Longboard to Shortboard - Like starting over

[drowningbitbybit]

I want to learn how to be an awesome racecar driver. Should I first:

A: Practice racing a Honda Accord around a racetrack, or
B: Learn how to drive a racecar?

Learn how to drive first.

[surferdude_scarborough]

you sound to me as if you have decided you are going to buy a shortboard and you are just looking for one of us to tell you what you want to hear. well its not going to happen it will be very difficult to drop from a 9' longboard to a performance shortboard. riding a funboard is not all that different to riding a shortboard. you can chuck them around a bit. get one of those then when you feel you cant turn it quick enough is the time to change to a shortboard.

as for your analogy, you cant possibly drive a racing car well if you cant drive an ordinary car.

sorry mate but its time to face up to the facts that youre going to have to get an intermediate board or have a very hard time of things.

[RJD]

Hah I noticed a HUGE difference going from a 9'2" to a 8.0", so much so that I went back to a 9 footer, just wasnt worth it for me.

[Lomax]

you sound to me as if you have decided you are going to buy a shortboard and you are just looking for one of us to tell you what you want to hear. well its not going to happen it will be very difficult to drop from a 9' longboard to a performance shortboard. riding a funboard is not all that different to riding a shortboard. you can chuck them around a bit. get one of those then when you feel you cant turn it quick enough is the time to change to a shortboard.

as for your analogy, you cant possibly drive a racing car well if you cant drive an ordinary car.

sorry mate but its time to face up to the facts that youre going to have to get an intermediate board or have a very hard time of things.

Who says I can't "drive an ordinary car"? I already said I'd been surfing on the same board for 2 years. Now if you're saying I should be doing time trials and drifting in an "ordinary car" before even touching a "racecar", then that's where we differ. And that's what it sounds like to me people here are saying. I have to be an expert surfer and have surfed a bunch of transition boards before going near a 6'1". Or else what? I'll just never be able to pick it up and I'll forget everything I learned over the past 2 years?

It just so happened that I started my learning process on a longboard. Now apparently I'm shoehorned into riding longboards until I become an expert surfer or spend the next few years transitioning down to a 6'1"? I could just as easily have started out on a shortboard. Would I then need a bunch of transition boards to make the move to a 9' noserider?

I'm also amazed at how people just have no faith in ones ability to learn a new skill. Especially surfers. My last session I got up and took a few lefts on the clean face. Was it perfect? No. Did I look like a kook? Yes. But I surfed it. Now what? Every argument stating that I would never learn if I'm not actually riding waves just got blown out of the water. Now please give me another reason why I can't learn on a board 3 feet shorter than my first board.

[Lomax]

I want to learn how to be an awesome racecar driver. Should I first:

A: Practice racing a Honda Accord around a racetrack, or
B: Learn how to drive a racecar?

Learn how to drive first.

You learn how to read first. Or tell me where I said I didn't know how to surf.

[drowningbitbybit]

I want to learn how to be an awesome racecar driver. Should I first:

A: Practice racing a Honda Accord around a racetrack, or
B: Learn how to drive a racecar?

Learn how to drive first.

You learn how to read first. Or tell me where I said I didn't know how to surf.

<< DBBB goes back and edits his first response because it was rude and unbecoming of a moderator >>

I was merely using your own analogy, which is very good at proving the argument - but sadly, for you, my argument.
Does a racing driver step straight into a formula one car? No.
He works his way up, starting off in karts etc etc.

Clearly, however, you are much more determined and skilled than anyone on here, and dont need anyone's advice, and you should go for it. I look forward to seeing you rip it up with kelly and the rest.


PS Let me know when you sell your board - I'll give you 50 bucks for it.

And I will be able to surf it.

[tree4]

I dropped from my 8ft minimal to a 7'2" carpet and it has taken me a few weeks to get back up to the same 'skill' level. In particular, it's a lot more picky about where I plant my feet on the initial pop up.
So please consider the advice of everyone who has bothered to reply to you and don't dismiss it out of hand.

[isaluteyou]

It just so happened that I started my learning process on a longboard. Now apparently I'm shoehorned into riding longboards until I become an expert surfer or spend the next few years transitioning down to a 6'1"? I could just as easily have started out on a shortboard. Would I then need a bunch of transition boards to make the move to a 9' noserider?

not at all... IN actual fact you made a good move starting on a longer board -

if im not mistaken your first post states you were having major difficulty in riding a 6'0 shortboard.

Everyones advice has been a mixed bag but the general thread of it is that big of jump is obviously gonna cause frustration as you yourself explained the difficulties. I dont think anyone has suggested that you should stick to longboarding until your an expert - what the suggestion has been is that by getting an itermediary board for transition purposes will prove a lot less frustrating and will enable you to make much rapider progress.

clearly you stubbornly want to ignore that advice - but that might work for you stubborness can be a sign of determination or complete ignorance or or the other

IN answer to another question you asked - I do know someone who made the jump from a 9fter to a 6'0. But its rare and that person did spend a week on a 6'8 and then went to "custom" made 6'0 that was designed specifically for him. POint being its not impossible but its gonna be tough.

Good Luck

[Lomax]

It just so happened that I started my learning process on a longboard. Now apparently I'm shoehorned into riding longboards until I become an expert surfer or spend the next few years transitioning down to a 6'1"? I could just as easily have started out on a shortboard. Would I then need a bunch of transition boards to make the move to a 9' noserider?

not at all... IN actual fact you made a good move starting on a longer board -

if im not mistaken your first post states you were having major difficulty in riding a 6'0 shortboard.

