Basics of Short Board Surfing

The basics of short board surfing are first learned riding foam waves and then progress to shorter boards and real waves. It is important not to go to too short of a board which is called low volume without the appropriate progress of a little shorter at a time.

Short boards begin at 6′ 10″ and are normally less than 21″ wide and 2 3/4″ thick. But, when progressing to your final short board, you want the width to be at least 21″ wide and 2 3/4″ thick. These dimensions give more volume and make paddling, wave catching, and riding easier.

The Short Board Basics

To catch real waves, surfers paddle the area where they are breaking. The line up is usually a good indication of where they are breaking. Line up etiquette should allow for each surfer getting rides in turn. Don’t paddle for a wave if another surfer is closer to the apex (where the foam first comes over the lip) or if another surfer is already on the wave coming your way.

When you spot a real wave forming, determine where you have to paddle so that it rolls under your board. When the lip is over your head, you paddle hard three times until the wave has your board. Then you put your hands on the board in a man’s push up position (next to your chest) and pop up.

You can get into the pocket quicker and especially on close out waves (like in sand bar bottoms) by paddling for the wave and before popping up, turn the nose of the board toward the pocket. This is faster than going down the face and doing a bottom turn into the pocket.

Three basic maneuvers on a short board. The first is the bottom turn, then accelerating (some call it pumping), then a cut back. These are the three basic maneuvers for all competitors before they start adding ripping the lip, aerials, floating, and reverses.

A bottom turn is executed by turning the upper body in the direction of the turn beginning with the eyes, then the head, and finally the shoulders and arms. Pressure is applied to the toes or heels, whichever is on the side of the carve. These are used to get into the pocket, begin a trick up the face, or to escape over the top in a close out wave.

Accelerating is moving the nose of the board up and down the face of the wave with your front foot. Two or three pushes should develop the speed to outrun the lip and begin a trick. After a trick, the surfer accelerates again for the next trick.

The cut back is to return to the power of the wave which is the apex, or to stall waiting for the power or maybe a barrel. In the cut-back, the surfer reverses direction by turning the upper body away from the direction being traveled. The eyes, head, shoulders and arms reverse with pressure on the toes or heels on the side of the carve. This is also the maneuver on top of the wave to rip the lip and head back down after the bottom turn to ride up the face.

Have fun.

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