Please rip me a new one...I mean critique (video)

[pmcaero]

I have been working on cutbacks and turns in general. The fact that the cutback in this video served no purpose at all is known

[oldmansurfer]

It maybe the board view of the gopro but It doesn't really look like a cutback. When you do a cutback the board faces the toward the breaking part of the wave possibly it might but it looks like not quite a cutback but it seems really difficult to tell with the board view,

[pmcaero]

It maybe the board view of the gopro but It doesn't really look like a cutback. ,

and "incipient" cutback?
I didn't have much to work with

[oldmansurfer]

well you know it's all about taking a bunch of small steps toward where you want to be so that is one small step. Just keep at it. I started off with what I now call a fadeback but back then I called it a cutback

[pmcaero]

well you know it's all about taking a bunch of small steps

Yeah I have been focusing on specific maneuvers...understanding that even though I ride a 7'9" board it should treat it more like a longboard, which means more weight / position shifting for turns has helped me get over some of the hangups.

[waikikikichan]

Just call it a "Top Turn" or a "Turn Down". It's not a Cutback were the board fully changes directions as OMS alluded to, but it IS a Turn.

I didn't have much to work with

You're making excuses. There's plenty to work with. There is an Open Face. It may have been only a "one action" wave then closeout. But there is that one opportunity. There's a lot more you could do .......Harder angles, stronger body line, deeper bottom turn, rolling from inside rail to outside rail and back, all in that small area of open face and lip of the wave.

[pmcaero]

There's a lot more you could do .......Harder angles, stronger body line, deeper bottom turn, rolling from inside rail to outside rail and back, all in that small area of open face and lip of the wave.

Thanks for the feedback! Hope to get out again this weekend.

[jaffa1949]

Ok here we go , good angled take off and pop up, puts you in the center of a small open face, there is slight change of angle of left foot and a slight change of angle on the wave face, so yes a small turn but loss of drive across the face then consumed by white water.
There is not enough foot and weight change to make turns better apart from the angle change of the front foot, all your angular turning is from above the hips. I could probably match each still of you and the foot position would be the same.
For that wave,
My sequence of riding , less angled take off, as strong a bottom to put me at the position or above of your angled take off , but with more speed, lots of hard rear foot pressure to raise the nose and swing the board around anD then opposite side back foot pressure to swing the board back to being engaged with the wave face.
Strength of turns will,give speed to beat the section.
Being flat footed on the flat in front of the wave means any wave will swamp,you with the white water.

[waikikikichan]

pmcaero - If some one asked a bellman "where's the front desk ?" and it was behind and to left of him, how would he direct them with his left hand ? Palm facing forward/up or palm facing back / down ?

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Your palm is back / down, closing your chest and making the shoulder face away from the turn. Your body is tight and closed. You should point with your front leading hand thru the turn and open your chest and shoulder back to the curl.

photo form Sakai Ichiroh / Starboard
The front hand needs to steer to where you want to go ( which is left ) , opening the shoulders. The back hand needs to be the drive coming across the chest, creating the twist of the waist ( spinning counter-clockwise ) which flows down to the feet and thru the board. Your hands are basically down at your side and the shoulder angle is counter to the angle of the board. Your left shoulder should be lower than the right shoulder going thru the turn.

[dtc]

just a quick add to the others - when you are surfing you are going across a 'hill'. Your turn was more or less nudging the nose to point a little downhill, and then following the nose around as gravity took it downhill. Which obviously achieves a slow turn and that is perfectly fine if that is what you are after. But as jaffa and wkk point out, you can do a lot more (harder turn, more speed, get around the white water etc).

I found that literally pointing where I wanted to go (with my index finger and more or less a straight arm held out at 90 degrees - like you were pointing out a passing whale to a bystander, or something like that) - and actually also looking at where you were pointing - was a really useful way to learn to turn, even if it feels a bit silly at first. Then you work on the back hand coming through to assist (plus weight on back foot/moving back foot back of course)

[pmcaero]

wow thanks for all the feedback, this gives me a lot to work with, in the water or on the skateboard!

