"Front foot" vs "back foot" surfers?

[Red October]

Had a discussion with a shaper regarding a rocker type he was using on his high performance short boards and he mentioned that it tended to suit a "back foot " surfer.When asked what type of surfer I was all I could answer was "I use both feet!" I've been surfing for 28 years but still dont really understand how these classifications work. What criteria do people use to determine if they are "front foot" or "back foot"? If I'm racing down the line to beat sections am I "front footing"? When I do a cutty/layback/gouge is this back foot surfing? Am I just thick and should know this shit by now?

[mustkillmulloway]

pretty much anyone who posts on realsurf suffers some mental retradation so don't worry about being thick...your with friends

many heal and leave thu

i'm a front foot surfer.....to me...i understand as i move most my turns more off the rails and middle the board...kinda a vibe here i guess

my mates a heavy back foot surfer....all his turns are off the tail ( so they all kinda stall and look good but loses speed and misses the best sections and looks like a dork ...hi mark )

by heavy....his tail pads rip up after a couple months

best example i can give....i got a old mccoy nugget. ( cause i admire what mccoy designs) about midway thu the first turn on the first wave i was thinking mark love this board

it's a back foot design.....so i gave him a go on it...and he loved it

for me.....nahhhh....i rate the design and all...but don't work for me

he ended up swapping me a pretty new 6'7 gunther shaped for luke egan


that went way better for me .....imo....front foot surfers love v too....espicially reverse v


but i don't know shit....u better hope a shaper posts up a much better explanation

[carvin marvin]

I reckon a surfer needs to know where the FALL LINE is on a wave.
On a right hander a front foot surfer surfs more above(to the right of) the fall line.
A back foot surfer who delays their bottom turn surfs more on both sides of the fall line.

[FishStick]

Yeah someone please explain, I've never understood it either. Too much front foot in my mind means lots of catching the rail. Don't we all turn off the back foot?

[Davros]

Someone told me thats why front foot surfers tend to lean towards fish,hybrids etc..as the rail is harder to catch.

[chrisb]

I reckon a surfer needs to know where the FALL LINE is on a wave.
On a right hander a front foot surfer surfs more above(to the right of) the fall line.
A back foot surfer who delays their bottom turn surfs more on both sides of the fall line.

What's a FALL LINE

[Trev]

What's a FALL LINE

It's a snow skiing term.

[Beanpole]

Simon Anderson is the perfect example of a backfoot surfer and the thruster is basically a backfoot set up.

[Red October]

What in particular about Simon's surfing is so back foot? That it was/is more vertical in attack?

[Haz]

IMHO

Back foot surfing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWOYnYE-3OU

Front foot surfing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQvcjt8u ... re=related


Makes sense to me.

[oldman]

Ric-Vidal asked me about this one day which made me start to think about it, which was a stoopid thing to do.

Shouldn't be thinking about it, waste of time. :?

What did come out of thinking about it was that I am not a back foot surfer, and wouldn't call myself a front foot surfer either.

Made me realise that my surfing is totally programmed from my skate boarding days as a youngster, which really isn't front foot or back foot. I suspect that anyone who doesn't surf predominantly off their back foot gets labelled as a front foot surfer.

Not so sure, but really don't want to think about it too much. Doesn't improve my surfing, but it succeeds in confusing me.

[Animal_Chin]

Ric-Vidal asked me about this one day which made me start to think about it, which was a stoopid thing to do.

Shouldn't be thinking about it, waste of time. :?

What did come out of thinking about it was that I am not a back foot surfer, and wouldn't call myself a front foot surfer either.

Made me realise that my surfing is totally programmed from my skate boarding days as a youngster, which really isn't front foot or back foot. I suspect that anyone who doesn't surf predominantly off their back foot gets labelled as a front foot surfer.

Not so sure, but really don't want to think about it too much. Doesn't improve my surfing, but it succeeds in confusing me.

Interesting indeed!

I am (was) a definite, card carrying front foot skateboarder. Left (front) foot over the front trucks and did all the work from there. Surfing, I use the front foot for 'pumping' down the line but all the directional stuff happens at the back.

I really don't think anyone is front or back foot. Sometimes you can analyze something too much....

