Surfing Waves

Okay, I've been longboarding for a couple months now and am dying to learn how to nose ride!!! I see a lot of people out in So. Cal (especially Bolsa Chica, where I surf) bustin a nose ride ALL day long!!! They make it look so easy!!! Any tips?

the first thing to do is get used to taking small cross steps back and forth up the board - a step forwards, then maybe one or two back. At all times you should be aiming to keep your board in perfect trim in the wave.

Once you have mastered this it's just a matter really of venturing further and further - being ready to quickly move back down the board as the nose begins to dip in.

A good tip is to go for a really big bottom turn, then as soon as you are just coming out of the turn, so your board is still at the bottom of the wave if you follow - make a dash for the nose. If you're lucky you'll get there. If not you'll be eating sand!

Other things that make a huge difference is the sort of fin you use - you want a big, fat juicy fin ideally. Also have the fin positioned as far back as possible in the fin box.

I guess it's a matter of lots of practice, good balance and and being prepared to wipe-out alot whilst you learn!

Ive been trying to hang five/ten for a while now. I found it easier in shallow waves, the board seems stall better. As the man says its mainly to do with positioning the board correctly in the wave

how big of a difference does fin position make? I'm using a turbo tunnel on my 9'0 wingnut longboard. I find it kinda hard to performa bottom turn with a longboard, any tips on how to make the process a lot easier? I usually go down the face of the wave, and put my front foot near the rail of the side i want to turn on while turning my shoulder.... is there anything else I should be doing? Thanks!

to be absolutely honest the first thing I would try is swapping your turbo tunnel for a regular fin - try an 8" or so regular shape fin. A decent surf shop should lend you one to try out.

next up - when you turn a longboard you really have to put your weight into it - really lean into the wave - you're on the right tracks getting your shoulders round for sure - but really kick in with your back foot too - take a step back on the board with your back foot if you need to. You also have to have plenty of momentum going.

fin position makes quite a bit of difference - further forward makes your board looser but less stable for noseriding and vice versa.

does longboard skating help with noseriding in the water, because i can walk and do spins and noseride and stuff easy on my longboard on land but i havent had a chance to really try it in the water yet, my dads friend said he found it much easier in the water and i was just wondering if anyone else had found the same thing, or anything dfferent.

to be absolutely honest the first thing I would try is swapping your turbo tunnel for a regular fin - try an 8" or so regular shape fin. A decent surf shop should lend you one to try out.

Any reason why I should switch fins? I've found that the turbo tunnel gives me excellent acceleration down the face of the wave. I've tried one of my friend's 8' carbon fiber fin, but performance wise, I noticed that my turns were a helluva lot slower.

On another note, I tried running for the nose today, and almost made it... I was on for about 2 seconds, before the lip decimated me. It was kinda fun but scary at the time. I guess it does come down to racing to the nose with enough balance and a bit of confidence. but if you know of any other tips, please let me know!

-leftnut-

What i've found helps is when you want to go to the nose don't walk forward, rather push the board *backwards*... does that make sense? Also, watch singlefin:yellow!

BTW: noseriding on long skateboards is great *until* you get to a speedbump...

or a manhole cover.

or roadkill......

What i've found helps is when you want to go to the nose don't walk forward, rather push the board *backwards*...

Cool... I'll totally try that out on friday. Has anyone else tried this method? Just to make sure, do you push your board back while cross stepping? LOL, I just know I'm gonna be eating xxxxx... good thing Bolsa's a beach break. :D

Anonymous wrote:Just to make sure, do you push your board back while cross stepping?

I try, but my cross step looks like i'm being electrocuted... i usually do a kind of shuffly thing. not pretty, but it works for now...