Cross-Step Tips?

[waikikikichan]

Since you like watching Youtube videos, study how Jack Coleman cross steps to the nose. Notice a move he does before he takes a step.

It's really pronounced at :55. See how he creates a "pillow" to lay the board back down on ?

[KitesurferAU]

I guess first thing before going forward is to go back or at least stomp the back foot so the actual stall happens and board has only one way to go - forward. I'm struggling with cross-steps as well, I just blame waves are not good enough

[Banana]

I guess first thing before going forward is to go back or at least stomp the back foot so the actual stall happens and board has only one way to go - forward.

Yes, I do that, too.

> I'm struggling with cross-steps as well, I just blame waves are not good enough

Yes, me too. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. But I've seen some people cross-step where I surf, so it's only partially valid.

If you and I had waves like the ones in this video, I expect we would progress faster. I chose this one because it demonstrates your concept of stalling the board prior to cross-stepping—no real bottom turn.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFqy4eUBz-N ... 87e6dz85ku

Some more from my collection of inspirational/instructional videos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF7MvwZB2Aw ... h8dbzxwvsx

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFk1NsXH62G ... ox1nq4wiqo

And this one, which suggests l should get a ring for my toes—maybe that will help.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CGmxWD4I ... zpcyjzxkkk

[Banana]

I just blame waves are not good enough

I had some good waves today. Here's a video that my car took (it saves the last ten minutes of video whenever anyone approaches the car):

[Banana]

I learn by example. Here's what I've learned by watching those videos:

1. Do I need to do a bottom turn?
2. Can I cross step without going down the line (to avoid losing the wave)?
3. How should I bend my legs?
4. Fast steps or slow (I see both)
5. Do I have to be near the curl?
6. Does it work to switch from regular to goofy foot?
7. Can I do it on small waves?
8. Can I do it in the whitewater?
9. At what point should I attempt it (e.g. right after popup?)?
10. Where should I be on the wave?
11. Little steps or big steps?
12. Feet on the stringer on on the wave side?
13. Step and step back quickly?
14. Get a feeling for the turn, stall, step sequence
15. Much more.

Here's one that shows the foot placement, the short step/bigger step motions, amount of leg bending, position on the wave, turning.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CHRO4TVj ... yhlrojbkx4

[waikikikichan]

1. Do I need to do a bottom turn? NO, but a bottom turn can be used as a technique to stall the board as the nose is already pointing upwards.
2. Can I cross step without going down the line (to avoid losing the wave)? YES, you need to constantly move the balance point on the board depending on the speed and steepness on a given wave to keep the board in TRIM ( or if you need to make sections that begin to soften up )
3. How should I bend my legs? DEPENDS, Goldilocks theory
4. Fast steps or slow (I see both) DEPENDS, Goldilocks theory
5. Do I have to be near the curl? SORT OF
6. Does it work to switch from regular to goofy foot? Most people can't ( neither can I )
7. Can I do it on small waves? YES
8. Can I do it in the whitewater? NO
9. At what point should I attempt it (e.g. right after popup?)? Not sure of the question you're asking, but that is what separates the CAN and can NOTS.
10. Where should I be on the wave? You sort of asked that already "Do I have to be near the curl?"
11. Little steps or big steps? Big(ger) steps gets you to the nose quicker but may make you run ( not walk ). Little steps are much more classic and "cooler" and will help you to slow thing down so you're not in so much of a rush.
12. Feet on the stringer on on the wave side? DEPENDS, where you are on the wave, what you are doing at the moment. But most riders load the inside rail ( in the video you included you can clearly see Haley Otto step to the right of the center stringer
13. Step and step back quickly? DEPENDS, you can physically move quickly but don't rush it. However quickly you move your feet, you still need to plant them firmly to keep control / manipulation of the board.
14. Get a feeling for the turn, stall, step sequence Crawl before you can Walk, walk before you can Run. The BOTTOM TURN, sets up all other surfing moves. Noseriding, cutbacks, even tube riding all rely on a good BOTTOM TURN.

[Banana]

Well, we're certainly not communicating.

You asked, "how are you learning to cross step by watching those videos?"

I answered by showing you a list of questions that videos like those have answered for me. I said, "Here's what I've learned by watching those videos."

I was not asking those questions.

My fault, I guess. I shouldn't have listed them as questions.

[BaNZ]

Hmm, I've been ignoring cross step or shuffling and I think that is stopping me from progressing further. I'm at a stage where I can catch all the waves that I paddle. I can trim, bottom turn and top turn if I'm at the right spot. There are times where after I do a top turn, I find that even leaning hard on my front foot does not give me enough speed. My brain is telling me that I need to move my feet forward. Or that when I'm leaning hard into the rail, I felt my rear feet is dragging the waves and it is stalling the board.

I'm guessing I need to learn how to cross step or shuffle if I want to generate even more speed? I think that's what I'm missing at the moment. If I'm at the perfect pocket in the wave, I have no problem generating the speed. It's when I take off on the shoulder or backdoor the wave and I'm not able to go faster.

[waikikikichan]

Well, we're certainly not communicating.

You asked, "how are you learning to cross step by watching those videos?"

I answered by showing you a list of questions that videos like those have answered for me. I said, "Here's what I've learned by watching those videos."

