Surfing Waves

Question: Have you ever seen a Tightrope Walker "shuffle" ?



Can you imagine a Tightrope Walker shuffling the whole length ?

Like when Robert "Wingnut" Weaver taught me how to noseride, he said "Walk, never Shuffle".

I suppose tightrope walkers can cross step but mostly they don't. Feet are pointed forward not sideways. I think that works on a board though as most likely that is the usual way I move forward. Let me ask you this Waikikichan is there some description you know for moving the board forward or backwards while you body position in relation to the wave stays the same? Every once in a while I do that just because I am in the right place on the wave but wrong place on the board. I kind of unweight and shuffle or step the board back or forward. Seems to work in those rare instances that I deem it necessary. Also I don't do the classic cross step but I may tightrope up the stringer. Is that a bad habit?

OMS, I definitely do the same thing! I ‘shoot’ the board forward or back, while I stay in the same spot relative to the wave! I’m also curious if it has a name.

Tom

oldmansurfer wrote: Let me ask you this Waikikichan is there some description you know for moving the board forward or backwards while you body position in relation to the wave stays the same?

Ahhh ....... You've gone to the advance level cross-stepping technique question, which is "Board Manipulation". Most people "just" basically walk along the whole length of the board. While some advance noseriders can shorten ( or lengthen ) the distance. By pulling the board back or shoving the board forward, they can put the board in the optimum place/point under the curl. Or if the nose begins to pearl, they can kick the nose up and out without having to step way back.

A good practice is the practice they do in Judo, where they walk the length of the dojo swinging their feet, having the outer edge of the foot just grazing the ground, like sweeping.

oldmansurfer wrote:I suppose tightrope walkers can cross step but mostly they don't. Feet are pointed forward not sideways.

They do pick up their back foot, cross over the front foot and then put the back foot down ( which is now the front foot ?? ) So it is Cross Stepping versus Shuffling, where the back foot never goes past the front foot. The alignment of where the toes point does differs, but the cross step / cross over does happen.

I guess then I do cross step