Spastic backside, sort of trying to pump

[pmcaero]

In waves of that size, probably you wont be able to surf across too much but you could in theory either go left and quickly cutback to the pocket or maybe go left and pump your way across the wave (not sure if this is possible on that wave).

That's the kind of maneuver I would like to be able to perform on weak waves or waves that are closing out.

[waikikikichan]

remember, this is a shore webcam with foreshortened perspective. If I wasn't going at an angle I wouldn't be staying in the pocket.

Then why can we see the back of your thighs and heels ? Why do I mainly see spray coming off the Left/Inside rail. You are not going down the line, you are veering towards the beach. But it is not your fault, the wave is going that way. Kinda like opposite of a point break. It's good your trying to stay in the pocket. That's where the power is ( or as much as that crumble is doing.

Forget about trying to "gain speed", it's not there. Even advanced surfers with skills enough to "tic-tac" would have already kick out.

Tic-Tacking is an advance skill. You need to be able to trim and break trim. You need to be able to flow (smoothly) from inside rail to outside rail. You need to be able to displace water yet gain momentum. You need to learn how to do a good bottom turn first, that's the secret to speed ( not bouncing and swinging your arms ).

[jaffa1949]

Everything is telling you, go surf in better conditions no power in the wave means you can't do anything, and not one clip you have shown us shows you taking on anything that matches the skills you already have, waves like you show us are only fit for wallowing in.Like we all have said go out take on the bigger waves take on the better waves, move out of kindergarden mush.

[pmcaero]

Everything is telling you, go surf in better conditions

I'm hoping for better waves this weekend and next week at my local break. But it all depends on the winds of course. It could be mushy and close out fast. I'm going to stick with my 6'8" shortboard (as in, real shortboard shape, not those hybrids that seem to be popular today) , since I want to master this particular board.

[waikikikichan]

The skills you will learn "mastering" the Hybrid boards will then transfer over when you're ready to ride a Shortboard. If you can't bottom turn and cutback smoothly on a hybrid/bigger board, you won't be able to on a short(er) board, in those type of waves.
You keep wanting to do advance techniques and ride more performance boards. You need to get down the basic maneuvers and master larger board FIRST, before moving down.

[jaffa1949]

Everything is telling you, go surf in better conditions

I'm hoping for better waves this weekend and next week at my local break. But it all depends on the winds of course. It could be mushy and close out fast. I'm going to stick with my 6'8" shortboard (as in, real shortboard shape, not those hybrids that seem to be popular today) , since I want to master this particular board.

I am going to be blunt with you!
Why are you persisting with a board size that doesn't work in lousy condition when you don't have skills to make it work. Fashion? Some sort of belief that will suddenly come together!

You like to ask our advice and then avoid taking it and then argue for your limitations!.

Stay on a longer board, try and surf in bigger and better condition (we all understand that is more difficult) but in that mush a bigger board is better.
Enough already!

[pmcaero]

You need to get down the basic maneuvers and master larger board FIRST, before moving down.

I've done better on the same 6'8" board on steeper waves still in the 2-3 ft range. Maybe no cutbacks but rides just as good as I ever had on any other board.
So, even if I am still a kook, on decent conditions the shortboard isn't impeding me in any way. There is no reason to use another board unless in mushy conditions, which I am hoping to not to have to go in over fall / winter.
(Also, the funboard is busted beyond repair and the Bic I think is a hindrance at this point. I don't have room for more boards )

[pmcaero]

You like to ask our advice and then avoid taking it and then argue for your limitations!.

Assuming board size and wave quality were not variables, I wanted to know what I could have done better. I'm riding the wave, staying in the pocket, I can't think of anything else I would have done on the Bic.

[Big H]

You like to ask our advice and then avoid taking it and then argue for your limitations!.

Assuming board size and wave quality were not variables, I wanted to know what I could have done better. I'm riding the wave, staying in the pocket, I can't think of anything else I would have done on the Bic.

You could go out back where all the other surfers are and ride the right that is steeper and breaking harder....not much of a wave but enough for a bottom turn and lip hit.....what you are riding is what most surfers on boards like what you insist on using kick out of because that is the end of the ride. You say you want to improve but still stay on the bunny slopes....of course you can do the same on all the boards you have; you're just standing up and riding straight on tiny waves....you need a bigger/better wave than what you choose, and just about every video of yours there IS a bigger and better wave pictured, but you don't ride that one because of reasons A,B or C.

Surfing is for fun and is a very personal experience for each of us.....many aspects of the activity that attracts different people for different reasons....some really want to improve and learn radical tricks....others have the goal of just cruising.....for another it might be a component of their exercise program and don't really like surfing but do it because it is better than going to the gym.....far be it from any of us to tell you what is "right" for you to enjoy.....from where I stand it looks like you enjoy the challenge of trying to ride a board that is ill suited to your abilities and the conditions that you surf in and take pleasure from the impossible process.....I think that you do want to improve, but at 4.5years in you're at an impasse and need to take a couple of steps back and address a couple things.......

What is it that makes going out back difficult for you? Is it fitness? Then work on getting more fit, jumping rope, pushups, pull ups, old fashioned interval training (windsprints) for out of the water training. Is it comfort or lack of in the water? Then swimming, some time researching oceanography topics that relate such as current diagrams of beaches and bays in general as well as specific study of where you surf to become more familiar and at ease, developing entry and exit strategies for different situations you may face.

