Can you combine Shortboard and Longboard styles?

[Nino]

Does it happen?

[Simple Ben]

Never mate. Mutually exclusive activities. Nah of course you can. Nothing like riding a plank every now and then to help smooth out your style. I think it is important to ride all sorts of boards, it just gives you a greater versatility and helps you to understand design concepts and what works for you. getting out on old single fins, mals etc can only hepl. You just have to be careful not to ride them too often. Tha will only cause you to start mutating into a balding old pot bellied gumby.

Having a plank just means you can get out there even on tiny days and have fun. Just slide it back onto the rack as soon as the waves come up.

[the kalakau kid]

Nicely put simple ben. The basics of surfing well are pretty much the same, whatever your board. There are always going to be turns that one board finds easy that another will not do but the basic stuff doesn't change. There are heaps of good surfers who excel on both types of boards:
Rob Machado, Joel Tudor, Beau Young... and these are just the famous ones.

[buzzy]

Me...

Just kidding.

[Nino]

Looking @ the other threads, I get the impression that longboarders don't like the idea of shortboard moves invading their territory.

[the kalakau kid]

Nino,

doesn't appear that simple to me. There are so many different approaches to longboarding ranging from completely new school to completely traditional that its hard to lock us into a single group opinion.

i think we just have to let everyone do what ever turns them on. Most of us know good surfing when we see it or do it. Even then, if a complete gumby is having a great time and not hurting anyone else, thats cool too.

see my post on the other topic about what my japanese friend taught me and let me know if you agree with that.


mahalo

[buzzy]

I'm not sure we can all identify good surfing. I remember when I was a grom in the late 70's/early 80's anyone who had that early seventies single fin pin tail down the line style I/we thought of as total gumbies. They were probabloy really good surfers but I/we just didn't appreciate it then. Even now I was watching soem surfing of that Donovan F guy on DVD (don't ask me why) and I was thinking "why don't you just turn your head around to see where your cutback is sending you". I mean, I know he's a good surfer but that one stylistic thing really bugged me. And I know when a grom sees me surf a shortboard without trying even one aerial or fin popping turn and they will be looking at me and thinking "who are you old man". And even sometimes I want to kick myself where I do the whole bottom turn girly top turn setting myself up for the real next turn that is a stylistic imprint of a lot of people who learnt on single fins. I mean, why not do a big off the top first turn? Because my muscle memory says do girly turn instead.

Anyways, I went off topic a little but I suspect it isn't until you get a little older that you can appreciate good surfing across all styles.

[Nino]

100% agree.

Nothing better than having the board for the conditions and knowing how to use it with confidence and style.

Thats what I'm looking towards.
Stylin' @ 2 foot mushies.
Confidence and style when bigger, and survival when I'm out there saying
'Should have gone for coffee'.