Need some tips/ feedback please

[Oswaldolo]

hey,

since i live in austria and just cant surf once a year for a couple of weeks i really need to work at home to stay in shape and balance.

i would really apreciate your feedback and tips on the following to videos :

here are some waves of my last trip to nicaragua last summer, i dont know how to change it but i allways seem to have my backfoot to far infront when poping up so its very hard for me to turn, is there anyway to change that ?

i build myself a pop up trainer to improve my pop up but i still think my pop up stance is not very good - what do you think ? My last board was a 6.6 shortboard so it was hard for me to land on the pad cause my whole body was more infront - i am now switching to a 6.0 weirdo ripper where i def will lie more in the back and i hope than i wont have as big of problems with my stance...

also started to incorporate yoga and stretching in my training to imrove my flexibility since it is horrible and i think a lot of my problems are related to my unflexibility !

would love your input - thanks cheers from vienna austria , Flo

[jaffa1949]

Grüss dich Oswaldo,there is not much wrong with you pop up or your turns in that video from Niaragua.
The waves were particularly gutless and would not have supported a powerful turn.
You were able to ride both forehand and backhand but after the initial take off the wave degenerated to nothing. Being a little forward of the pad sets you up to be driving on the wave further back on take off you probably would have missed the waves altogether.

To enhance your turns you might want to be a little stronger in putting pressure on you back foot and driving the front foot to push the front of the board around so you unweight the front foot but keep enough pressure on the front to guide it and the back foot pressure release the nose for the turn as you come out of one turn you need to be looking to the next turn and leading with you leading hand and shoulder.
In this weak surf the first turn is working OK but a little more up and down on the entire face would give you a little more speed to play with until the shoulder of the wave get fat.
just try increasing your turns little by little, a bit like gaining speed by Tic tacking on a skateboard.

[oldmansurfer]

What I used to do to change my foot position when I popped up was to create a cardboard cutout of my board and place it on the floor then just try to pop up with the foot position that I wanted. You seem to be doing ok but you need to work on your bottom turn. You are taking off at an angle and not doing a bottom turn. Also it looks like you aren't putting enough pressure on your front leg so the nose of your board is out of the water a lot maybe because you are too far forward and trying to get pressure on your back foot to compensate? If you put too much pressure on the tail it stalls the board when you aren't turning. As far as developing a bottom turn I would stand all the way up on pop up then squat down suddenly as you begin your bottom turn to use gravity of you falling (squating) down then extending your legs back up to put some force into the bottom turn or try to take off straighter so you have to do a more pronounced turn. Probably it would be good to do both kinds of bottom turns. Before you fix your bottom turn fix your foot position on pop up. All your turns are ankle turns or what I hear they call trim. To get bigger turns you have to get your whole body into it. Really though you seem to be doing just fine so far.

[oldmansurfer]

Also when you pop up put more pressure on your front foot to gain speed down the wave then switch to more pressure on the back foot for turning and back to more pressure on the front foot on turns off the top.

[waikikikichan]

So is the reason why you are getting a 6 inch shorter board is so you land further back on your pop up ?

[dtc]

I agree with the others - your pop up looks fine, but your back foot is too heavily weighted, slowing down the board in weak waves, meaning you cant turn using the 'ankle turn' as there isnt enough speed - you need to get more speed up (front foot pressure) then use your whole body, twisting the upper body and straigtening the legs as old man says.

If you are worried about foot placement, you could try the technique in the video in this post

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21071&start=20#p172905

[Oswaldolo]

thanks a lot for all the feedback!

i have been working on shifting my weight more in front after my pop up, like everything you do over years it takes time to change but the pop up trainger i build myself really helps!