There is something that is holding you back; to get better you need to compete in the lineup on the best peak at your break. Whatever you need to be able to do so whether it is fitness, confidence in the water, a hybrid board or just desire. If you don't have it and take pleasure from the rut that you assist in sticking yourself in by using a board that fits neither you or your break, then far be it from any of us to take that from you.......however, if that is the case, please stop inviting us in to "help".

[RinkyDink]

I've been riding a new spot on weekends and I'm sitting on the shoulder most of the time watching other guys ride. To be honest, I'm intimidated. Every time I sit in the pack on the peak and a wave comes through that I take off on, there are fifteen surfers below me and I feel like my meager skills are on display-- and they are . On a five foot wave, I have to focus practically all my attention on making my takeoff. Instead, I'm worried about dropping in on somebody or not being able to navigate around the other surfers clogging up the line of the wave. And to top it off, I'm surfing with a colleague who rips like a pro because he's been surfing since he was 15. He's out there doing aerials and throwing spray and I'm hoping not to pearl on my takeoff. It's a little discouraging. I finally decided to get over it and just surf. I need to get comfortable surfing in a pack and get my share of the waves. Mistakes will be made no doubt, but I have to get over my hangup or I'll be surfing shoulders and mushburgers from here on out.

[Surf Hound]

Not much you can do on that wave. Practice cutting or a very slight turn to cut across the wave and that's about it. Probably better to grab the log and pressing hard with your back foot to cut across the wave without losing speed and the wave passing you by. Very limited options but surely slow the upper body down. There is not much going on with the wave that demands so much movement in the upper body.....less is more.

[Surf Hound]

"
Assuming board size and wave quality were not variables, I wanted to know what I could have done better. I'm riding the wave, staying in the pocket, I can't think of anything else I would have done on the Bic."

There is nothing you can do on what you are riding other than cut across the wave. There is no "pocket" in that wave - it is just barely breaking where you are riding. Actually it's really not breaking rather it's just moving trying to break. Maybe that is why you think you are on the face?? Grab a log and master the basics. Forget the words pumping, pocket, lip, cut back etc. Focus on bottom turn, trim and flow.

[pmcaero]

You could go out back where all the other surfers are and ride the right that is steeper and breaking harder....

It felt like I was in the right spot where I caught the wave. You see me already riding at the beginning of the video, missing the first (best) part of the ride. Maybe that's why everyone is saying it's a crappy wave?

[pmcaero]

There is something that is holding you back; to get better you need to compete in the lineup on the best peak at your break.

I've had a day just like that, one of the first days with the shortboard after summer, in the beginning I was timid but by mid-session I was getting my share of waves among the other shortboarders. But the conditions were much better, not in size but in quality.

I'm working on fitness and everything else, unfortunately I can't buy another board right now and this is the best I have. Good news is waves are bound to get better. I started sharing footage with you guys at the beginning of the year and by the end of the year I'd like to have a before / after dual clip that shows marked improvement.

[Namu]

Can you pump on your front side?

Can you pump for speed and cutback on your 7'9" Bic? If not then you should practice/master those skills on your Bic, then transfer that knowledge and adapt those skills to the shortboard.

If you can't pump and cutback on your Bic, I can't see how the Bic is a hindrance or holding you back from developing your skills.

Skip to 3:25

[jaffa1949]

It is a crappy wave , listen to what is being advised, crappy gutless waves are even harder to ride on a short board.
Give yourself some resemblance of a chance!

[waikikikichan]

Maybe no cutbacks but RIDES just as good as I ever had on any other board.

That's our point, you're just RIDING the board. When are you going to SURF your board ? Just "Riding" on your board without Cutbacks or Turns, is just going straight or veering to the side. (which is fine and fun for some people, going down the line in trim is the essence of surfing, but you what to do a cutback. )

You'll start to surf that board when you get it on rail. Really get leaned over.
You'll start surfing that board when you push the tail thru the turns.
You'll start to surf that board when you do big directional changes. When you go away from the pocket and back to the pocket.

You CAN do all those things on the 7'9" BIC that you currently own and are not using.

[jaffa1949]

PM Caero have a look at this!
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26894

[pmcaero]

Can you pump for speed and cutback on your 7'9" Bic? If not then you should practice/master those skills on your Bic, then transfer that knowledge and adapt those skills to the shortboard.

You are showing videos on someone on a nice performance longboard, which is not the 7'9" Bic plastic board.
It's a strong board, and I will keep riding it in 1-2ft conditions for lack of anything better. But on waves bigger than 2ft I have nothing to gain from riding that board. Not only is it not maneuvrable, but its proportions mean it's not particularly good at catching waves or maintaining speed.
I have already had longer rides on the shortboard, by being able to turn and pump and generally react to the wave faster to stay in a good spot.

No, I can't do the things some of the other shortboarders do, but I am at least harnessing the wave .

[pmcaero]

PM Caero have a look at this!
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26894

I am not disputing that a good longboard is a learning tool. But I don't have one,and I am not in a position to acquire or store one.
But every time I take the shortboard, even in less than ideal conditions, I believe I am improving.