Surfing Waves

Hey I was just wondering how to move my backfoot around my board

To Give a little background of myself:

I ride 2 6'0s a Slater design Flat earth (twin or twin plus trailer) and a 6'0 JS Industries Monsta Box 2020 (thruster)
I use the Flat earth for smaller weaker waves and the Monsta box for faster bigger waves
I'm 5'10 150lb
I live on Oahu Hawaii

i watch pros on Youtube especially pros from Hawaii and i noticed People that are the around the same height as me like Koa Rothman that when they ride a 6'0 there backfoot dont land on the traction pad when they pop up BUT they are able to move it on it when they are on the wave and want to do anything like pump faster and do more precise turns .

I do the same thing when my back foot doesn't quite touch the traction pad when i pop up but i have trouble moving my back foot its like its stuck like glue and when im able to move it i either slip off like the wave pushed the board hard and i couldn't get my foot back on the board or another thing that happens is i think i take too long that the wave dies off.

i know its only a inch or a little more off the tail bad because when i am able to move it i can feel the edge of the tail pad and if im not able to move my foot i look down at my feet when the wave is dying off and i can see it.

i do a pop up like JJF and a couple other pros when my hands are staggered (left and more forward and my right is more back) and it has helped me so much on getting a wider stance and getting my backfoot father back,Also if someone was going to ask i am always on the center of the board when i pop u.

i can speed pump really well and do turns with my stance now but i want my turns to be more precise

if u have any tips on how to move my back foot faster and easier please let me know

While you were watching those videos of Koa Rothman did you notice what he did? What does JJF do? I have noticed some surfers do a kind of heel/toe/heel/toe zigzagging backwards kind of movement. What I have done is just to learn to popup further back. I used to surf from a place in front of the fins but learned to popup further back since I felt there wasn't often time to move my feet unless the wave was kind of slow. I think with time surfing the same board you learn it's dimensions and just know where you are on the board without looking.

oldmansurfer wrote:While you were watching those videos of Koa Rothman did you notice what he did? What does JJF do? I have noticed some surfers do a kind of heel/toe/heel/toe zigzagging backwards kind of movement. What I have done is just to learn to popup further back. I used to surf from a place in front of the fins but learned to popup further back since I felt there wasn't often time to move my feet unless the wave was kind of slow. I think with time surfing the same board you learn it's dimensions and just know where you are on the board without looking.

Yeah i did!

they had their foot more on its side to the point there ankle was on the board then when they want to do turn they get off there ankle and plant their feet,than in a barrel they move back up for speed and stability.

But i did go surfing yesterday it was 4-6ft wind swells so i didnt have to be more forward on the board off take off since the wave had enough speed ,i got it somewhat down i just need to get my back foot more on the ankle to help it slide a bit easier so i just need a little more practice on that technique to get it down and just that small adjustment made my progression was shoot up like a rocket.

i actually used to do what you did (pop up further back) but it felt off so i didnt stick with it and i tried to do that zigzag thing but when i said my feet was stuck like glue thats what technique i was trying.

I think the ankle on the side thing is just a way to have your foot back on the board but your weight forward so that you can switch from weight forward to weight backward without moving your feet

oldmansurfer wrote:I think the ankle on the side thing is just a way to have your foot back on the board but your weight forward so that you can switch from weight forward to weight backward without moving your feet

Yeah thats what they use it for too,but they do move there feet in the position.its toe heel toe heel like u were talking about but i think it depends on how far u have to move your back foot ,if you have it far u need to do a slide or big jump but if its not u can slide and/or do the toe heel,i was not sure if u meant it in that position or not.i was thinking u meant it as when you have your foot planted and trying to do the toe heel instead of the to slightly on its side

im definitely need to learn this before winter since it will help me when im trying to pull into barrels trying to get my first barrel this winter.


That video you kind of see what im talking about how their ankle is sideward and there able to slide it,its hard to see because shes on a smaller board and its less noticeable because she is already on the tail pad but u can see what im talking about, i cant remember what the video is called when Koa Rothman was on a 6'0,there are way too many videos to go through and find it.

Yeah that is Malia who is from Kauai where I live (at Kelly Slaters surf ranch). I don't get tubed often so don't have to worry about that kind of foot placement changes. Usually I am set up to turn from the beginning. However I do move around a bit mostly by stepping. The boards I surf are between 7 to 8 foot long so I move around quite a bit but on the fast breaking waves I usually surf I don't move much unless I hit some slack portion of the wave. In that instance I have time to step forward and when I am coming to a portion of the wave that speeds up I step back before I need to so that I am ready because once you get into a critical situation at least to me it seems you don't have time to move your feet and if I attempt to it will end in failure quite often so I try to avoid getting into those situations by keeping track of what the wave is doing and acting before it's too late. I think the majority of the time I move my feet I just step forward or back and slide the other foot up or back as needed. Riding a shorter board you can keep your front foot in place and just move the back foot. I do a stretch almost every morning where I take a wide stance and squat down then shift my weight over one foot and then the next keeping my head at the same height and dropping my knee toward the board on the leg not bearing the majority of the weight. This makes a stance somewhat like that stance Malia has on that wave (except I'm not as flexible or pretty as she is).

oldmansurfer wrote:Yeah that is Malia who is from Kauai where I live (at Kelly Slaters surf ranch). I don't get tubed often so don't have to worry about that kind of foot placement changes. Usually I am set up to turn from the beginning. However I do move around a bit mostly by stepping. The boards I surf are between 7 to 8 foot long so I move around quite a bit but on the fast breaking waves I usually surf I don't move much unless I hit some slack portion of the wave. In that instance I have time to step forward and when I am coming to a portion of the wave that speeds up I step back before I need to so that I am ready because once you get into a critical situation at least to me it seems you don't have time to move your feet and if I attempt to it will end in failure quite often so I try to avoid getting into those situations by keeping track of what the wave is doing and acting before it's too late. I think the majority of the time I move my feet I just step forward or back and slide the other foot up or back as needed. Riding a shorter board you can keep your front foot in place and just move the back foot. I do a stretch almost every morning where I take a wide stance and squat down then shift my weight over one foot and then the next keeping my head at the same height and dropping my knee toward the board on the leg not bearing the majority of the weight. This makes a stance somewhat like that stance Malia has on that wave (except I'm not as flexible or pretty as she is).

Update:i got it down after 4 sessions,i think i was just overthinking some of it but now that i got it down,i learned that my front foot was in perfect position and i just had to be more aggressive when moving my back foot on and off my traction pad and not i guess baby it and do it slowly because i thought i would slip off and that was the reason i would slip off, i progressed so much so fast,doing way faster snaps off the top and way faster and easier to do any maneuver and speed pump and cant wait for this winter to try get my first barrel!this definitely will help when i attempt to

Thanks for the advise and suggestions

I got the JS Black Box II, dig it

IB_Surfer wrote:I got the JS Black Box II, dig it

I was thinking about getting the JS Black Box ll but i tend to dislike low rocker boards since alot of the time the nose kinda catches when doing fast pivoting turns which is the kind of surfing i love,but i might get it if i find a good deal and its in a 5'8 but i ride the Salter design flat earth any my small wave board from anywhere from 1-5ft and i can ride it in 1-7ft but i have the JS monsta Box when it gets bigger then 5ft and when its really nice conditions to offer more hold and drive.