Everyones advice has been a mixed bag but the general thread of it is that big of jump is obviously gonna cause frustration as you yourself explained the difficulties. I dont think anyone has suggested that you should stick to longboarding until your an expert - what the suggestion has been is that by getting an itermediary board for transition purposes will prove a lot less frustrating and will enable you to make much rapider progress.

I said I was experiencing a rough transition, but I specifically stated that I was not frustrated. Some perhaps would be. That's why I think advice really needs to be tailored to the individual, rather than the blanket statements being made here, specifically in regards to me not being able to learn if I'm not riding waves, or getting frustrated and selling my board.

clearly you stubbornly want to ignore that advice - but that might work for you stubborness can be a sign of determination or complete ignorance or or the other

Because I know I can ride the board. It's like if you know you can ride a bike and someone tells you that you should use training wheels. Is that stubbornness? Now that I've actually surfed on the stick, would the advice still be the same?

IN answer to another question you asked - I do know someone who made the jump from a 9fter to a 6'0. But its rare and that person did spend a week on a 6'8 and then went to "custom" made 6'0 that was designed specifically for him. POint being its not impossible but its gonna be tough.

That's cool. I don't expect it to be easy, even if I did transition over. Perhaps your friend spent one or two fewer sessions watching surf rather than riding it. But it's ultimately a small difference in the overall scheme of things.

Good Luck

Thanks.

[Lomax]

Clearly, however, you are much more determined and skilled than anyone on here, and dont need anyone's advice, and you should go for it. I look forward to seeing you rip it up with kelly and the rest.


PS Let me know when you sell your board - I'll give you 50 bucks for it.

And I will be able to surf it.

Oh I see what you're doing. You're trying to get me fired up so I will learn even faster. Then when I return to this thread with tales of my exploits, you can say "see, it was in you all along...I was only pretending to be a pretentious hater to motivate you, and now look, you're riding giants like we all knew you could."

The master is wise.

[Lomax]

I dropped from my 8ft minimal to a 7'2" carpet and it has taken me a few weeks to get back up to the same 'skill' level. In particular, it's a lot more picky about where I plant my feet on the initial pop up.
So please consider the advice of everyone who has bothered to reply to you and don't dismiss it out of hand.

Yes, the plant is particularly tricky, especially on a 6'1". I noticed if I plant my rear foot first, the front foot knows where to go. That's the type of advice I could have used, but I'll guess I have to figure it out on my own.

[danno]

if you are into cheating try a 8' or 7'3 superfish xl, probably a 3 wave transition time, unreal fun, i take my 8' out in everything, slop to overhead. I have 7 boards and this one rules the quiver

http://www.surfindustries.com/surfboard ... FishXL.php

[IB_Surfer]

Bottom line you asked for advice and it was given.

Honestly, you probably aren't the first person to try going from a longboard to a 6'0 board. Normally, people that do give up and end up getting a bigger board or give up on shortboarding, but I'm sure there are a few people out there where it worked out. Post up after a few months, lets us know how it went. Hope it works for you, good luck.

[Lomax]

if you are into cheating try a 8' or 7'3 superfish xl, probably a 3 wave transition time, unreal fun, i take my 8' out in everything, slop to overhead. I have 7 boards and this one rules the quiver

http://www.surfindustries.com/surfboard ... FishXL.php

Board looks like fun.

[nebski]

Good luck dude, im kinda in the same boat as you, ive just bought a '6.8 shortboard, havnt taken it out yet, but im so determined, im sure ill spend all day in the water for the week im in north devon. i would say just keep at it keep trying, eventually u will get it, go out with a friend who also has a shortboard watch them ask them to watch you and tell you what ur doing wrong etc. most of all have fun. !!!!!

[isaluteyou]

^^^ agree a world of difficulties can be overcome by having someone experienced giving you pointers based on your performance. Even better than that is to have a video done. This proved the most helpfull thing to me. from seeing the video i was able to make a lot of corrections in particular stance an example of that would be in the video i was able to observe where my feet were in relation to the board and realised they were waaaay to far forward and the stance was too wide. After i corrected that my surfing took on a whole new dimention - you are your harshest critic which really gives you an incentive to make things work. I reccomend everyone to get a vid done every few months or so and keep tabs on progress.

[BlueCrush163]

seems like you asked a question looking for a particular answer, and now you dont like the answere youre getting.

[jaffa1949]

seems like you asked a question looking for a particular answer, and now you dont like the answere youre getting.

Astutely observed Crusher, so many newbies come on and tell us how they are going to do it in spite of having asked for advice.
But fortunately the ocean and the waves have a way of humbling anyone, even old farts.
I read your posts , how is your surfing journey going

[Dicky]

I'm 5"10 and 189 pounds. I've been using a 7"6 mini mal for the last year and a half. It's a great board and I love using it but it's frustrating in bigger conditions, as it's a pain rolling waves to get to the line out constantly. So I've now bought a 6"8 shortboard as felt like I'm now ready. Tried it for the first time last week but it was choppy conditions so only caught a couple but it was blown out so no legs in the waves. I've done this to move up to going for the bigger waves, but I will admit there is something about looking at the sharp nose of the shortboard and the extra speed which makes it a bit more intimdating, but fear is a surfers worst enemy!!

[Lebowski]

Q. How do you not improve in the slightest?
A. By bobbing about in the water not catching any waves.

I want to learn how to be an awesome racecar driver. Should I first:

A: Practice racing a Honda Accord around a racetrack, or
B: Learn how to drive a racecar?

Racing drivers spend many years working their way up through the lower classes before they reach the pinnacle of motorsport. They don't just buy a Formula 1 car and keep trying until they can drive it.