I’m stoked. These videos are designed to show you how to foil. To give you the information I wish I had when I was learning to foil. The videos show and explain each skill and maneuver needed to successfully foil. Shown in close up detail, I go frame by frame and explain what to do and why it works. This video course shortens the foil learning curve, making the learn to foil journey easier and more enjoyable. I will post the newest videos at the bottom of the page, or click here to see a chronological listing of these learn to foil videos. Here is a preview of the course.
In person lessons are also available.
Also clayisland designed organic shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs and more in the Spreadshirt shop.
How Foils Work – 2 videos. In this first video I explain the 3 axis of foiling, and in the second video I give an overview of how to ride a foil.
Foot Placement – 4 videos. I show where to put the feet and why this is so important. I also explain how moving feet effects flight, and how moving the mast effects flight.
Hip Movement – 4 videos. I show and explain what moving the hips does, and how this effects altitude or board height above the water.
Roll Falls – 5 videos. Roll falls or jack knifing or taco-ing are often the scariest part of learning to foil. I explain how they happen, how to fall safely, and how to prevent.
Breaching – 5 videos. Flying or launching the foil out of the water. This was a big challenge for me to prevent. I show what causes breaching and explain how to prevent and keep the foil in the water and keep flying.
Kicking Out – 1 video. How to kick out or exit a wave safely on a hydrofoil, I show the different ways of exiting a wave and explain what is happening and what to be aware of.
Surf Foil Take Offs – 5 videos. Prone and SUP – Paddling for and Catching Waves.
Steep Take Offs – 2 videos. How to make it down the face of a steep wave, and also how to catch hard to catch waves by moving forward toward the nose of the board.
Turning – 12 videos. How to turn a foil, how foil turns differ from surfboards, and how to turn safely.
How To Ride Surface Piercing or Tip Breach Without Crashing – 9 videos. This video series shows the 3 ways that I know of to breach a foil tip and keep riding.
SUP Paddle Pumping – 5 videos. How to stand up paddle pump after kicking out of a wave and pumping to another wave further outside.
Foot Hooks – 12 videos. How I make my foot hooks and mounting system for foil and wing boards.
DIY Foil Mast Height Extension – 2 videos. A simple, easy, and cheap ($20) to make foil mast extension giving me more height clearance and tighter turning ability.
Mast Height – Lean Over Angle – Calculator. A vector graphics file where we can input wing span, board width, mast height and get the lean over angle.
Foil Reviews – 21 Videos. Honest Feedback on Hydrofoils from Popular Brands: F-One Seven Seas, SK8, Eagle, Phantom, Axis Black and Red series, Cabrinha 2022 gear, Takuma Kujira, Armstrong, Naish, GoFoil, Slingshot, F4, and Foil Science.
Choosing a Foil – 5 Videos. In this video series I explain how popular foil brands are designed and built and why it matters.
What Foil Gear do I Need? – Gear Questions Answered. A beginner’s guide for foil gear.
Shimming and Wedging Foil Wings – 7 Videos. How why and when to adjust the angle of our foil tail wing, front wing, and mast.
Tail Wing – Stabilizers – 12 Videos. How they Work – How to Choose a Tail Wing.
Universal Mast Adapters – One Mast With Many Brands of Foils. Stringy adapters work great.
Beginner Wing Foil Spots in the San Francisco Bay Area. Maps and detailed info on where to park, launch, and exit.
San Francisco Bay Area Foil Resources – Lessons, Shops, Boats, Efoils, Online Groups, and Repairs.
Wing Foil – Tips for Beginners Video – 8 videos. After spending thousands of dollars wrongly guessing what I needed and completely flailing for 8 sessions, I discovered how to wing foil with ease in sessions 9 and 10. Also talk of my first 60 sessions, and a gear guide for beginners.
Wind Direction – 6 videos. Understanding how the wind will push us, and how a change in wind direction changes the path we can wing out and back.
A Tether to Stay Upwind for Beginners – 3 videos. A simple and cheap tether to allow anyone to stay upwind while learning to handle the wing. Only takes a few minutes to setup and remove without needing a new board or additional fins.
Wing Handling for Beginners – 18 videos. This series has many videos showing how to handle the wing for foil winging. Covering the basics, on land and then in the water, picking up the wing, turning it over, jibing, and showing a few knee starts.
Wing Foil Knee Starts – How to Stand up and Fly – 6 videos. In this video series I show and explain how to go from kneeling to flying, on both low aspect foil wings and high aspect foil wings.
Wing Foil Knee Starts on Smaller Boards – 18 videos. This video series shows in close up frame by frame detail how to get up and fly on a small board.
Wing Foil Jibes – How to – 11 Videos. In this video series I show and explain tips and drills to learn to jibe on a wing foil board.
Wing Foiling Switch Stance – 5 Videos. In this video series I show and explain how to foil weak or unnatural stance, with either right or left foot forward. This is also recommended for those new to foiling and learning to fly on their strong side.
