Why do bodyboarders drop-knee?

[petelev4]

~haha~

People dk because it's an alnernative way to ride different forms of waves. If you want to see footage of pro dk riders go on youtube and check out Matt Lackey, Paul Roach, Dylan Lee, Dave Hubb, Mason Rose, etc.

[monkeyman]

seems to give them more torque through turns to me. like standing up, your shoulders become the axis that you turn through.

[ric_vidal]

You might have to simplify the question you journalistic juggernaut, KnickerlessKarroll.

Edit: Our simian friend has given a reason... well done MonkeyM

[Nick Carroll]

OK I will try again.

Can somebody who understands it explain to me exactly what the technical and style advantages and disadvantages are in drop-knee bodyboarding -- what kinds of surf and physique does it suit best and why -- where it began and where it's going.

I would really appreciate an intelligent, informed and insightful answer to these questions.

[moondoggie]

The serious answer Nick to your question can be found in a similar rhetorical question -
Why do dogs lick their dicks?



Every time I see this done, drop Kneeing not dick licking ( although smnntlll will probably have an honest opinion on the similarities.)I ask why hasn't more of this tribe progressed to kneeboarding??? Thats what they are doing, isn't it??????

It proves gutsliders have a Darwinian need to evolve. What you are witnessing is the apex of their skills learning curve.

Why hasnt this tribe then embraced kneeboarding - you can still carry them under your arm on the ferry girls .

[pridmore]

I have no idea why because it is the ugliest thing to watch, no grace or flow or beauty in this what so ever, nobody can make that look appealing...Body boarding is one thing and those guys who charge and drop into some serious late pits, well I can understand that but drop kneeing on crappy small beachies. ??? got me buggered...They should have a look at themselves on vid..might change their opinion..

Hasnt Gav got some issues

each to their own , do what feels good but I can not understand that one....???

[terrysurf]

As someone who bodyboarded in my younger days, I feel I can at least try and answer the question. I suppose I started to try dropknee when I was about 18/19 and I had pretty much gotten as good as I was going to get riding prone. I could do rolls, airs, ARS's, ride pretty deep barrels, and even the occasional air reverse by then but I pretty much stopped improving.

So I started flirting with dropknee for something different when the waves were small, but as I got better at it I started doing it in most conditions until it was pretty much how I rode 80% of the time.

I guess I got great pleasure from the carving and barrel riding, but once again I felt like I had stopped improving and wasn't really learning anything new, so one day I borrowed a mate's 6'2" and I haven't looked back since. That was 10 years ago, ever since I've ridden my shooter and I always feel like I learn something every time I surf, whether its one foot junk or 6 foot and perfect.

I'll never look down on someone who charges dropknee though, its bloody hard and barrel riding dropknee is much harder than on a surfboard.

Doesn't mean I'll go back to it though!

[SAsurfa]

That's more like it ^^^

[The Mighty Sunbird]

I too have a confession to make.
I started on a lid, rode one with my mates age 14-16 I think.
Realised pretty quick watching surfers there was a hell of a lot more you could do on a board.
I saw a photo of a guy riding drop knee (late 70s???), tried it in big closeouts somewhere near Nelson Bay...... I was upright and it just felt better!
Within a week I had my first stick (G&S single fin) and never looked back.
So yeah, I think its evolution. From the swamp comes slugs who evolve to stand..............

[Jimi]

terrysurf is right, barrel riding dropknee on a bodyboard is harder than on a surfboard.
For this reason I respect the dropknee riders out there.
Check out Kainoa Mcgee dropknee at pipe, its pretty impressive. Check the first DK wave at the 30 sec mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0rdml50bDw

I also went from riding a lid to surfing. Needless to say for me surfing wins hands down, but when I did ride a lid I started dropkneeing a little and learning to dk was A LOT harder than learing to ride a surfboard.
This I think is the appeal for some.

[heefcoate]

i do it i like it. i get barreled doing it i will keep doing.

[Nick Carroll]

Well come on heefy EXPLAIN IT.

I am thrilled to be finally getting some cool feedback on this but I would really still like to know the technical and stylistic basis of it and how/who developed it.

I refuse to believe the Realsurf BB cliche: ie, witless juvenile emo cretin kooks. Kainoa McGee is anything but; he'd disembowel smnmntl as soon as look at him. Mike Stewart is one of the five smartest and most aware water people I know. Ben Player is a brilliant individual.

