Surfing Waves

There is a video instructional series that I like a lot; 110% surfing techniques. I was on youtube and a video popped up from their latest release (I have vol. 1-3....these come from the newest release, vol. 4). It happened to be exactly what I've been working on, so I watched it and the ensuing video that came on after on paddling technique. The paddling techniques for the most part I've picked up via trial and error and watching the better surfers at the breaks....the advice is presented well - speaks to me, includes info I've not seen in other videos and camera angles that make the explanations make sense....as far as the paddling techniques I know the info is sound; working on the other so some of the things I've figured out (taking off behind the section), others are new concepts (focus on twisting back foot on pad rather than pushing down, lead elbow pulled in to help with rotation) but what they say seems to make sense.....will start to apply them tomorrow and see how it goes. Anyhow, I enjoyed them and I thought I'd post both....maybe they will speak to you as well.

Enjoy!


Paddling Techniques


Bottom Turn Drive

Good videos, I noticed I don't arch my back or neck nearly as much in the videos, usually the longer I surf the more my head starts to drop down from back and neck fatigue.

I found that lifting or lowering my thighs/knees on and off the board can shift the weight forward and backwards on the board, which can help push the board down the wave, or keep the nose out of the water while paddling. I usually pull my heels up and towards my lower back along with lifting the thighs off the board to get a little push forward as the wave picks up the tail of the board.

My bottom turn is good but half the time on my frontside top turn, I lose too much speed and stall off the back of the wave, sometimes I can save it by running to the front of the board weighting the nose forcing the board back down the face. I assume I need more front foot pressure after the top of the turn to get the board moving downhill? Or more back foot pressure while initiating the turn to keep the inside rail out of the water?

After watching this video (3:55) it looks like I'm not bending my knees enough on the top turn. I extend my legs as I push the board through the bottom turn but I don't get low again as I climb the wave, which means I'm fairly upright and legs extended at the top of the turn. For some reason I don't have this problem on backside top turns.

Namu wrote:Good videos, I noticed I don't arch my back or neck nearly as much in the videos, usually the longer I surf the more my head starts to drop down from back and neck fatigue.

I found that lifting or lowering my thighs/knees on and off the board can shift the weight forward and backwards on the board, which can help push the board down the wave, or keep the nose out of the water while paddling. I usually pull my heels up and towards my lower back along with lifting the thighs off the board to get a little push forward as the wave picks up the tail of the board.

My bottom turn is good but half the time on my frontside top turn, I lose too much speed and stall off the back of the wave, sometimes I can save it by running to the front of the board weighting the nose forcing the board back down the face. I assume I need more front foot pressure after the top of the turn to get the board moving downhill? Or more back foot pressure while initiating the turn to keep the inside rail out of the water?

Just guessing here but two things come to my mind if I loose the wave after a top turn. The first is maybe I turned too late, if you turn sooner your board will be more on the face of the wave than the back. The other is to keep your body below the top of the wave so that in order to finish the turn you have to bring the board back under you and you are in front of the wave. This means a more aggressive turn. I think people often want to just stand straight up on top of the wave and this is a less forceful turn or you are stopping the turn before it is done. It is a kind of stall turn. I do this occasionally on backside waves and probably still need to work on my backside off the top turns. I think for me I am better able to see the lip frontside and to time the turn better so I make better frontside turns.