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Riding Toeside

By Paul Lang

Even for many seasoned riders, riding toeside seems to be an elusive skill, not because it’s hard to do, but because it’s hard to do well.

Being able to ride toeside will make it easier for you to change directions and will add another element to your bag of tricks.

The more time you spend riding toeside, the easier it is for you to land your moves toeside. In the waves, riding toeside is an essential skill, especially with a directional board.

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Riding toeside feels awkward at first, but focus on maintaining good body position and you will soon be blasting along comfortably on your toeside edge.

Toeside Tips:

  • Most people put too much weight on their back foot when riding toeside, which slows your board down and makes it unstable. Practice seeing how much weight you can put on your front foot while riding toeside without the nose of the board catching on the water. Just like riding heelside, you want to be riding on the edge of the board, not the tail.
  • Keep your body straight when riding toeside. As you edge away from the kite, focus on pushing your hips towards the water, not your shoulders. Also, push with your toes and the balls of your feet as you edge.
  • Practice riding toeside in both directions. Riding toeside switch is difficult at first, but just focus on having good body position and you will feel comfortable in no time.
  • Keep your head and shoulders facing the direction you are traveling. This is easier to do if you let go of the bar with your forward hand.
  • Keep your front leg relatively straight and your back leg bent, just like riding heelside.
  • Smile! This is Fun!

Paul Lang is the Editor of this magazine and also likes cookies.