Concepts and Principles of Surfing

[Cpt.Caveman]

I thought it might be good to continue the discussion from the thread on fitness, and the discussion about the slow learning process in surfing http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtop ... =4&t=16732

I've noticed that the biggest improvements I've found in my surfing skills have been the result of being enlightened to some sort of concept or principle of surfing, and then trying to apply it. They seem to cause a "jump" in skill.

The other school of thought is that you have to do something enough times (thousands?) until your muscle memory is familiar enough with the feeling and the movements.

I personally believe that this trial-and-error approach is crucial to surfing, but I also believe that suddenly taking a bigger picture and seeing a part of surfing in a different light can speed this process.

A good example is how Nick Carroll breaks it down in his book (thanks again NC, great book!).

I'll start off with an example of my own that I've been working on recently:

- Get a clean and fast take-off:

Paddle fast, time the pop-up so that you're only just in the wave, pop-up as fast as possible with good foot placement, keep compressed. Getting this right leaves you in a good surfing position before you have even dropped into the wave, letting you get the most out of the first bottom turn.

A good example of getting this right, is from the first bottom turn having enough speed to go straight into a floater or reo.

A good example of not getting this working together, is getting up to your feet as you're dropping down the wave, leaving you a bit dead of speed once you're finally at your feet and in your surfing position. You then have to try to build up your speed by other means later on (pumping? taking a high line? etc.)

I've been finding that this can be a common source of blown waves for me if I'm not really concentrating enough on this crucial step and I let myself get a little sloppy. I'll usually get up with poor foot placement and I won't have very much speed off the take-off.

[JET01]

Hot tip Caveman,

Something i've been working on a lot lately. It's not much of a problem for me on longboards, but i've been recently surfing short boards more often (webber mini fish and firewire dominator). I noticed a mate of mine getting up a bit late one surf and when i sledged him for it, he's like " shame we don't have a mirror out here so you can take a look at yourself!"
Wish there was someone that was keen to video my surfing, i reckon that would help big time in helping anyone correct errors in technique. If nothing else we'd have entry for funniest home videos

Has anyone got opinions on the effectiveness of videoing your surfing?

[puurri]

^^ You max out on the fake tan and call "right profile only or I sue".

[puurri]

Ah Wingers,

Best of luck in your new career mate (channeling mike munro). Jayzuz you are a sick puppy eh?

BTW how's the new rug and the "(fantan") going and does Dennis Ferguson give it the tick?

[Cpt.Caveman]

Principle number two:

Thou shalt not keep the knees straight and bend at the back - a.k.a. the poo man.

[oldman]

If something ain't working for ya, try doing the exact opposite to what you were thinking and see if that works better.

[2nd Reef]

^^ Was that you having your say in the SMH yesterday Oldman?

[dUg]

I can also vouch for the video thing, helped me identify and ( at least partially ! ) rectify a few issues. I was able to visualise surfing more off the back foot ( I have always had a front foot bias on my forehand and I think that has adversely effected my stance ) and how I had to adjust. Also helped seeing I was not as vertical as I thought I was a lot of the time, and gave more idea when I had it right and when I didn't. It also was a shock to see how much I surf with my arms almost straight down by my sides, and while it's more of a style thing, it's something I've consciously tried to fix since seeing it.

I really would like to see how I look on my backhand now, as I think even though I've improved that heaps in the last 18 months, I have a ways to go. Really need to work on wave positioning and reading the wave better looking over my right shoulder, and I reckon some video would identify problem areas quicker than trial and error. I have an impression how I look surfing backhand and photos seem to verify that I actually have a tidier stance than foreside... but I'm sure video would quickly highlight my many shortcomings!

[Cpt.Caveman]

Sounds scary, similar to seeing a video of yourself dancing.

"dear god, here it comes...."

[oldman]

^^ Was that you having your say in the SMH yesterday Oldman?

Yes it was. Curmudgeonly bastard I am.