Moves

Riding Waves

Once you can paddle into an unbroken wave, pop-up and stand confidently, you’re ready for the next stage.  Instead of just standing and riding the wave in to shore, you want to ride along the wave face as it peels, parallel with the beach, getting the longest ride possible.  This is when you really start surfing.  And to do this you’ll need to turn.

First, the basics.   Waves break from right to left or from left to right., and you’ll need to know which way to turn as you start paddling for the wave.  The more time you spend in the water, the more you will instinctively know about wave behaviour.
If you are a regular footer, it’s easier to ride waves which break from right to left as you look from the beach (a right) and for a goofy its easier to ride a left.  This is because you will be facing the wave as you surf so you can see what’s happening – if you are riding with your back to the wave you are riding backhand or backside.

The Bottom Turn

The bottom turn is the basis of all good surfing.  A strong bottom turn is not only massively satisfying, it is also the most simple move to perfect and the first step towards riding a wave.
You need to think about your first turn as you paddle for your wave.  If the wave is fat and slow you should angle your paddle slightly to take you straight into the direction you want to go.
Turning a board requires bent knees.  As you pop up, stay relaxed and keep a low centre of gravity.  Its easy to subconsciously tense up as you think about your turn, but be aware of this and bend your knees.  Relax your lower back, try to feel the water through your feet and as you sail down the wave look to the place you want to go.  This will turn your upper body slightly, and wherever you look, your board will follow.  Pick a point further down the wave and, staying focused on that point, gently lean your weight in that direction staying centred over your board.  If you are turning frontside you will be leaning over your toes.  This will press the rail into the water and smoothly turn your board in the direction you want to go.

The Backside Bottom Turn

The backside bottom turn is necessary when you are riding with your back to the wave face.  Contemplating your turn is the same as with a frontside turn; bend your knees, and this time lean gently on your heel side edge.  Again, look in the direction you want to go, which will this time be up and over your front shoulder.  This will begin the turn and let you to see the wave, and as your rail presses into the water you will arc back up into the wave.
The backside bottom turn is slightly more difficult than frontside as you can’t see where you’re going, but trust your instincts and when you feel it working it will be all the more satisfying.

Once you have mastered bottom turns, you will want to look at the more advanced maneuvers.

The Frontside Cutback

The cutback reverses the direction that you are surfing in one energetic movement.  When you find yourself getting ahead of the pocket, you can cut back into the wave to allow it to catch up with you again.  The key to a cutback is speed – without it the wave will overtake you and you won’t have enough power to complete the move.

You can cutback on a wave of any size, but big, powerful cutbacks are the signature moves of many advanced surfers.
Firstly, make sure you’re well ahead of the break and moving at high speed before you begin your cutback.  The move starts with the beginnings of a bottom turn, so bend your legs and get low, make sure you are set solidly on your board and look up the wave in the direction you want to go.  But rather than completing a sweeping arc in your bottom turn, veer up at a sharper, 45 degree angle, maintaining as much speed as you can and keeping your mind fixed firmly on what you are about to do.

As you move up towards the lip, keep your board flat on the wave face to maintain your speed and fix your eyes on the point where you want to execute your change of direction back into the pocket.   Pick a point that isn’t too vertical, but also isn’t too far out beyond the shoulder where the wave is too flat and will zap your power.

Just as you feel your momentum start to fade but before you lose much speed, its time to turn.  You are going to turn around your back, so unweight your front foot and lean back slightly, but always remember to keep most of your weight and body over the middle of your board. Remember, where your eyes look, your body will follow.  Push down on your heels and lift the balls of your feet, digging in a part of your inside rail to give traction and help you to avoid spinning out, and look back into the whitewater.   Sweep your front arm in an arc behind you to take you in the direction you want to turn, twist your upper body to follow it and whip your body round.

Hitting the Lip

Also referred to as a “re-entry”.

The lip of a wave can take many forms.  An on-shore wind will give the wave a foamy cushion across the top, while an offshore will carve the lip into a sharply defined curl which can throw out and create a barrel. Different conditions affect the way you tackle this move.
You are aiming to ‘bounce’ off the lip as  the wave breaks, and end up back on the wave ready for your next move.   You should be looking down the line for the spot you think will stand tall and pitch out as you hit it.  You need good control to enable you to meet the point at the right time, and may have to make constant adjustments along the wave to make sure you meet with the section.

The maneuver should be smooth and you should be in control at all times.  As you approach the lip, unweight your front foot and use your back foot weight to pivot your board to a more vertical position, enabling you to move the front of your board side to side like a windscreen wiper and you to turn and position your board ready to make your re-entry with the water.

