Well we got beginners posts, sharks and daily sesh's so howabout for those in between. I am realistic about my capabilities so would love a few tips if anyone can:

I find on front side I am struggling with my top turns. Sometimes, I will bottom turn, hit the lip but half the times not make the turn for re-entry especially if I've hit it 12 o'clock with the board basically pointing to the sky. Other times especially on bigger waves or if I have pumped, I simple just fly over the top and if I'm lucky, catch my board in the process. Is it a matter of timing and 'turning' - twisting the body just before you hit the lip or something else?

Cheers all!

If you're attempting a turn that makes you want to try putting the board at 12 o'clock, it's all about timing. That said, most of surfing is all about timing. If you try a fairly radical turn like that, the wave has to be very close to breaking on that section, if not already slightly breaking. If you try a turn like that on anything less than that, you won't get the push necessary to go back down the wave. To be honest, what I've found when going for turns like that, is sure you want to have a nice big bottom turn where possible (turning your body in the process), but once you've reached the top, it's kind a mixture of letting the wave do the work and at the same time, straightening out your front leg and bending you rear leg, like you would any turn.

Two things mate...

Firstly, I've said it before, but your name newguy. If you're getting the board straight up and down you're fairly good. I'm far from a good surfer and don't do turns anything like that.

Secondly, I know you've asked for advice and all, but my adivce is don't worry. You're not wearing a coloured rashie or anything. What I mean is, keep having fun and just laugh with your mates. The moment I took surfing less seriously and stopped worrying about what I couldn't do, I started having more fun. Make sure you're having fun mate.

if your going to do reo's it is important you are doing it on the correct part of the wave. Sounds like your doing it in front of the critical section and not getting push back by the lip.

Always look to where you are going, not been.

Btw you were going pretty good when I saw you the other day, that board looked suited to you as well

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doggie said...
Always look to where you are going, not been.

Good point
A friend of a friend who used to be a national coach said exactly the same thing
Your eyes should be eyeing off the next section before you have completed the turn your already on
That's the main reason the top guys always seem to get that extra turn in
But yeah...if your not in a comp rashie it shouldn't stress you out too much

Cheers PP, yeah I understand I'm not a competition surfer but I guess it comes from a footy background etc where I try to get the best out of me: running laps or taking shots at goal even hours after training has finished. It's good though to get an insight from you more experienced and better surfing guys because there is only so much you can learn by watching others and surfing too. I am definitely having alotta fun surfing at the moment and would not trade anything for that Indo trip away with mates last year. I just want to keep getting better at surfing and not look back to say a couple years back where I was flailing on a minimal.

Cheers Doggie, think you might need glasses though because I was getting smashed by close outs Can't compare to your expert abilities mate! But will take that on; really have to look more down the line as I do find myself lacking in that point.

Just go straight and really fast.... It's fun

I concur with the bit about not being back in the bowl far enough. It almost happens automatically if you do that turn in a critical part of the wave. The fact you are going off the back suggests you are too far out on the face. I reckon go further out on your bottom turn - further down the . face - before hooking it back up. Heaps of guys don't delay their bottom turn long enough.

Make sure you get your front shoulder out of the way....actually this is kind of like what Doggie was saying about looking wher your going...the further you open your shoulders through the turn the more critical the turn will be....you also need to push hard through your turns...the harder you push the faster the water moves off the bottom of the board and the faster you go....

Like Indodreaming said check out the link for surfingaustralia, I was a bit in the same boat and after looking at the right vid I realised I wasn't torqueing my top half around enough. I'm no comp surfer but I enjoy improving and even at 35 feel that I learn something new nearly very surf.

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Grevas said...
Like Indodreaming said check out the link for surfingaustralia, I was a bit in the same boat and after looking at the right vid I realised I wasn't torqueing my top half around enough. I'm no comp surfer but I enjoy improving and even at 35 feel that I learn something new nearly very surf.

Cheers guy, yeah thats probably my biggest thing - torqueing my top half. So much more easier on backside where you feel it's natural to do. You're never too old to learn something new!

One of the most important aspects to pulling big turns is SPEED . With out it you will usualy bog rail . With more speed , the recovery is more forgiving and you have more of a timing window . Like Doggie mentioned , look to where you want to go ! If your torso is turning so is your head and you will change direction easily

Dont try and go for the massive vertical snap straight away if you are trying to improve this area of your surfing. Start at say 60 degrees , get a feel for the timing and work up to it.

Speed speed speed!!!!

Think of you body as a rubber band like so ' 0 ' and if you twist it like ' 8 ' multiple time it will want to return to the original position. Your body works in the same way, if you use your head, shoulders and torso to start the turn your legs will follow. The further you twist the faster the it will return to normal.

A good way to do this is opening your hand to improve shoulder rotation. When standing if your front hand is facing the water or your body when starting the turn you can only rotate your body so much. By facing your hand to the sky (thumb pointing behind you) it releases muscles in the shoulder allowing for increased rotation therefore increased torque resulting in a faster, more aggressive snap.

Delaying the bottom turn is also very critical, when you want to do a bottom turn count 1 second then initiate the turn, this will help you get into the more critical section of the wave.

Wear a powerband bracelet

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sharkywarky said...
Wear a powerband bracelet

Wear five. one on each appendage.

I sell smooth star skateboards because they are an incredible surf training tool and they are fun. Check them out on you tube. What theses skateboards do for your surfing is iron out any weak points in your turn and make you turn in clean powerful arcs. They also reduce the gap between turns because you are always on a rail. Your feet find the sweet spot on your board easier and because it is cross training you can do it when the surf is ****.
Before the forum spins out of control with anger that someone has mentioned a product that they sell, please be my guest to call me on 0408 944 815 and talk to me in person if you think anything I have mentioned is not in the interests of surfing your best. All the best and if a board is out of your reach, to surf your best the boys ate right, speed is what you need to achieve and the turns will come.

fark, you again with your magic sk8rs

Always find videos of other riders helpful, have a look

Hey Boardemp. Do have any pictures or footage to back up your claim brother. ow are these boards differant to a standard skateboard.