Surfing Waves

I'm goofy footed, and around where i live most of the waves have normal people on their mind. But even so i can't find a easy way to build speed on my backside. When i'm going right i have trouble going up and down the wave. feels un-natural. reguardless i end up finding myself to slow down alot more often. how do you go up and down teh wave with your backside to it? i feel like i should be able to.

Well, i'm regular footed, but its the same concept when I go left.

So what I do is when i'm going straight down the line and start losing speed, I point my left shoulder (Which would be your right) to the bottom of the wave and that makes me automatically turn down to the bottom of the wave, sorta like a bottom turn.

Then when i'm down there, I quickly go back to the top of the wave. To do this, I swing my arms to the left (Yours go to the right) sorta like a snap. While doing this I am putting my weight on my heels, and this should bring you back to the top of the wave.

Then you repeat the process as fast as you can. It just takes practice. I call this "Rollercoaster" I don't know if it is a real name of the trick, but thas what I call it. And if this does not work, which I find hard to believe, you can always pump the board up and down to gain speed, but I think it is a little unpractical and makes you go slower unless you do it right.

I know this may be kinda hard to understand, but I did the best I can. Lol Good luck, and let me know how it goes and if it helps.

-Charlie

I'm not the best person to talk about going backhand as I kind of avoid it if there is a forehand wave near by .... however a lot of pros and surf trainers say you should open your stance when going backhand. What they mean is to have your feet, in particular your leading foot, pointing more at the nose. This opens your stance more and allows you to see more of the wave. You will then find it easier to read what the wave is doing and find where you need to go for speed.

surf nothing but your backhand for about 3 months. go that way whenever possible EVEN if there is a better forehand wave available. if you can go backside at all you are halfway there. it's just subtle balance issues that make the difference. these can only be worked out by trial and error.
one thing i've noticed though, is that people learning backside surfing tend not to commit to a wave as much as on their frontside. (probably because of the feeling that the wave is trying to buck you off). i found that a bit more weight on the front foot as you bottom turn helps maintain speed through the turn and gets you to the top a bit faster. it also creates a better angle of approach which in turn makes the top turn a bit easier.

what about completely switching footing to the wave? I know pros don't do it, but i've seen some people switch their footing when they decide to go the other direction, and it seems to work for them(they can do tricks and stuff)

Open stance - lean forward more and be aware of your front to back weight 'leaning'.

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feels a bit bonkers but go for it and try to get the 'feel' - spend a whole session only going backhand to see how you go.

Switching feet (called riding "switch") is hard. It feels as if you are doing something really unnatural, and sketchy. That's because you are, you are basically riding backwards. That is the reason you don't see pros doing it too often. You can try, but personally, I don't find it necessary.

-Charlie

Personally, I've found that doing my fair share of lefts (I'm regular) has really helped me with my frontside game as well. I know that when I started doing more backside charging, I was always a little more off balance, and opening my stance is exactly what helped me adjust.
I also found that after playing around on my backside a lot (HA! Sounds wrong...) I was able to adjust my weight a lot easier on my frontside. Not sure if it's related, but honestly, try and get in as many backside waves as possible...

Now, as for speed, Manhatten beach grom has it perfect. I would also like to emphasize the avoidance of "pumping". If you get in that habit, it's REALLY hard to break. I learned to surf from my Dad who had that habit, and he passed it directly on to me. It probably took a good few years to break it. If done correctly, it CAN be used just before a steep section to throw an aerial, or even just for a powerful top turn. But other then that, I wouldn't emphasize using it unless you don't have the room to maneuver in order to gain speed using the face of the wave (which should almost NEVER happen)..

Hope that helps a little!
Derek

Derbear wrote:Hope that helps a little!
Derek

perfect!!! i learn alot from here. now the best part is to find out how to work it on the real deal lol