Surfing Waves

I have been surfing for 2 years on weekly basis. East coast, beach break. Working on bottom turn and angled takeoff to go down the line. From the video, I can see a few problems:

1. Looking down at the board THEN look down the line
2. Timing is off. Pop up late, already at the bottom of the wave face when the board is finally turned
3. Posture is off, rigid, but don't' know where is wrong/How to improve

Welcome any comments on what to work on next step

https://youtu.be/XWP-HwYCu_Y

I would probably try to angle the takeoff more on a wave like that. Riding across the face of the wave would give you a much better chance of making that section. Bottom turning in the flats puts you too far behind the whitewater on a wave like that imho. And the angled takeoff would also give the nose more clearance while making the drop and could be your reason for looking down at the board during the popup.
I know thats all easier said than done, but it looks like youre progressing well. Hope its helpful

Whatever you are doing it needs to match the wave. At your skill level you should be taking off further down the line in my opinion.

There is nothing you could have done more. There's nothing I could've done more. It is a beach break CLOSEOUT. Basically when a shop puts a sign up that says "Closed for business", it means they're gone. Same for the wave.

No amount of angling, no amount of pumping, no amount of longer/shorter/ wider, flatter of board, would've helped you in this situation.

If there was a video of you not zoomed in, maybe then we could see how the wave was on the shoulder. But seeing what could, it looks like a total dumping crashing lip with no face to being able to trim on. What we can see is the subsequent wave behind yours. It is quick steep and dumping, plus there's a breaking lip in front.

So basically all anyone could do is catch the wave, pop up, survive the drop and hold on in the turbulent whitewater ( which you did ). It is not a proper wave to "surf". But it is what it is, better a small dumping wave than it being flat.

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. The day captured in the video is actually one of the better days in my area (New Jersey).

I agree that further on the shoulder, angled takeoff instead of bottom turn could have helped me make through the section. Beach breaks are kind of random, changing from one wave to the next, hard to tell how far on the shoulder is right.

Have to cope with what I have, I will make angled takeoff my focus.

I thought i recognized those waves as El Slamo neighbors I suffer the same. The sandbars completely changed with the last couple storms. The sections can go from complete closeouts to fun little runners in a short time between tides.

I usually watch a few sets before paddling out.. look for consistent make-able sections/shoulders and then pick out a house/landmark from the concrete jungle that lines up with your takeoff zone. And maybe shift over some as the tide changes. Recently its been tougher because it seems like they just slam and immediately fizzle out in deeper water, but hey at least we're surfing

Great to see local surfers here. Sent you a PM.

Naeco78 wrote:I thought i recognized those waves as El Slamo neighbors I suffer the same. The sandbars completely changed with the last couple storms. The sections can go from complete closeouts to fun little runners in a short time between tides.

I usually watch a few sets before paddling out.. look for consistent make-able sections/shoulders and then pick out a house/landmark from the concrete jungle that lines up with your takeoff zone. And maybe shift over some as the tide changes. Recently its been tougher because it seems like they just slam and immediately fizzle out in deeper water, but hey at least we're surfing

I agree with WWK. I get you have to work with what you got but what you got are closeouts and no amount of technical application is going to change that on that day.

Pop up could be better; keep your head up and work on it at home on dry land. Work on some pop up specific stretches.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjdpD6wp ... JmNzVkMjY=

Look for better waves and shoot more video.

Thanks for the pointers in pop up. Agee that wave selection is a main area I need to work on.

I am trying to get more footage. Thought about soloshot. Does it worth the $1000 price tag? Is a regular camera sufficient for diagnosing what I am doing wrong?

Geezer wrote:I agree with WWK. I get you have to work with what you got but what you got are closeouts and no amount of technical application is going to change that on that day.

Pop up could be better; keep your head up and work on it at home on dry land. Work on some pop up specific stretches.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjdpD6wp ... JmNzVkMjY=

Look for better waves and shoot more video.

IDK what more you’re looking for. You need better waves, a stronger paddle and a quicker pop up. First is circumstantial, second two are the basics of surfing that every developing surfer needs to work on and more experienced ones need to re-visit from time to time. I wouldnt spend 1000 bucks and much analysis on it. Surf more, get in shape, stretch, practice pop ups and get a surfskate and enjoy!

Thanks Geezer for your comments.

Geezer wrote:IDK what more you’re looking for. You need better waves, a stronger paddle and a quicker pop up. First is circumstantial, second two are the basics of surfing that every developing surfer needs to work on and more experienced ones need to re-visit from time to time. I wouldnt spend 1000 bucks and much analysis on it. Surf more, get in shape, stretch, practice pop ups and get a surfskate and enjoy!