You must keep your speed so that you can shift your weight back to the middle of your board and rotate smoothly once you feel the lip hit the bottom of your board.

In soft waves, you will have to use the strength in your back and knees to guide your board back down on to the face of the wave and prevent you getting stuck at the top.  In stronger waves you need only to keep your weight on the midpoint of your board and your feet planted firmly, and the wave’s strength will do the work. Be careful if you hit a lip on a powerful wave because you run the risk of being launched far out away from the wave’s energy. This could mean dropping quite a large distance and stalling, leaving you wide open to the force of the whitewater.

The Floater

Floaters give you another string to your bow when you’re facing a wave that has just sectioned in front of you.  Maybe you can pick up speed and scoot round it to the next bowl, or maybe you can speed up and duck through the tube.  Or maybe its possible to jump on top of the oncoming section and glide across the foam into the next bowl.

There are three important stages to complete a floater; getting onto the lip, riding the lip, and re-entry back into the wave. You need to generate as much speed as you can so stay high in the wave.

As with practically every other move in surfing, the floater starts with a strong bottom turn, but this time perform it in the middle of the face.  Instead of heading straight up out of your turn towards the lip however, you need carry your speed up and along the wave towards your section, and let your board drift onto the very top of the breaking wave.

As you move onto the lip, stay low with your centre of gravity over your back foot. Try not to drift too far off the back or you will lose speed and it will be impossible to join up with the wave. Your speed should maintain your momentum, and once your board is level on the roof of the tube, un-weight and try to stay as high as possible on the top of the falling lip, focusing on the lip line ahead of you as you move along the top of the wave.

A variation is to aim the nose of your board toward the back of the wave, letting the bottom of your board slide sideways along the top like a railslide on a skateboard. This may necessitate landing tail-first which looks great but can be tricky, so make sure you keep your feet wide apart with your weight over the midpoint of your board.

The Aerial

The key to getting air is speed.  You need to pick a good launch pad – a vertical lip or a patch of chop at the top of the wave are both good options – then ride high on the wave and build as much speed as you can.  As you approach your launch point, veer upward at a sharp angle but don’t go vertical as this may cause you to fly straight up and lose the wave.

As you prepare to take off, unweight your back foot a little to avoid your fins and tail from spinning out the back of the wave.  Keep a wide stance and as your board releases from the wave, keep the board flat under your feet and your weight centred, and let your body rise as high as you can, projecting up and out.

Don’t bottle it.  As the board takes off, its easy to believe you have no control and just kick the board away, which is no more serious than the loss of a wave in small waves, but in bigger waves can cause you trouble.  Keep the faith, and grab a rail if it helps.

As soon as you’re in the air, think about landing.  If your trajectory is right, gravity will dictate your descent back down onto the wave, and pretty much any part of the wave is a suitable landing site – barring vertical faces!  The ideal is to land in the open face and remember – keep your knees bent to absorb the shock.

The Contest Heat

Contest surfing can be nerve-racking, and often requires a very different and less spontaneous approach from your normal surf.  Therefore, it is important to be ready for what you are about to undertake, and to gather as much knowledge before your heat as possible so you feel confident and don’t let yourself in for any nasty surprises!

You need to be comfortable with your equipment.  A contest is not a good time to test out a beautiful, brand new board, even if you are sure it will guarantee you first place and are just dying to show it off.  If you are not sure of how it will perform you may have split second doubts about tackling more complex moves, and as everyone knows, that split second can turn a perfect maneuver into a disaster.   Stick with what you know – you don’t need to add factors that may make you feel out of control into an already pressured situation.

One way you can keep control is by staying fit and strong.  30 minutes doesn’t give you long to get four good waves when you include paddling and waiting, and you’ll have a much clearer head in an unfamiliar environment if you aren’t having to worry about how on earth you will make the paddle back out to the line-up in time to catch another wave without drowning.   Make sure you are physically ready to give yourself the best chance in your heat by sticking to an exercise regime in the run up to the comp – and a clear head from the night before always helps.

Arrive early.  This gives you time to size up the competition and get a good feel for the conditions.  You may want to work out where the tide will be in your heat, and look at what the wind is doing to the waves.  You need time to notice things about the waves, such as a right being more powerful than the left giving more scoring potential, or one peak looking great but consistently closing out – one to avoid.  Give yourself time to work out what the judges are looking for or if certain maneuvers are getting higher scores.

Judges generally look for controlled maneuvers completed with speed in the most critical part of the wave and award these highly.  Although style can influence a judge, he or she won’t award the cold hard points for style as its too subjective.  Concentrate on completing the most maneuvers in the most powerful section of the wave.
Good Luck!