When I paddle for a wave, my feet start in a good position. The toes of my lead foot are just in front of the handle and my rear foot is just behind the handle. But as the wave approaches, I start shuffling forward. So, when I catch the wave and hop back into my surf stance, I end up with my lead foot in front of the handle. This results in some pretty lackluster bottom turns. Any ideas on how I can break this habit of shuffling forward when paddling for a wave?

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SDOndas said..
When I paddle for a wave, my feet start in a good position. The toes of my lead foot are just in front of the handle and my rear foot is just behind the handle. But as the wave approaches, I start shuffling forward. So, when I catch the wave and hop back into my surf stance, I end up with my lead foot in front of the handle. This results in some pretty lackluster bottom turns. Any ideas on how I can break this habit of shuffling forward when paddling for a wave?

Good surfing habits require work.
I find it easy to repeat the same mistakes over and over, until I get serious and work through them.

When I want to groove in a new move, I dedicate a session to it.
What that means is.... I am NOT out there to surf well, I am out there to learn ONE move, regardless how many waves I blow.
For example:
When surfing backside, I wanted to become more proficient at switching paddle sides from bottom turn to cutback
I stood outside and repeated to myself:
"Switch you paddle, switch your paddle"....... over and over

As I paddled for a wave I repeated the order... and added expletives #*%#!! to drive home the point!

Pretty soon, I was switching paddle sides and instantly my cutbacks went from terrible, to effective. (Pics)

So.... stepping back as you drop in:
You must learn to "cross step " not shuffle... it is MUCH faster and more solid because you can "place" your foot exactly where you want it.
Practice on land, walk forward and back on a line in the driveway,.
Place each foot on the line as you step, and keep them in "surf stance"
Soon it will feel natural. On the board it eventually becomes very solid.
Be positive... not hesitant.
We always move better when not over thinking it.

I usually step forward as I paddle in.
This leaves me dropping in while standing forward of the pad... many times in steep waves

I cross step quickly backwards, my rear foot lands right where I want it on the right rail above the front fin as I begin the bottom turn.
My paddle switches as I step back.... one seamless move.... that would not have been possible if I didn't dedicate sessions to dialing in each part of the move.

Watch any of my videos on the 9'6 Kanga, because I am always stepping back during takeoff.
youtube@rickweeks
Scroll down to find some Kanga Vids

Just to show how dialing in one move can change your surfing:
(been 10 years since I used a "Nose Cam" but it is great for studying moves like this)

Weak, awkward cutback before I learned to switch paddle sides


Solid cutback simply by switching the paddle



A quick two step on this one, not a cross step. Works great when dropping in.
Front foot steps back to the handle, then back foot steps back to the rail

I started by talking through my movements.
"In" and move my front foot in and rearward at the same time.
"And back" whilst moving my rear foot backwards and into surf stance.
Out loud at first, and then in my mind until it became a habit aka muscle memory.
And no, I couldn't care less what anyone else thought, I'm too old for that
This is for a decent wave size. If it's a smaller wave, and I know I'm going to end up on the nose, then that's where I go straight up (rather than putting 100kg over the tail, bogging the board and then having to try and get going again).
Hope this helps mate

Here are a few thoughts that work for me:
1. Moving up towards the nose to catch a sloping wave early is not an error, it is necessary in that situation so I would not worry about trying to change that.
2. There are a few different ways to move back over the fins once the board is ready to drop in. I usually use a hop with the following quick sequence. 1. The front foot moves back near the rear foot. 2. Hop back off the rear foot which usually feels more like shoving the board forward underneath me into the drop rather than me moving back on the board which could stall it. This hop should allow your front foot to land on or behind the handle. 3. As your front foot lands, reach way back with your rear foot to find the kick pad/arch bar over the fins. This is not a step back of your body but a reach back with just your rear foot as you land from the hop. I want to keep my weight more over my front foot to accelerate the board into the drop and engage the whole rail for the bottom turn. Stepping your weight back with the rear foot is appropriate for longboards or any board that requires you to turn just off the tail rather than engaging the whole rail for a full-rail carve. Yes, the rear foot drives hard against the fins to project the board back up the face but I want to keep some weight on my front foot to carry speed through the bottom turn and not stall the turn by standing on the tail. I don't really shift my weight onto the back foot until I need to release the forward part of the rail for an off-the-lip or cut-back.
3. The length of your board is a major factor. On my 8'8", one hop as described above is always good for getting me from the front of the pad back to having my rear foot over the fins. When I am catching tiny knee-high waves on my 14' downwind board, it takes at least two hops to get my rear foot and weight over the fin and release the front two-thirds of the rail to make the beast turn. No full-rail carving on a 14'. Practice on dry land to figure out how much hop and reach you need on your board to consistently land your rear foot over the fins.

Just because I love it, I am attaching one of my favorite photos of Casso doing a full-rail bottom turn. His rear foot is driving hard against the fins while his head, hands, and shoulders drive forward to engage the whole rail. I try to keep this great image in my head.

Thank you all for writing such great responses to my question! I'm definitely going to devote some upcoming sessions to getting further back on my board before my bottom turns. I'm going to devote time to learning both Creek's cross step and obijohn's hop and step method to see which works best for me. I am already getting strange looks from my wife and kids as I cross step around the house. And yes, I will also commit to talking to myself in the lineup. Maybe I'll get some extra space because of it .

In one of the 'breakdown' videos in the ones linked below they do a nice clip of footwork to get back to tail
vimeo.com/progressionproject

Do you have an arch bar on your tail pad? I find that really helpful as a landmark for knowing how far back my foot is.

You do need to get the weight forward and nose going downhill especially on shorter boards. You could also try widening your stance on take off so that you can shift back quickly as needed. I found this helpful on steeper or later takeoffs. Colas has explained this "fencing stance" in many posts. Another thing is on some waves you can catch it early and kind of hang around at the top for a bit while you adjust your feet and wait for it to steepen up, just don't let it roll under you!

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slsurf said..
You do need to get the weight forward and nose going downhill especially on shorter boards. You could also try widening your stance on take off so that you can shift back quickly as needed. I found this helpful on steeper or later takeoffs. Colas has explained this "fencing stance" in many posts. Another thing is on some waves you can catch it early and kind of hang around at the top for a bit while you adjust your feet and wait for it to steepen up, just don't let it roll under you!

Yes, an example in the first wave of this video (and many others in it):

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Kisutch said..
In one of the 'breakdown' videos in the ones linked below they do a nice clip of footwork to get back to tail
vimeo.com/progressionproject

Do you have an arch bar on your tail pad? I find that really helpful as a landmark for knowing how far back my foot is.

Thanks for the video link. I watched all the "breakdown" videos and found them full of useful information. In viewing them, I realized that I jump and turn with both feet into a surf stance rather than stepping front foot back, back foot back. I think the momentary instability of jumping (both feet off the board at the same time) might be making me hesitant to moving my feet while initiating turns. Also, when I jump, I rotate my body and land only a little further back rather than pushing the board forward as obijohn suggests. I slowed down the first wave from Colas' video and can see how he deliberately places his front foot next to his back and then reaches with his back leg to place that foot over the fins. It looks much more stable than my two feet jump.

Unfortunately, I don't have an arch bar on my tail pad.