How about some of you others rise to it.

[smw1]

I refuse to believe the Realsurf BB cliche: ie, witless juvenile emo cretin kooks. Kainoa McGee is anything but; he'd disembowel smnmntl as soon as look at him. Mike Stewart is one of the five smartest and most aware water people I know. Ben Player is a brilliant individual.

Had not heard of Kainoa McGee so I youtubed him. Looks like he is fairly handy on an SUP as well.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXFMYOx-dAE

Drop knee looks completely non-functional and cumbersome to me.

[mustkillmulloway]

why -- where it began and where it's going.

I would really appreciate an intelligent, informed and insightful answer to these questions.

"The story about Drop Knee Riding said that Jack "the Ripper" Lindholm was the first bodyboarder to ride like this and it was during a demonstration in between two heats of the Pipe Master ; it was a solid 12 feet + on that day …"

QUOTE TAKEN FROM http://www.saltwater-dreaming.com/bodyb ... ouvres.htm

OH DEAR....IF SIMION LOOKS AROUND THAT SITE



as too where it's going....from what i've seen...deeper and faster

they need improve there boards designs

but yeah....i don't mind drop knee

mind you...i've seen some worlds best

and there last name isn't king and there noT convicted thiefs ( fock u kingy ya trap THIEF)

[k_boarder]

Good questions Nick.

The drop knee stance is said to have been invented by Jack Lindholm, one of bodyboarding's pioneers back in the 70s. He took the dk stance to Pipeline, which made people sit up and take notice of what he was doing.

OK I will try again.

Can somebody who understands it explain to me exactly what the technical and style advantages and disadvantages are in drop-knee bodyboarding -- what kinds of surf and physique does it suit best and why -- where it began and where it's going.

I would really appreciate an intelligent, informed and insightful answer to these questions.

It suits perfect bowly 3-4ft waves on the rider's forehand the best.

Advantages? The bodyboarder now has a higher pivot point, which allows them to bend in and out of face turns more effectively and better twist and torque through turns.
They can also do turns that are harder to perform (or are less effective) while prone, such as snaps and floaters.
The fact that dk can be done on the same board as prone riding is also an advantage.

Disadvantages? A lot of the control the rider has over the board is lost, especially when going backhand. The boards are also pathetically slow when ridden upright, which means the dk'er often doesn't have enough speed to make critical sections or to pull off their moves effectively (watch them try and 'throw the tail' in less-than-perfect surf, it's one giant arse wiggle session).
This is the most critical disadvantage- speed is essential for good surfing and drop knee bodyboarders are heavily reliant on the wave to provide speed for them. If the waves can't provide it for them, then they simply aren't going to have any. They can't pump their boards or create their own speed in an effective way like surfers or kneeboarders.

Also, I don't buy the 'it's good because it's hard' argument. It's like shooting yourself in the foot before a running race and then thinking that everybody should recognise you for running second last instead of last.
Instead of finding everyday things like building and mainting speed on a wave hard, dk guys could instead be riding a kneeboard or a surfboard and letting the board take care of that part of their surfing for them. This would free them to start going for bigger moves instead of always being bogged down by the limitations of their equipment.

[Kunji]

Stewart V McGee

[Grooter]

I think the other question here is why wouldn't you just kneeboard as opposed to drop-kneeing on a booger.

[rightbrainpositive]

mind you...i've seen some worlds best

and there last name isn't king and there noT convicted thiefs ( fock u kingy ya trap THIEF)

Are you referring to Eppo and Todd De Graff in your Port days? Todd was one of my best mates in primary school in Sydney. I'll never forget how shatterred he was when me and a mate cut off his rats-tail for a bit of fun (sounds harsh ay? )... Hope he's doing ok and out of trouble. He had potential to be as big as Eppo...

As for drop kneeing, it's just another opp for Boogers to ride a wave differently. When waves are fat, bodyboarding prone isn't very fun so drop-kneeing adds a challenge. As for the guys that take it to bigger waves (Kanioa, Paul Roach, Chris Won, Jack the Ripper), i reckon it's rad. Imagine surfing big hollow waves without fins...

And I'll add to the confessions in this thread: I was once a booger too and did enjoy it when it got hollow. I only started surfing because i got sick of boogieing when it wasn't thick and wedgy...

*Fong, what's the stolen trap story all about?!?