[Big H]

WKK made a post here a year or two ago about linking turns....something along the lines of constantly turning, once one turn ends you've already set up and are starting on the next....that when you go up the next move is to come down and you start that turn down before you reach the top of the wave, turn to the right means that you follow immediately with a turn to the left......I'm butchering it but that was essence that I got out of it.

[waikikikichan]

Here's a little break down.

This is right before your initial turn of the shoulder. You should have Looked first, turn the neck, THEN the shoulder.

That swing out of your zipper cord shows twist of the torso. but still not much eyes.

Front hand goes from in front of the thigh to more back. No head turn yet.

Now there's the head turn. Back hand come forward but is stiff and bracing. Front hand still attached and down by the hip.

[waikikikichan]

This is your body stance at Maximum turn. Shoulders are leaning opposite of the angle of the wave. Front hand's palm should be up/forward NOT down/back. Which way is your left shoulder "pointing " to ? Back to the curl/ beach( open ) or towards the ocean ( closed ) ?

Now you swing back the other way. But again the shoulder is leading the movement, NOT you eyes. Your head is still on the left side of your belly button. Hand /arms dead.

Now a bit of head turn AFTER you've already turn back to the inside rail. Front hand ISN"T pointing to direction you want to go. Back hand is doing the "unconscious" steering. It should be rotating behind your back clockwise to swing the board back around and develop drive after slowing down in the turn.

( I left out the earlier part where you're doing a Unilateral paddle. Please use a Bilateral paddle throughout and stop holding your breath )

[IanCaio]

As always, great break down waikikikichan!

I can't add much to everything you said, but I was just wondering: Right at the beginning, as he paddles to get in the wave, the last 3 paddles are done with both arms. I might be wrong at what I'm saying, but doesn't this result in a less effective paddle instead of the desired effect of having some powerful last strokes? Wouldn't it be better to put your chin down and just keep paddling with both arms but more strongly? If he was on a shortboard there would be the option of kicking legs too, but don't think that's possible on a 7'9"..

I know it's not that urgent advice since he's not having trouble getting in the wave, but it's not that hard to fix (more of a habit issue).

[waikikikichan]

as he paddles to get in the wave, the last 3 paddles are done with both arms. I might be wrong at what I'm saying, but doesn't this result in a less effective paddle instead of the desired effect of having some powerful last strokes? Wouldn't it be better to put your chin down and just keep paddling with both arms but more strongly?

( I left out the earlier part where you're doing a Unilateral paddle. Please use a Bilateral paddle throughout and stop holding your breath )

That's what I alluded to. By going to the double hand paddle, the surfer is trying his last ditch effort to get into the wave by shift into another gear. But that kills the rhythm and lowers the rpms. The time it takes a hand to enter the water until it re-enters is increased. Yes, it does add Torque, but RPM is better. Imagine peddling a bicycle with the cranks arms together instead of opposite each other.

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Better to do smooth circles than pumping up and down like a piston.

took me a while to get to this level, but what I found out is a longer stroke helps. Make sure your hand really pushes water until your arm is almost fully extended back.

At your current "level" there's a lot of corrections that need to be made. It's not only what happens under water but also above water too.

[pmcaero]

Here's a little break down. .

awesome! thanks. lots to take in and practice on the skateboard!

I'm trying to wean myself off the bilateral paddle!

Past week, I've figured out a lot about what my legs need to to do to improve turn rate, but the upper body -the driver- is important too. Getting it all in sync though - that's been very challenging when you're on the wave for only 10s. The surf skateboard helps some, but somehow I "forget" everything when I catch a wave

[waikikikichan]

Next time you go skateboarding, stick your thumb of your back hand in your pants pocket or waist band. Swing the front arm way out and up ( little less than shoulder level ) across your chest before turning right and past your back before going left ( palm up/forward so your shoulder rotates back ). After you get tired, then switch to the front thumb in the pocket and back hand free.
Look over your shoulder, then move the shoulder. look then move, NOT move then look.

[pmcaero]

thanks, and this is to force my free arm to move more, right?

[waikikikichan]

Yes, since you tend to have your arms locked down at the sides. But more importantly this exercise, isolates one arm, so later you can see the importance of what each arm does and how it's important to work in unison.