Yeah I think try getting into the wave earlier pop up earlier and make a bottom turn but also maybe just a little further down the line. Many waves are "closeouts" till you figure out how to ride them. It looks like when you pop up you are already at the bottom of the wave and the front of your board bounces upward which is going to slow you down. Where you are popping up you should be doing a bottom turn. Maybe need to popup more forward on the board. If all the waves are like that then my session is trying to figure out how to do more on them.

"Many waves are "closeouts" till you figure out how to ride them.' I really like this .

By watching the good/intermediate local surfers, seems they do have a way of ridding the short, fast Jersey waves. Most of them paddle with an angle, sometimes 45% or more (at least to me). Occasionally, I see people paddle TOWARDS the beach, then turn the board at the top halve the faces, not very often (Jersey youtuber "longboard sessions" does a lot of that). To me, turning the board on the top half is more advanced than angeling my takeoff. Happy to be told it is not the case.

The two things you pointed out are both true,
1. I take off too late. The timing is tricky for fast waves. I guess I need to be willing to miss some waves to pop up earlier.
2. I take off on the back of the board. I did that to turn. It is just not what the wave calls for.

oldmansurfer wrote:Yeah I think try getting into the wave earlier pop up earlier and make a bottom turn but also maybe just a little further down the line. Many waves are "closeouts" till you figure out how to ride them. It looks like when you pop up you are already at the bottom of the wave and the front of your board bounces upward which is going to slow you down. Where you are popping up you should be doing a bottom turn. Maybe need to popup more forward on the board. If all the waves are like that then my session is trying to figure out how to do more on them.

You should be able to do a bottom turn from a little more forward. It's the top turns that really require foot back but you never got to that point. It all takes time

pren wrote: Occasionally, I see people paddle TOWARDS the beach, then turn the board at the top halve the faces, not very often (Jersey youtuber "longboard sessions" does a lot of that).

He wouldn't be able to do that on the wave in the video you posted. Is it possible for you to go surf the wave in his videos ?

pren wrote:1. Looking down at the board THEN look down the line
2. Timing is off. Pop up late, already at the bottom of the wave face when the board is finally turned
3. Posture is off, rigid, but don't' know where is wrong/How to improve

Welcome any comments on what to work on next step

BTW, there is a lot for me to comment and give you advice on your riding/posture/technique, but I'll let you "spin your wheels" a bit as you first figure out your angled take off and such.

But let me give you a little insight into your problem(s)
On the video, watch it again but just focus on one thing. Forget about the wave and board. Just look at your left hand. Nothing else, just your LEFT hand.
Take notes and reflect on what you viewed. Then ( maybe another day ), sit down and focus on your right hand ( then left knee, neck, back, butt, and so on. Soon it will dawn on you, the problem at hand.

oldmansurfer wrote:You should be able to do a bottom turn from a little more forward. It's the top turns that really require foot back but you never got to that point. It all takes time

Hopefully, I will eventually get to that point

waikikikichan wrote:

pren wrote: Occasionally, I see people paddle TOWARDS the beach, then turn the board at the top halve the faces, not very often (Jersey youtuber "longboard sessions" does a lot of that).

He wouldn't be able to do that on the wave in the video you posted. Is it possible for you to go surf the wave in his videos ?

I am taking cues from his videos. Taking time and experience to figure out which beaches work for certain tide/swell/wind.

I knew/felt something is wrong my posture, particularly upper body feels heavy AND leaning into the turn, but never pay attention to my left hand.

Apart from reminding myself every time, anything more effective? It can takes pretty long between knowing where is wrong and finding the fix for it. Bad habits are hard to break.

waikikikichan wrote:

pren wrote:1. Looking down at the board THEN look down the line
2. Timing is off. Pop up late, already at the bottom of the wave face when the board is finally turned
3. Posture is off, rigid, but don't' know where is wrong/How to improve

Welcome any comments on what to work on next step

BTW, there is a lot for me to comment and give you advice on your riding/posture/technique, but I'll let you "spin your wheels" a bit as you first figure out your angled take off and such.

But let me give you a little insight into your problem(s)
On the video, watch it again but just focus on one thing. Forget about the wave and board. Just look at your left hand. Nothing else, just your LEFT hand.
Take notes and reflect on what you viewed. Then ( maybe another day ), sit down and focus on your right hand ( then left knee, neck, back, butt, and so on. Soon it will dawn on you, the problem at hand.

pren wrote:It can takes pretty long between knowing where is wrong and finding the fix for it. Bad habits are hard to break.

Correct. For however long it took you to form a bad habit, will be equal the amount of time to break it.