Surfing Waves

Many times I end up with a short straight slow ride like this. I know I didn't angle enough and my stance is very wrong.

I would like pointers to improve all aspects. The video was captured from a beach webcam so I'm pretty small.

Ha ha - love that you got that from a webcam!

Hard to tell the details when it's that small, but the major thing is that you simply didn't go down the line at all. If you'd got in a bit earlier and angled into it (for the left), it would have been a nice wave. Stay high on the wave to keep on going along the line.

...Or if your take-off is late n' straight, then you need to do a cracking bottom turn and back up onto the face as soon as you can.

Your stance is too high (classic poo stance), and you're weighting the back foot rather than driving through your front foot, which is basically stalling you and trapping you in the white water.

Paddle in earlier... angle down the line... keep your bodyweight low and the surfboard high... weight on the front foot and drive drive drive down the line.

Thanks, any tips on training my body to get the stance right after pop-up automatically?
I think I got some bad habits

If you wanted to go right, you should have backed off and waited for another wave. The other surfer caught that wave before you so you were going to ride behind him/her. I would have tried for the left or caught another wave

pmcaero wrote:Thanks, any tips on training my body to get the stance right after pop-up automatically?
I think I got some bad habits

Don't we all

A couple of different training techniques that might improve your stance and hence your drive...

First off - lead with the arms. With your leading hand, point - actually point - where you want to go, and lean into it as if you're reaching for something. Then all your weight is taking you in the right direction. That's where your arms (and your shoulders/head/you) should be going and the pointing thing makes you concentrate on that.

Second - for a session or two, try touching your board with your trailing hand on every wave after you've popped up. And touch it in front of your rear foot. This'll get you low and broadly in the right position. In the real world, you don't want to be doing this on every wave, but it's a good training technique. Or just spend a session grabbing a rail on every wave whether you need to or not

If you combine the pointing and the board touching, you should be low and driving forward, and you'll have plenty of potential energy to release in the bottom turn or to go back up the face.

I still use these two techniques if I'm just having one of those days to get back into the groove

and watch this video (as always, surf simply)

You were "gone" even before your hands released the deck.
You:
1) sat/set up too deep ( to go Right )
2) paddled too slow ( roll over rate not quick enough )
3) grabbed the deck too early ( could've stroked once more )
4) Didn't push off quick enough
5) Went to the white water instead of away from it.

So not even talking about your stance. You need to fix things way before, or it won't matter what you do to fix your stance or riding.

You got to get up onto the open face. You can't do much going straight.

Pumping. What you were doing is letting the nose of your board come up and down. Pumping displaces water under your board, by pressuring the board downwards into the wave. Think more of a skiing carving side to side versus hopping up and down. But really you can't "pump" going straight. You can sorta hop to connect waves in a flat spot. But in your situation, you were in the dead part of the wave where it has already given up it's energy. You just are holding on until it dies out. So hopping bouncing up and down is of no use.

1. Get genuine about catching the wave the other guy outpaddled you.
2. there was a reasonable left available but you just took the drop to ride under the white water.
3. When you popped you didn't bring your legs forward but brought your body up and back over your feet immediately slowing the board down.
4. Pumping is by little turn upon little turn adding speed, not jumping up and down (neither work in white water.
5. you cannot generate speed to turn with any of these techniques and the Poo stance accentuates the flaws in each technique.
6. Lean turns are not effective but your foot positioning causes them to be the only turns you can do! Feet are not at 90 degrees to the stringer. (look hard at your avatar picture shows it well).
Waikikikichan's videos and diagrams show all the positioning well.

7. applause for realising that your old style is just not working. And surfing in your winter!!!
*8. Get someone to video you from the beach ( might be a little hard in your winter).
Some serious help is needed get that video and we will gang up on your behalf!

Thanks for all the tips guys. I've had rides much better than this but I'm not consistent.So this is a good example of all the things I can get wrong, in one sloppy package.

I did intend to go left. I think I remember doing a small turn to the left even .I think it's the lens on the camera. The surf camera pans up and down the beach and also zooms in at times automatically. I was lucky I caught this ride ... on video that is.

jaffa1949 wrote: Feet are not at 90 degrees to the stringer.

Possible I have a minor case of duck feet? It feels pretty unnatural to get my toes to point forward on both feet.

pmcaero wrote:I did intend to go left. I think I remember doing a small turn to the left even .I think it's the lens on the camera. The surf camera pans up and down the beach and also zooms in at times automatically.

So you're saying the camera makes it seems you were going Right, when you actually intended to go Left ? Until you admit your own short comings, then you're just making excuses. If others are up and riding the face, then you can to. Don't blame the camera, the too short board, the crumbly wave, etc. It's all on you to up your game. Learn to paddle. Learn position. Forget about bouncing up and down in the white water.

waikikikichan wrote: If others are up and riding the face, then you can to.

I'm just saying I didn't try to go right ,on purpose, it's just an illusion stemming from the camera angle and focus settings. I'm not making excuses. If I anything but an honest critique, I wouldn't have posted the video in the first place

Ok so then it looks like you need to paddle harder popup quicker and make a better bottom turn. Sorry but I guess you can see that yourself. I have no advice other than practice practice practice

Bend at the knees not at the waist. Stay higher up on the face of the wave and at an angle. Perhaps paddle in at angle until you get a better feel of where on the wave is best for that wave.

Find another guy like the one that was on the wave before you and go/do what he does. Paddle harder and get in earlier like he did then you'll have more time to get into the wave....head up and look where you want to go all the way from a prone position to going down the line.

Honestly, if you got a bigger board you could learn proper stance and how to get into the wave on waves like that pretty quickly THEN you could do translate that to a shorter board. Bigger would allow you to make these errors and still have enough about you to make it out to the green face from time to time.

I think 6'8" is plenty big for me as I weigh less than 150lbs...plus I can't afford to buy another board right now
I'll have to work with this board, which I can also ..almost...duckdive

But why is everyone saying I'm catching the wave late, aside from being positioned farther from the peak than the other guy (it was a crowded day) ?

Because you were , the other guy was further out paddled harder and got the wave in a better position you had a left available which with hearty paddling your could have got a really good ride.
You don't need to defend your surfing ,just listen and change it!
Slow takeoffs fixed feet you say you often end with slow straight rides all the stuff you do causes that to happen, if you want to change your rides hear what is being said and change how you surf.
We are actually here to help you!

You asked about duck feet earlier here is a picture of a friend going backhand , the stringers on his board give you an idea of how his feet are placed

Here he is going forehand notice the feet position and the weight on the back foot

Thanks Jaffa.
So I should have paddled harder and popped up sooner?

pmcaero wrote:So I should have paddled harder and popped up sooner?

Almost - you should have paddled harder and caught the wave sooner.
The other guy is up and riding from basically the same position while you're just getting started on your paddling - hence he gets a nice clean face, while you get the wave breaking right behind you.

You can make a wave late like that, but then you need to be able to get up and then onto the face ultra-fast. Don't watch the more experienced guys and think that's where you need to be - it's a hell of a lot easier to go down the line when you catch the wave early.