Crouch start in pump foiling: when a start without run-up makes sense, which dock and foil fit and how to fall safely. Honest about the thin source situation.
The honest answer: the crouch start is the dock start variant for short or low docks, where you do not run up but push off onto the board from a crouch at the edge. It only works with a lot of foil lift, and the source situation on exactly that is thin. A guide from the scene says: large high-aspect foils need almost no speed, some riders even start from standstill with them [3]. Whoever flies small needs more speed [3]. That is why we grade the crouch start "intermediate", not "beginner" as in the inventory: it is the harder variant after the dock start with run-up.
An honest upfront note: I could not verify the sequence of the crouch start itself step by step in any readable source. The sources describe the dock start with run-up and mention the start without run-up only in passing [3]. The description below is therefore a build-up from secured principles (dock choice, board position, hands on the board, falling), complemented with practice hints. There is no study.
Whoever starts without run-up trades speed for lift: the foil has to work for you.
Experience says beginners fall often: a scene guide advises falling often in the first sessions, limiting the session to 30 to 60 minutes and filming yourself [3]. Realistically you need many attempts (experience value).
Check water depth and surroundings, walk the spot and look for obstacles under water. You place the foil in the water beforehand [2].
Milestone (practice): you have ticked off the whole checklist before touching the board.
Crouch at the dock edge, board flat in front of you, both hands on the rails. The nose must not point up: even in the dock start with run-up the board should stay flat [2].
Push off and land with both feet on the board. A guide gives as a rule of thumb for small boards the rear foot directly above the mast and the front foot just behind the front hand [3]. Eyes forward, centre of mass above the board [3].
Milestone (practice): 5 push-offs where you land on the board without tipping over at once.
Release your hands only once you stand and start pumping immediately: drive the foil up with the rear leg, then push the nose back down [2]. Your arms help with the rhythm at the start [3].
If it does not work, fall with the board in the direction of travel. Whoever fights the fall gets contact with the foil; whoever falls with it usually lands cleanly in the water [2].
A scene guide calls pump foiling less risky than wake, kite or wing foiling, but a carbon foil remains a carbon foil [2]. There is no injury study for pump foiling itself. In wingfoiling, which shares the foil hazard, the injury rate was 5.7 per 1000 hours, contact with your own equipment was typical, and most injuries were bruises, strains, cuts and abrasions of the legs [4] (TRANSFER).
For you that means: never start over shallow water, always with vest and helmet, never alone, never with swimmers nearby. This guide explains and motivates, it does not replace instruction by an experienced person or supervised training.
Before the first real attempt do a dry run: walk the sequence on the dock without the foil in the water, crouch, push off, landing, releasing hands. One guide even advises walking the route and rehearsing the movements beforehand [2]. Ten repetitions on land save you many wet attempts.
When the dock is short or low and you have no run-up. It needs a foil with plenty of lift [3]. With a small foil the start with run-up is easier.
For beginners one guide recommends a high-aspect front foil above 2000 square centimetres [2], an expert names 1700 to 2100 for 80 kilograms [1]. Larger foils need hardly any speed, some even start from standstill [3].
An expert names 10 to 70 centimetres [1], a guide 30 to 60 centimetres [3], another about two thirds of the mast length [2]. Water depth always counts: deep enough for mast and foil.
With the board in the direction of travel, not against it [2]. Whoever fights the fall risks contact with the foil. Wear vest and helmet.
Holding Flight Height in Pump Foiling: Just Below the Surface Without Breach or Touchdown