surfing tips and tricks.

[Animal_Chin]

from observation and experience the thing most easily fcuked up and remedied by the average recreational surfer is the take-off.

Carroll deals with the technique capably in his book .


Alot of surfers are weak in the middle and this makes for a slow and clumsy pop-up.

Do these two exercises and you will notice immediate improvement in your take-off/pop-up and surfing performance.

http://www.menshealth.com/video/swiss-b ... ife-pushup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_RtMLvVZVo

For both of these exercises allow the shoulders to sit low in the sockets and squeeze the shoulder blades slightly.

Is that a serious reply? I get confused on this site sometimes...

I read a study today from the NSCA (nsca.com) about strength conditioning for elite surfers. I can't link it as you need a subscription to view it.

Anyway, the author has a giant brain and put together a surfers conditioning program. What I found interesting was that he broke a typical 30 minute heat into 3 sections: paddling (endurance and explosive), pop up and dynamic body movements on the wave.

The pop-up was a real focus of the program with some really odd exercises. One was popping up onto a balance board that was sitting on a bosu ball whilst therabands provided resistance to your lower arms. Weird stuff.

End story: Steve might have a bit of science backing him.

[Animal_Chin]

oh i forgot. ride your 5'6 hypto kypto in double overhead bowls.

[Hatchnam]

u mates with tom tom are you ? ur just as much a drone.

[ctd]

Alot of surfers are weak in the middle and this makes for a slow and clumsy pop-up.

Do these two exercises and you will notice immediate improvement in your take-off/pop-up and surfing performance.

http://www.menshealth.com/video/swiss-b ... ife-pushup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_RtMLvVZVo

For both of these exercises allow the shoulders to sit low in the sockets and squeeze the shoulder blades slightly.

Anterior pelvic tilt, tight hip flexors, weak glutes, low core strength and kyphosis, the symptoms of the modern adult. The tilt probably doesnt make much difference but the others all affect the take off/pop up.

That said, I do heaps of exercises to overcome these issues and still suck at surfing. The hip thrust is a great one to draw attention at the gym.

Here is my pop up tip, noting my level of sucking: for a natural, place left hand on board below shoulder at around mid rib level, place right hand way way down near your hip (reverse for goofy). Not sure who told me this, might have been someone on this site at some stage (NC I guess) but its made a huge difference. Gets the hips up nice and high.

Second tip: when surfing overhead beachies, dont try to surf your flat rockered mid length straight down the wave out onto the flats to do a flashy bottom turn.

[Beanpole]

Bondi is full of super fit kooks who exercise and stretch on the beach for hours until they paddIe out. If your quick you can snare a good half dozen waves before they hit the water .

[steve shearer]

Here is my pop up tip, noting my level of sucking: for a natural, place left hand on board below shoulder at around mid rib level, place right hand way way down near your hip (reverse for goofy). Not sure who told me this, might have been someone on this site at some stage (NC I guess) but its made a huge difference. Gets the hips up nice and high.

nah mate, that's a really bad idea that I see propagated quite frequently on the internet by beginners and intermediates.

Watch the very best guys and you'll see the hands are roughly parallel under the chest always.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkGaJ8w0V1Y

[Shoulder hopper]

Ride a board that is suited to YOU and the conditions not one that is suited to Kelly Slater.
Wear a leg rope when surfing with others.
Simple thoughts that really help stop people looking complete fools and hurting others.

[foamy]

...

[ctd]

nah mate, that's a really bad idea that I see propagated quite frequently on the internet by beginners and intermediates.

Watch the very best guys and you'll see the hands are roughly parallel under the chest always.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkGaJ8w0V1Y

Ok, accepting that I'm not one of the very best; but why is it a bad idea? I understand its not what the very best do, but I'm not surfing a 5'11 shortboard and I'm not 5ft6 tall (if that is relevant) and it works for me - is there something inherently wrong?

