Short Board Surfing Techniques
Many beginners start surfing because they have seen surfers on the big screen and want to learn Short Board Surfing Techniques. They have to start at the beginning and progress to advanced.
The short board in surfing is the top of the ladder. It is unique in ways beginners don’t realize. It is mostly unique because it has low volume (length x width x thickness) and makes surfing more difficult until the surfer is ready and has progressed.
Catching Real Waves
The short board surfer takes off on real waves by letting the wave come under the board. When the tail has lifted, the surfer paddles hard to get down the wave. A few hard paddles is often sufficient.
The surfer has to judge the direction of the board by the type of wave he is riding. Small real waves can be taken down the face. Larger waves depending how steep they are ma;y be taken down the face or the surfer may point toward the pocket. A third alternative is to catch the wave and then push the nose toward the pocket before popping up.
Start with the Bottom Turns
If the surfer rides down the face, they have to do a bottom turn into the pocket. The bottom turn is executed by turning the eyes and then upper torso in the direction of the carve. Then this action torques down to the feet where he places pressure on the toes or heels, whichever is on the turn direction.
The surfer next has to accelerate for speed to get ahead of the falling lip and do maneuvers. This is achieved by moving the nose of the board up and down the wave face with the front foot. After two or three pumps, the surfer is ready for a maneuver.
The cut back is a basic maneuver to return to the power of the wave. The surfer turns his eyes down the face of the wave and swings his uphill arm around to reverse direction. He places pressure on the toes or heels whichever is on the down side. These can be done riding face side or back side.
Face side and back side are how the surfer’s body is facing the pocket. If he is regular footed, left foot in front, the face side is carving right. Surfers often have a preference for riding waves, but the surfer needs to be adept at both.
Advancing to the Most Fun Tricks
Ripping the lip is the most practiced maneuver. The surfer bottom turns up the face and at the top does a cut back to go back down. He often brushes the lip of the wave with the tail causing a spray. After returning to the pocket, he accelerates for the next maneuver.
A bottom turn is also used to escape up the face when a wave is going to close out. The surfer bottom turns up the face and escapes over the top to get behind the wave. A good escape is important when riding big waves to prevent being crushed.
Several tricks are learned from these basic maneuvers like 360s, aerials, and reverses. It is best to move down in volume of surfboards slowly and master the techniques on each board. The shorter board allows deeper carves into the water but are not useful until the surfer has developed the necessary skills.
More Posts
Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
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