Welcome

before your first class... 

I noticed that most of my wingfoiling students, especially if they're kitesurfers, surfers or have some wind sport experience, tend to come for their first class, expecting to foil. Very rarely does anyone foil in their very first attempt or class, unless one is a very experienced windfoiler, wave sailor etc. They then feel like wingfoiling is a scam as it looks soooo easy on YouTube. "How complicated is flying the wing?", "My balance is fantastic, how can I possibly be falling most of the time?". Then they give up and don't continue anymore. So, please read this before you begin your wingfoiling journey and watch the video. 

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It'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK & IT'S NOT YOU!

Everyone goes through the beginning stage of struggling to control the wing, balancing the board on the waves while flying the wing, drifting downwind and swimming out a lot a lot a lot. Wingfoiling looks ridiculously easy on social media, similar to a competitive diver doing a double somersault or "simple" backflip. Wingfoiling IS still considered an extreme windsport because of its foiling elements. Be patient in your learning journey and be kind to yourself. KNOW that every wingfoiler you see out there HAS gone through exactly what you did, in varying periods of time. The only thing you can do in your first class is tow-foiling which is learning to foil behind a powerboat. In tow-foiling, we eliminate the wing and wind elements to specifically learn foiling. For sure, you'll be able to fly up for 0.5 seconds or 2s or forever :). 

Question 1: 
1) I'm a talented athlete in my own sport, why am I such a clumsy clux in wingfoil class? 
If you don't have prior wind knowledge, it'll take time to understand how to feel wind and use it as the energy to propel your wing and board. Your superior motor skills will definitely be a good advantage in learning how to fly the wing and coordinating the board, on waves. 
2) I'm a kitesurfer and surfer, why can't I expect to foil up in my first class?
Mastering wing control is more subtle than mastering kite control. The wind theory is also more similar to windsurfing than kitesurfing (wind window) where the bladder is likened to the mast. It also takes more water-time to learn to use the wing to upright and balance oneself than powering the kite into the power zone. Wing control is everything, before we talk about foiling with the wing. 
3) It's so frustrating to keep getting washed to shore so quickly in onshore-side-onshore winds
Singapore's 'windy' seasons are June-Aug Southwest & Southeast monsoon and Dec-March North-east monsoon. Safety is the most important and so is the wind direction. Between mid-March to Nov, classes are typically held at East Coast Park where wind direction is cross on-shore. During North-east monsoon, the wind is offshore at East Coast Park and so it's very unsafe. Wingfoil students will get blown out to the ships in minutes. Hence during NE monsoon, classes are held at Changi Beach. Herein lies the dilemma, risk drifting out to sea to the ships or bite the bullet, and learn to sail across the wind and also upwind. Swim out to catch the gusts. EVERYONE has to swim out to start foiling, it's about gaining the skill of sailing across the wind and then going upwind. 

Also unfortunately, we don't have beautiful flat waters with little current on long beaches like most countries. Our seas are choppy, short beaches, shifty winds and worse, very little wind. It's really not ideal but we make do and all of us manage to learn within these challenging conditions. All of us have done many 'walks of shame' (drifted downwind and have to walk back) because of our strong currents (hence the ships can dock outside) and sudden drop in wind. It's more of a decision to want to master wingfoiling than because of our (lack of) Hawaiian wind-turqoise-beaches. 

Ok I get it that it's "not the easiest sport"  and what's next? 

How many classes do I need?
Everyone learns at a different pace so there is no fixed recommendation, except how early is your decision to own your own set of equipment. This means, after 3-6 classes, you would typically be moving on the board (tho more downwind) or best would be, across the wind. This is very important because you would be on the way to foil up. You have to get your wing control (without always flipping over or messing up your wing) and balance and be able to sail across the wind for a long distance and confidently. Once you decide you'll pursue this sport, buy your own equipment and keep practising. Get in ad hoc couple more classes to improve your foiling. Your water-time is very crucial. 

Equipment is very expensive!!
It's the painful reality that it's not affordable like running and swimming. It is after all, an "extreme" sport using high-tech equipment that is very very niche even among the traditional sailing classes. There are some used equipment going around so you just need to know the foilers and perhaps you'll land a good deal. The right equipment is also very important, don't buy something that happens to be dirt cheap or too small for you or too advanced. 

​I'm not very brave. Can I do this? 
Being an 'extreme sport", it does feel a little more scary than most traditional sports. The initial learning stage is very slow and more of learning how to fly the wing and combining it with the wing. It begins to get more 'scary' when one starts to learn to foil up and of course, the falling from a height. In addition, some might find being all alone in the big sea is dangerous. All that you're feeling is legit and there're always solutions to everything. That's why I'm here to help students. YES, YOU CAN DO THIS! 

Can my kids learn Wingfoiling? 
Yes of course, There're already some kids who are Wingfoiling proficiently here, as young as 8 years old. Being kids, they take alot more time (classes) to learn these complex techniques so just be prepared to be very very patient with their learning journey. Not to mention, safety which is number one! You can see photos of Wingfoiling kids here, they're Singaporean kids Wingfoiling here and including my kids.

Any age limit for kids?  
It really depends on your kid, as with most things. If he/she is shredding like a pro in other extreme sports, he/she is definitely capable. If he/she is a regular kid who doesn't do any sport seriously/competitive level or is very timid, do expect that it'll likely take a longer time. That said, I always believe 'anything is possible!' Here's a video of my daughter who had her first flight at 12 years old (of course we wished she started earlier but there's the PSLE & other sports) and after a few months, now still learning to foil better, control pitch, go upwind and learning gybes/tacks. She is very tiny for her age, she's only 33 kg which is similar to a typical 9-10yo (depending).