I change my board cause some good surfer told me that my current boardshape is pretty old and that now a days a lot of people ride hybrid/fishes also friend of mine got a weirdo ripper and was so happy with it - i was just thinking that a shorter board would help cause i will def lie more in the back , but it was def not the reason why i chose it !

i will also start putting my hand more in the back for the pop up cause i think that could really help ...

cheers

[waikikikichan]

you stated " i am now switching to a 6.0 weirdo ripper where i def will lie more in the back and i hope than i wont have as big of problems with my stance... ". ( you feel is stance is not very good becuase it is hard for you to land on the pad cause your whole body is more infront ).
later you stated " i was just thinking that a shorter board would help cause i will def lie more in the back , but it was def not the reason why i chose it ! "
Look above the above responses and feedback, everyone including myself sees there is nothing wrong with your pop up or stance. The problem is you think you NEED to be or land on the tail pad. That is not true. Stop trying to feel you need to have you back foot on the pad after popping up.
If you get a 6'0" after riding a 6'6" for so long, catching the wave will be harder, your pop up with be later and more critical, your stance will narrow and you'll have less bend in your knees. You think things will get better , but your problems will only multiply.

[waikikikichan]

" started to incorporate yoga and stretching in my training to improve my flexibility since it is horrible and i think a lot of my problems are related to my inflexibility ! "
I am one of the stiffest person on the planet. I can't even touch my toes. A ASP masseuse told me I was one of the stiffest/inflexible surfer he ever worked on ( he did say Kelly Slater was unbelievably flexible, which lends favor to you argument ). Technique will help your surfing more than Yoga. I know some Yoga Instructors that aren't very good surfers. But I agree Yoga might help you surf longer.
Since your land locked, the best thing you can get to improve your surfing ( pumping, turns, flexibility ) is to get a Carver skateboard. Using that totally change my surfing especially in power and backside surfing.
Check Youtube for
CARVER 2011 style of riders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF1OZtUI3OM
and also this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSo97oLjb0k fast forward to 1:00.

Everyone I have recommended to get one , raves about how much better their cutbacks were the next session.

[waikikikichan]

My feedback for your video. You front side surfing is a little better than your backside surfing because your front left arm is higher and being utilized more.
Backside at :20 , :33 , and 2:46 you are using soo much back arm while your front arm is "dead" and vertical when it should be more horizontal. Steer with the leading hand and drive with the rear. Notice you left hand is behind rather than in front of you.
Frontside at 1:32 you overuse/over swing your back arm and not use your front arm. But at :59 and 1:14 you do much better utilizing your front arm to pump. Your best turn is at 1:59, because you use both arms and eyes are correct, plus you go from inside-to outside-back to inside rail very smoothly.
Notice I didn't critique your pop up or stance ? Those are fine. Stop trying to analyze what is wrong about it. Others have said you heavy back footed, I think you are constantly thinking about where your back foot "is". Free up your mind and that in turn will free up your surfing.

[Oswaldolo]

thanks a lot for your long feedback

my current board has aroung 32 liters , the 6.0 weirdo ripper has about 36 liters so i hope it will be easier to catch waves due to the increased volume. i thought when it comes to catching it is more about the volume than the length, but i might be wrong !? hope note a friend of mine switched from a 6.4 to the 5.11 ripper and caught way more waves than before ...

its just that everybody told me that it is very hard to make a good turn if your back foot is not near the front fins... i felt i have a good stance when it comes to riding fast but when it comes to turns i need to be on the pad..

i also started to work on using my hands more... i hope i can incorporate all that stuff into my next surfing trip ...

thanks again, cheers

[jaffa1949]

Waikikikichan tips are on the money, yoga and Pilates to build core strength and flexibility to put power into your turns
In Kung fu there is a thing called single and double weighted foot.
Think about it this way , if you have most of your weight on one foot ,in order to move you have to transfer weight to the other foot, if you are double foot weighted, in order to move you have to release weight from one foot.

Short meaning, driving a surfboard in turns is about weight transference rail to rail and back foot to front foot.
You can turn the board when you are forward but it is harder. Truly get more competent on the board you have you are more likely to suffer setbacks if you go shorter, it is not just about volume entirely!

[waikikikichan]

"its just that everybody told me that it is very hard to make a good turn if your back foot is not near the front fins... i felt i have a good stance when it comes to riding fast but when it comes to turns i need to be on the pad.."

