Well i was expecting to see some good tips or tricks in here but theres not much of substance, so i might add the most classic trick of all
The Old school sliding 360
As a grommet i always thought they were cool especially when Buttons done them, anyway a almost ten years ago after surfing for about 20 years i started trying them and learnt them by trial and era.
They actually feel real cool to do (feeling wise), especially in the right place on a wave like on an end section when theres not much left of the wave or coming out of a quick tapering barrel, your just got to stop yourself from doing them to much or in the wrong place on a wave though otherwise they become kinda lame, although when first learning them you have to waste quite a few waves like any kinda of trick.
Okay first
Where to do them Certain area of waves are easier to do them than others, you kind of want a wave thats not too fat but not too step and its easier do do them if its not too hollow or peeling to fast a little tapering almond shaped pockets with a fluffy lip is perfect, but once you get them down, you can also do them on a take off, or even on a little fluffy closeout section.
First thing Sliding 360 are nothing like doing a three sixty on a skateboard you dont turn off your actual tail or lift the nose up most times, so get that out of you head, doing one like a 360 on a skateboard is more like a carving 360, yeah they look better but are ten times harder.
Comparing it to a trick (or feel) on a skateboard its more like a slide, forget what you call them(burns, power slides?) that old school slide where you shift most of your weight to your front foot and and kind of push sideways a little with your back foot while turning slightly.
Also before you try them, its way easier to do them forehand than backhand, so to start with just try them forehand then if you get them totally wired and do them at will then try them backhand.
Step 1= Position once you got a suitable section, you need to be on the right place of the wave, you cant just do them anywhere on a wave, its the top third of the wave where you start the turn, so position yourself so your near the top of the wave, either by letting the wave suck/pull you up or even by doing a very slight top turn, you want to be in a position where your on a slight angle like your doing an angled takeoff.
The turnOnce you start feeling the momentum of dropping back down the face, kind of turn into the wave slightly like your doing a slight bottom turn, but your not at the bottom of the wave, your actually in the top third of the wave, as your doing this slight turn, centre your weight over your front foot, and very slightly push sidewards with your back foot (just like the skateboard move i described above) through this bit kind of try to keep your board flatish (not to much on rail)
The slideAll this will should cause your fins to kind of go loose or slide, and you will end up with your tail towards the beach, this is what you want because your not actually doing a 360 your just doing a 180 and once your backwards your fins will grab and you will natural spin the other 180.
Hanging onThrough the slide and when your fins grab you really need to keep your body low and your weight kind of evenly spread, arms spread out, kind of like a classic surfer stance, this is actually the hardest part of the turn because its a split second between sliding and fins grabbing and the fins regrabbing can throw your balance, once you feel your fins grab then you kind of reshift your weight back to your tail more, then before you know it your back facing the beach and ridding out of it.
Tip A wider stance helps when learning them, with your front foot a bit more forward than normal and back foot as as far back on the tail as possible.
Tip Most important tip, and most common mistake is again its nothing like a 360 on a skateboard so dont try to turn off you tail, your more turning off the middle of your board, your basically getting backwards then letting the wave/fins finish the turn.
Yeah anyway thats my take on how to do Old school sliding 360s, there actually very easy to do when you know how but always impress non surfers in particular chicks