[Nick Carroll]

Honest, this is a significant red herring. Nobody surfs purely off one foot or the other. It's just an easy yet errant way of categorising surfing styles that dates back to the single-fin/twin-fin days of the late 1970s. If you videoed yourselves surfing over eight or 10 surfs and studied the video closely, you'd soon see the fallacy (along with a lot of other shit! but who needs that right now).

Here's a generic tip for everyone: instead of "feet", think about "weight". If you're consistently overweighting one or another area of your board, you've just discovered a weakness in your style.

[Skipper]

More McGuffin me thinks her Carroll.

Definately agree it's more a 'weight' thing.
Just reviewing the finless exhibitionism of D Hinde....weight management - setting it looow maaan, waaay low - seems to be the crucial factor in driving that toothless baby.
In finned apps, I reckon it's a 'push/pull' thing going on, ie - back foot push into move, front foot pull through, or alternately the front push in and the back pull out?? Something like dat.
As far as skateboard style goes Olds, i'm a tick tack heel flipper from way back and i reckon again it's a transference of this homely staple of the skateboard repertoire that informs much of modern - post 72? or thereabouts... - surfing. Push it up, pull it back.
eh..waduiknow?

[Beanpole]

True, I guess this would be yesterdays news if it weren't for half the surfing population trying to ride shapes from the seventies that drive from the front after learning on thrusters.

These boards had their thickest and widest point forward of halfway. They were pretty crude but they sure have made a come back.

Obviously if you describe which foot you are tending to use your talking about weight distribution.

[oldman]

As far as skateboard style goes Olds, i'm a tick tack heel flipper from way back and i reckon again it's a transference of this homely staple of the skateboard repertoire that informs much of modern - post 72? or thereabouts... - surfing. Push it up, pull it back.
eh..waduiknow?

The tick tacking of skate boards, while a base skill in the old days, yep, around 72, wasn't my go. Didn't do much for me, I always liked drawing the lines, curves not tick-tacking, bending it over and forcing the wheels to hold, seeing how far you could bring that sucker round.

Uneven weight distribution through turns would either see the front end bogging or the back end sliding out, and too much weight on the back foot lost directional torque, so even weight distribution in skateboarding was always what I thought the deal was about.

In surfing I'm the same, still prefer the arcing turn to the pivot. Short arc, long arc, doesn't matter, draw a line without an edge.

[mustkillmulloway]

Someone told me thats why front foot surfers tend to lean towards fish,hybrids etc..as the rail is harder to catch.Could be rubbish. Front foot surfer or not everyone loves getting the back foot right over the fins for control and drive...dont they?

the moment i got off a standard shorty...i enjoyed my surfing more

it maybe didn't improve...but at that time i was sufing south plumber alot and seagulls are easy impress as the only witness

it's true....font foot surfers prefer fish....and reverse v

the way the rails are on my last board are pefect
my shaper took that into consideration..no catch...very loose
nicks right too...in a way...in his rentless pump em out surf a like contender way

but i surf more off my front foot....all ways have...all ways will, and...i got other things do ...so i won't be pushing hard for the title this year ( but old kelly does inspire me....lol )

i admire back foot surfers

but i wouldn't want ride one ya boards for long

there is more too surfing...and sufers than one size fits all....i dunno why we all have love the same board

keep global surfs production costs down...save on there model rage...not going happen...at least for me

[Skipper]

As far as skateboard style goes Olds, i'm a tick tack heel flipper from way back and i reckon again it's a transference of this homely staple of the skateboard repertoire that informs much of modern - post 72? or thereabouts... - surfing. Push it up, pull it back.
eh..waduiknow?

The tick tacking of skate boards, while a base skill in the old days, yep, around 72, wasn't my go. Didn't do much for me, I always liked drawing the lines, curves not tick-tacking, bending it over and forcing the wheels to hold, seeing how far you could bring that sucker round.

Uneven weight distribution through turns would either see the front end bogging or the back end sliding out, and too much weight on the back foot lost directional torque, so even weight distribution in skateboarding was always what I thought the deal was about.

In surfing I'm the same, still prefer the arcing turn to the pivot. Short arc, long arc, doesn't matter, draw a line without an edge.

Ah yes indeed , I overlooked the single most important influence on skate style back then - the sweeping, low down, hand on the tarmac carve inspired
by same on the water of Bertleman and Buttons. Local velodrome became our Velzyland.