the end of balance training, continued practise can be quite beneficial even up to advanced levels. Having the freedom and ability to train those skills anytime, on a daily basis, will prove an invaluable tool to any foiler.
Vew-Do Balance boards are also excellent for learning to ride switch, whether you're a goofy or natural stance rider some foiling sports really require you to learn to jibe the board and ride switch. This is something that can be very difficult and feel unnatural for even experienced riders. Hopping on a balance board for even a few minutes a day makes a huge difference to developing this particular skillset.
The Vew-Do Surf 33 is definitely the board of choice for this specific set of skills, however any board in the performance range will give you a good opportunity to train this foiling skillset and can really make a world of difference to your progression on a foil.