Maybe it is a bigger board thing - I can see with shortboards that you can push the board into the wave a bit and that helps with the pop up, and perhaps hands at different levels will affect your ability to do that because you are weighting the board unevenly; with bigger boards there is no pushing into the wave. By bigger I'm talking mid length (7ft+), not what shortboarders call big.

[DucksNuts]

Here is my pop up tip, noting my level of sucking: for a natural, place left hand on board below shoulder at around mid rib level, place right hand way way down near your hip (reverse for goofy). Not sure who told me this, might have been someone on this site at some stage (NC I guess) but its made a huge difference. Gets the hips up nice and high.

nah mate, that's a really bad idea that I see propagated quite frequently on the internet by beginners and intermediates.

Watch the very best guys and you'll see the hands are roughly parallel under the chest always.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkGaJ8w0V1Y

I disagree Steve. I remember vividly the first time I saw this - watching Slater take off behind the rock at Snapper a few years back in the contest, from a water angle. Very steep, knifing it right into the barrel, the inside hand further back on the board.

I kept an eye out for it and noticed JJF doing it at Pipe along with JOB and others

[Nick Carroll]

Look I'm gonna stay clear of this thread but suggest you guys watch the WCT heats right now, the webcast/broadcast is rare because it can't help but show you the takeoffs, watch these takeoffs closely to see the massive difference between what you're trying to elucidate and what actually occurs on takeoff. Getting to your feet is not a strength thing, it's about timing. Time it as the board falls into the first phase of the drop and it can be done without any real physical effort at all. Try to stand up at any other point in the process and you'll struggle.

[foamy]

You are, of course, correct Nick. Though, just talking about learners, they have a particular challenge, getting that clean 4 foot face wave to get your takeoff nailed. Learners are often relegated to the one and a footers. There's no appreciable drop and getting up is a lot more physical. Particularly, for the full grown person.

[Beerfan]

Depends on the wave though. A mate of mine who is a very good surfer had ankle surgery, and while he was out of the water, I spent 6 months or so hitting up a river mouth break ( his home break ), in the hope of getting as good as him. Lots of 2-3' waves. It improved my steep take offs a great deal. His first surf back he got barrelled first wave on a tiny wave, then mentioned he was a bit "rusty". Cnunt.

[steve shearer]

Here is my pop up tip, noting my level of sucking: for a natural, place left hand on board below shoulder at around mid rib level, place right hand way way down near your hip (reverse for goofy). Not sure who told me this, might have been someone on this site at some stage (NC I guess) but its made a huge difference. Gets the hips up nice and high.

nah mate, that's a really bad idea that I see propagated quite frequently on the internet by beginners and intermediates.

Watch the very best guys and you'll see the hands are roughly parallel under the chest always.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkGaJ8w0V1Y

I disagree Steve. I remember vividly the first time I saw this - watching Slater take off behind the rock at Snapper a few years back in the contest, from a water angle. Very steep, knifing it right into the barrel, the inside hand further back on the board.

I kept an eye out for it and noticed JJF doing it at Pipe along with JOB and others

I'd have to see footage to believe that. I've watched thousands of hours or live pro surfing and video footage of pros.
I just went back then and watched some of the footy of the last day QuikPro last year at Kirra. Parko, Fanning, Slater : all roughly hands parallel under the chest.
Watching Flores and Crews right now is the same.


If the hands are too off kilter it throws the board off kilter.


And of course the pros have the timing and more importantly positioning down pat. Most rec surfers don't. They spend most of the time sitting at desks staring at screens getting weak in the middle. Getting that pop-up motion down pat and keeping those muscles strong and activated pays handsome dividends.

[Clif]

Paddle out at a place called "lennox head".

Best learning break on the Australian coastline.

Look for a ginger.

Go straight toward him.

he will wave his arms at you but he is offering instruction: "here I am ... this way!!!"

continue straight.

run into him.

it's called "the shearer crash"

[steve shearer]

hahahah Clif.

ginger? You've got to stop drinking and posting bru.

[Clif]

[steve shearer]

where's Lucky Al?