Downwind Wing Foiling – 12 videos. Flagging out the wing and riding the bumps downwind is the focus of this video series.
Wing Luffing While Surfing and Riding Bumps Downwind – 5 Videos. How to control and manage a wing while wing foil surfing waves or riding bumps downwind.
Harnesses and Hooks – 16 videos. I show various models and explain how to hook in and out and be safe.
How to Make a Waterproof Wing Foil Board – 19 videos. This page shows the process of making a wing foil board from start to finish.
How to Make a Wood Foil Wing for Axis Fuselage – 11 videos. This series shows me cutting and shaping a piece of wood into a foil wing.
How to Replace a Wing Bladder – 5 videos. This video I remove and then install 4 new bladders in a wingfoil inflatable wing. Also how to check for a leaky valve.
What’s New – Short Reports of New, Different, Unique. This page is dedicated to whatever new stuff we happened to be testing and working on. When I have something to report I will post here and update the posting date, kind of a preview before a tutorial is ready.
Any feedback or general comments on this course please leave below. Specific questions or comments regarding any of the above areas please post in the comments section of that page. Thank you and wishing you joyful foiling.
If you are wondering what my tutorial videos might look like, here are a some links to two of my most popular videos: Paddling out, and Footwork. Here are more of my how to videos.
I’m ready for a video on turning! Keep up the good work.
Thanks and right on! I have most of a turning tutorial done, going to sit down and record the voice over later this week.
Update – Turning is here: http://clayisland.com/turning-how-to-turn-a-foil-in-waves/
So glad I found your site Clay! As a 64 year old surfer living in Seattle, I knew I had to find something new since Covid put an end to my Santa Barbara/Ventura surf trips (I typically make 3 – 4 annually). I just purchased a Quatro 130L wing foilboard, 6.0 wing and 200 cm foil.
I had planned to take it slow and was nervous about falling on the foil or rail of the board. Your learning how to fall videos are excellent and take away most of the fear. I also bought a temp daggerboard for my 14.0 SUP and as you recommend, will start using my wing on a a SUP in protected water and slowly graduate to my foilboard before venturing out to the Puget sound this summer. I also have a helmet and impact vest and plan to start this weekend.
Foiling is exploding and I will recommend your site to anyone getting into the sport! Keep up the good work and thanks again!
Chris
Woo hoo!
Great to hear from you Chris, and thanks for the awesome feedback. Sounds like you are super stoked, I’m excited for you. Foiling is so fun! Sounds like a great plan and thanks for recommending my site.
If you need anything else please let me know.
Clay
Great content. Helped speed up my wingfoiling learning curve. Thanks Clay.
Awesome to hear Cory! Thanks!
Wow..blown away. just ran across this excellent vid. The way you articulated Surfing and how we deal with life can and should be applied to all of us regardless if you have ever surfed. You sir have inspired me to another level of watermen. I live in Petaluma. Surf Sonoma and beyond for to many years. I’m 60 going on 27 occasionally act 14 and often feel 94. THIS is my new sport! I haven’t a clue of the how, what, and where but I sure know I’m dropping in on you one day. btw You had me when you mentioned The Celestine prophecy’s.
Wow, that’s so awesome, thanks I really appreciate your words. Looking forward to you dropping in.
“60 going on 27 occasionally act 14 and often feel 94”!!! You nailed it Playa Pete. That made me smile. Isn’t it refreshing that as surfers we are being friendly to each other instead of being jerks? It’s a new attitude! We will meet one day when the wind blows in the Petaluma River or somewhere nearby and we will wave and smile like the old days. You can pet a lamb, but you can’t pet a luma.
Love your content! Your videos got me into prone foiling about a month ago and I am having so much fun I don’t even want to surf anymore haha. My dad wants to get into it now. Hes a bit older but an experienced surfer/supper and wants to get a sup foil setup. I don’t know anything about supping so any first board recommendations would be great. thanks!
Hi Jake, Right on! In general a starting place would be keep the volume similar as current sup board and go shorter and maybe wider if wanting stability. A nice small mellow empty wave and a big stable foil really helps.
Clay: My wife has been coming in and out while I watched your videos and she commented,
“Do I need to worry about you getting hurt as much as the guy doing the videos?”
I told her, “No, honey. That’s why I’m watching the videos.”
Question: Does each hand wing have its own pumping style? I have a 6.5 Slingwing V3 and I can’t get the circular pump going. Maybe it’s just too big for my height, 5’11”, or I’m not doing it right. If I hold the front hand steady and pump the back hand in and out it works, but I sure would like to be optimally efficient, and if that means working on the beach on the circular technique, I’ll do it.
Hi George,
Thanks for watching. I answered your question on the wing handling page:
https://clayisland.com/wing-handling-for-beginners-wing-foil-tutorials/
Great commitment to your passion brother. Great videos
Thanks!