duckdiving sequence of moves

[pmcaero]

I ride a 6'8" shortboard and I am 5'7" and 150lbs. So this is kind of pushing it, no pun intended, but I am able to duckdive sometimes.
I'm trying to figure out the best sequence of events. I think what works best is , when the wave is about one board-length away, to push the board down with your arms while your knee is on the tail, then quickly push the tail with your foot, and then finally dive after the board. If properly executed, I feel like the board gets under the wave thus getting propelled outwards, and with good timing (in my case luck), the nose pops up behind the wave. At this point it's a matter of luck to get this sequence right and the desired results.
How can I improve?

[pmcaero]

I have seen a sequence where the surfer only pushes on the tail with the knee, that seems easier but would the board dive deep enough?

[waikikikichan]

Make sure to use your foot and not the knee to push down on the tail. ( unless you don't mind big pressures on the deck ). You want to paddle hard to the wave. Meet force with force. As the leading sprays of the waves hit me, THEN I move my torso and head up to the nose, then push down with my hands. You need to get your body weight overly forward to make it easy to push deep. That's one part your forgetting out of the sequence.

[pmcaero]

But I need to scoot back towards the tail later on to make the nose pop up, right? How do I know when to do that?

[waikikikichan]

No, you don't scoot back. You arch you back upwards after you reach the deepest part of the dive.

[pmcaero]

oh, that makes sense

[drowningbitbybit]

Yeah, you're forgetting about half of the duck dive - what happens once you're under is just as important as what happens before the wave gets to you.

So the board is under, and still at a downwards angle. You've got one foot on the tail and the other up in the air/water... you arch your back to get the board down...

...then...

You scoot the board forward with your back foot and by slightly bending your arms (you don't change position on the board though).

What happens next depends on what type of wave you're ducking... if it's big and clean and steep, you can just maintain the pivot around your back foot until the board is pointing upwards again. But if it a raging wall of white water, you can keep the board horizontal and the turbulence goes above (and at) you, then pivot the board up.

Now that you can see clear water above you, pull yourself towards your board (not the other way around), release the foot off the tail and give one or maybe two strong kicks as you rise... pop out the back and off you go.

[drowningbitbybit]

I ride a 6'8" shortboard and I am 5'7" and 150lbs.

Oh... and another thing... when you're getting towards the limit of what you can duckdive, I'll usually sink the board slightly earlier than on my smaller boards and hold it on the horizontal longer... which really doesn't work very well on a big messy day.

So, yes, you'll have days when you can get it perfectly and other days where it's just not happening. Reading the waves both before you go out and as they come towards you is everything

[pmcaero]

thanks for the tips.
I went out again today in cleaner, smallish surf, failed most of the time but had a few good ones.
Arching my back at the end did indeed help with the popup on the backside.

I think what helps me most is opening my eyes under water,and seeing the board and my arms, but , wearing contacts, I don't really like to open my eyes under water

[pmcaero]

I got a lot of practice yesterday,in different types of waves, still working on remembering to perform every step at the right time.

[Big H]

Stage 1...

After you get the hang of it, this is stage 2....

Only advice I will offer is this....spend time in flat water practicing....when you're outside between sets, on flat days, a few times before going in....I still do this....the more I practice the better I get....there is only one way to develop the timing which is with a real wave, the rest you can do over and over again anywhere you have enough water under you.
Maybe you could practice in flat water with goggles if that would help...get the technique down with the googles then muddle your way through eyes closed in real surf, but with "feels" developed with the aid of goggles.

[Big H]

I'm in the pool now.....hahahha, I'm motivated to knock out some....probably should put some boardies on....

[pmcaero]

Thanks Big H. The video breaks it down nicely. One question I have, and I think I saw this in another video, is about propping the board with your knee while you are pushing it down with your arms and prior to pushing the tail down with your foot.

I'm not too concerned about pressure dings, especially since I wear a wetsuit most of the time.

[Big H]

I just use my foot like W-chan recommends....might as well start with a good habit and no need to trash the deck if you don't have to. The video I attached is the one I used to learn....they teach the foot and it just works better.

[pmcaero]

Today was a shitty session overall ....didn't catch any waves, didn't commit to some drops I should have made, almost got pushed into rocks and it looks like one fin prong seems cracked , not sure how long it will stay on ... but my duck-diving was , for the most part, ON POINT!