I was not asking those questions.

My fault, I guess. I shouldn't have listed them as questions.

My point in asking you "HOW" are you learning to cross step by watching videos is that I do not see any of those videos actually teaching. We can see surfers cross step and get to the nose, but not actual "how-to"s.

You said those videos have answered those questions you posted. So I'm curious if my theories are in line with what you learned and was answered by watching those videos ? Hopefully mine are not too off the mark.

[Banana]

My point in asking you "HOW" are you learning to cross step by watching videos is that I do not see any of those videos actually teaching. We can see surfers cross step and get to the nose, but not actual "how-to"s.

That's what I meant by "I learn by example." It is helpful to have someone say "Do this" or "Don't do that," but the best way is just by watching. True for many activities and skills.

For example, this video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHjSCmZDEfE ... 9wydelmdkr

As Banz said, "You can cross step with the waves being that weak and small?" The answer is yes, apparently. IOW, no one said "Here's a tip: You can cross-step on very small waves." The video demonstrates that one can cross-step on small waves.

But further than that, those videos perhaps act in the way that visualization works in sports:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHISQ6xIGZE

I can almost experience the way it would feel to make the moves that those in the videos make. Helpful? Probably.

You said those videos have answered those questions you posted. So I'm curious if my theories are in line with what you learned and was answered by watching those videos ? Hopefully mine are not too off the mark.

Okay, let's see ...

1. Do I need to do a bottom turn? NO, but a bottom turn can be used as a technique to stall the board as the nose is already pointing upwards.

Yes, I see that in the videos

2. Can I cross step without going down the line (to avoid losing the wave)? YES, you need to constantly move the balance point on the board depending on the speed and steepness on a given wave to keep the board in TRIM ( or if you need to make sections that begin to soften up )

Yes, some videos show that.

3. How should I bend my legs? DEPENDS, Goldilocks theory
4. Fast steps or slow (I see both) DEPENDS, Goldilocks theory
5. Do I have to be near the curl? SORT OF

Most videos show that, but check out this video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFqy4eUBz-N/
In that video, the woman immediately stalls the board after catching the wave and cross-steps. No curl in sight.


6. Does it work to switch from regular to goofy foot? Most people can't ( neither can I )

In some videos, the surfer does that. Not many. Here's an example: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGcnn4rpQQe/
In that video, the surfer is goofy footed. At one point, for a brief instant, she actually surfs regular footed. That caught my eye, and it's something I'm going to try.

7. Can I do it on small waves? YES

Videos agree.

8. Can I do it in the whitewater? NO

Some videos disagree. This one is a (great!) tutorial, and shows cross-stepping in the whitewater: https://youtu.be/xS0J-leJr7w?t=97
I have myself done it in the whitewater. True, it's only for practicing.

9. At what point should I attempt it (e.g. right after popup?)? Not sure of the question you're asking, but that is what separates the CAN and can NOTS.

Many videos demonstrate that sometimes you cross-step the instant you're up. For example: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFqy4eUBz-N/

10. Where should I be on the wave? You sort of asked that already "Do I have to be near the curl?"

11. Little steps or big steps? Big(ger) steps gets you to the nose quicker but may make you run ( not walk ). Little steps are much more classic and "cooler" and will help you to slow thing down so you're not in so much of a rush.

The videos show little and big (although I've watched some tutorials that recommend little, others big). Often, one little step (dit) then one bigger (dah). Like: dit-dah [pause] dit-dah [pause] dit-dah.

12. Feet on the stringer on on the wave side? DEPENDS, where you are on the wave, what you are doing at the moment. But most riders load the inside rail ( in the video you included you can clearly see Haley Otto step to the right of the center stringer

Videos agree.

13. Step and step back quickly? DEPENDS, you can physically move quickly but don't rush it. However quickly you move your feet, you still need to plant them firmly to keep control / manipulation of the board.

Videos show both, although most show very quick steps. The most common seems to be a quick little step followed by a longer step.

Hope that helps others in my situation. I wish there were a way to share (easily) the hundreds of video examples I've collected.

[Banana]

I'm guessing I need to learn how to cross step or shuffle if I want to generate even more speed?

I think so. I remember the first time I shuffled forward on the board. I started zipping along and the board had this nice squirrely feel. Hard to describe.

Maybe you can avoid first learning to shuffle; that way you won't have to unlearn anything.

I want to cross-step not for stylistic reasons, but to move along the board faster.

[waikikikichan]

I wish there were a way to share (easily) the hundreds of video examples I've collected.

Do you have this video in your collection ?

It's shows:
How the Bottom Turn sets up the Stall.
Waiting for the LOCK before Cross stepping.
You can be away from the curl later on once you have LOCK, but you need to start the tail under the lip.

[Banana]

Do you have this video in your collection ?
It's shows:
How the Bottom Turn sets up the Stall.
Waiting for the LOCK before Cross stepping.
You can be away from the curl later on once you have LOCK, but you need to start the tail under the lip.

I do now. That's nice.

My immediate goal is to just cross-step a little way up the board and back. That is, no farther than the amount that I current shuffle forward to. Not sure I'll need the lock for that. I want to hang five by the end of next summer.

[Banana]

I did some good cross-stepping today, including forward and back. So, I'm on my way.