When you catch the wave, you are not turning yet. A lot of times you drop into a steep wave already on rail. But you do turn on your Bottom Turn which comes after you catch the wave. Even Parko says a lot of the time his foot isn't on the pad. "but all I see in the magazines and on-line photos is of Parko on the tail pad " , well yeah because all the photos is of him during a cutback or snap. Photos of Trimming along the face of the waves doesn't attract readers.

You foot shouldn't be over the front fins when you turn on a short board........ they should be back even further. The side of you foot should be pressed up against the tail block on a deep turn. But there in lies your problem. You just put your foot back there and think all is good. Wrong. Imagine a beginner MX rider. He tends to only steer the bike like a car. He wants to stay upright because he too scared to lean over. The good riders steer and lean into the turn. And to really make big roosts in the dirt you need to power thru the turn. ( ever seen someone go through a bern slowly ? ) Yes, you need speed to make good turns. ( and Quads are not the answer ). Rail to rail and displacing water will make speed. Speed will make you turns better.

But again most of your video was just Ups and Downs/ pumping / roller coasters. There wasn't much opportunities to cutback or top turn in your case.

[Oswaldolo]

hmmm, i allready ordered the new board so i guess i have to get used to it. thats why i train even harder to be prepared

@waiki: i watch the video again with your notes and your comments were really good, i can see what i am doing wrong most of the time and will try to fix it next time i am surfing. visiting maui in feb, we might come to honolulu for couple of days - maybe we can surf together cheers

[Oswaldolo]

Truly get more competent on the board you have you are more likely to suffer setbacks if you go shorter, it is not just about volume entirely!

i talked to a shaper and send him pics of my board and the messures and he told me to get the ripper, i was concerned with the length too and i told him i am not that good but he said the weirdo ripper is a great board and i will catch more waves than with my current one. also he said the shape isnt the best for turning if you arent that good and that it will be a lot better with the ripper.

so you would say it will be harder for me even though i have more volume now ?

[jaffa1949]

Oswaldo have a look at this sequence I shot earlier this year
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4876&p=171758#p171758, the waves are way better, but look at he foot positioning the drive and lean and speed generated by and through the turns.
Check the arm positioning and the eye focus onward to the wave.
One difference in each improving level of surfing is the ability to derive speed from each turn and add them up!

[oldmansurfer]

For someone who only surfs once a year you are doing really well. I think your pop up might be quicker than mine but I am nearly 61 years old. It may be that your pop up device is part of the reason you aren't getting your feet in the right position since you are probably popping up on it more than your board. I think if you made one that was the same dimensions as your board then you could practice placing your feet where you want them

[Oswaldolo]

For someone who only surfs once a year you are doing really well. I think your pop up might be quicker than mine but I am nearly 61 years old. It may be that your pop up device is part of the reason you aren't getting your feet in the right position since you are probably popping up on it more than your board. I think if you made one that was the same dimensions as your board then you could practice placing your feet where you want them

i just build the device two weeks ago and it was more intended as a indo board... i will try to get one which has the same dimensions as my next board, the only problem is that i cant say where my sweet spot on the board will be... i try to mix it up on the my trainer , its more to build up strength than getting the technique right. but still i think it could help since i can practise my pop up a lot and i can focus on my first turn etc. its not perfect , but i think its better than nothing, i trained for a few times on the "device" and than i went on a local lake and it really helped

if i would know where i will lie on my new board it would definetly much better but i cant get my hands on the board since i will pick it up locally in hawaii when i arrive there

[oldmansurfer]

So how many hours a day do you put in during your two weeks of surfing? And How many years have you been doing this?

[waikikikichan]

Can you post pics of you board for us to see. From what I can see on the video, your board is fine. The rider needs work. Like Duke Kahanamoku said " Ride the wave, not the board ". There's poor kids on the West side of Oahu surfing boards with only 2 of the 3 fins attached , nose torn off, buckled duct taped, but fully ripping.
Your Al Merrick Weirdo Ripper will be a very fun board and a good addition to your quiver. But just remember, your asking the salesman to sell ( or us to recommend you ) a Home Run bat.