Other Forms of Surfing Part 2: Tow in Surfing, Kitesurfing, and Foil Surfing

As mentioned in an earlier post, blogging has so much variety in topic, voice, as well as audience. There are three other varieties in surfing that are worth mentioning since they are all completely different from one another. They all, however, require great balance, practice, and being in great mental and physical shape. Surfing like any other sport evolves over time as a result of advances in technology to create better equipment. The uniqueness in the evolution of surfing, however, is due to the fact that its evolution has created more ways to surf. Most other sports usually evolve along one line. For example, the only way to hit a tennis ball is with a tennis racquet. There is improved technology in the racquet but it is still a racquet. All the varieties of surfing require different types of boards and different lengths. The three other varieties of surfing are Tow-in-surfing, Kitesurfing, and Foil surfing.

Tow-in-surfing is one of the most recent new forms of surfing co-invented by the legendary surfer Laird Hamilton. Tow-in-surfing was created in order to be able to ride giant waves more effectively while limiting chances of falling. A tow-in-surfer automatically starts riding a wave without having to stand up because he or she is pulled in to the wave by a jet ski. Falling, however, is always a possible factor even for the greatest surfing warriors. Tow-in-surfing is a bit like snowboarding because your feet are attached to the board giving more balance. The board of tow-in-surfing is also very light and short allowing a surfer to make turns more easily as well as to pick up faster speeds. Tow-in-surfing is a very advanced form of surfing that only should be used for large waves.

Kitesurfing is another form of surfing that is starting to become more popular. Unlike tow-in-surfing that requires large waves, kitesurfing does not require waves at all. Kitesurfing is quite difficult as it requires a lot of technique to master. Like other forms of surfing, Kitesurfing can be dangerous especially if there is a lot of wind. In kitesurfing, you are attached to a board with a large kite gliding above you. The kite maneuvers the kitesurfer in the direction that he or she wants to go in. Many tricks like jumping, doing spins, and even flips are possible.

Foil-surfing is also a relatively new form of surfing also co-invented by Laird Hamilton. Foil-surfing takes the idea snowboard boots and creating surfing boots. Foil surfing is a small board with a hydrofoil underneath the board. The design of the board allows you to stand up with ease, pulled in by a jet ski. You just glide through the water. Foil-surfing can be done on many different types of waves but usually small to medium size waves ( 3-5 meters) work best.