Todays session advise

[sambotc]

I went out today and as a local spot was ideal for me learning to pick up the green wave (2-3ft clean). I have only managed to ride the green wave about 3 times. My board is a 6'10" shortboard, although today i was on a 6'11" rusty T2, very similar anyway. out of all the wave I tried for today, there where 3 outcomes.

1- paddle,paddle,paddle and as i go to pop up, the wave goes by and I am left looking like a stranded penguin on a rogue iceberg. (this happened a lot)

2- paddle, catch wave, but as I stand up i end up just about popped up then flying down the face at what seems like 90 degrees, and bailing out in various different directions looking very uncool. (this happened quite a few times, but once or twice I managed to make it down the face looking like I was taking a dump on the toilet hanging on for my life)

3-I think I managed to surf properly, it certainly felt right, I popped up and picked up speed, felt like jesus walking on water and a good feeling at the end (the end being the board running out of pace and starting to sink)

OK, so would I be right in saying that the problems are as follows,

1- not managed to get the board going fast enough to pick up the wave, been concentrating on being in the right position on the board today so that the nose is out the water by only a couple of inches and toes pointed back to avoid drag.

2- trying to over compensate for not being up to speed, i've tried to catch the wave later which means its breaking on me as i'm trying to pop up?

3- I was actually surfing..... which is cool?

Hope that makes sense and thanks in advance for any help

Sam

[tony g]

1- not managed to get the board going fast enough to pick up the wave, been concentrating on being in the right position on the board today so that the nose is out the water by only a couple of inches and toes pointed back to avoid drag.

Good paddling form is important, but sometimes its not how hard you paddle, its being in the right place. If you ever watch experienced surfers catch waves it really is a thing of beauty. You see they take off in the more critical part of the wave where the wave is easier to catch, and they make it look easy. You do not want the wave pitching out or breaking on you. but you want it steep enough so you can easily catch the wave. Work on your wave positioning and you will catch many more waves!
You have to catch waves to get better at riding waves. As you learn to catch more waves, you will hopefully get better at riding waves!

Good luck!

[stereoscope]

try moving up on your board, to the point that if you were any further up you would be pearling. when you think you should pop up, paddle a couple more times super hard, then arch your back, look where you want to go, and catch the wave before you pop up.

[surf doc]

try moving up on your board, to the point that if you were any further up you would be pearling. when you think you should pop up, paddle a couple more times super hard, then arch your back, look where you want to go, and catch the wave before you pop up.

Great advice, especially the part about paddling super hard after you think you've caught the wave.
Don't forget to angle your board to cheat in whichever direction you choose to go. This is quite helpful at first, it gets you to look down the line so that things seem to slow down. Angle your take off and stay higher up on the face than what your instincts would have you believe is the correct position.

[sambotc]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies! due to a job at work falling through today, I managed to get out again this afternoon and give it a go. I have successfully managed to catch a good few green waves now by just giving it another couple of paddles so that I feel I am facing down the wave rather than sat on the top. The above advise plus a great video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I62X7kgzivw and it all came together today so thanks very much!

Todays problem was mastering the pop up at an angle, which is proving to be harder than imagined!

[tony g]

Glad it is coming together for you! Remember you have to also put the time into surfing if you really want to get better. Also try to do some pop ups on land to get smoother and build some muscle memory.

[sambotc]

Cheers tony g. I'm getting in 2-3 times a week at the moment, although the issues with my board (in the hardware section) aren't helping, being in the UK and being winter and using products like solerez has it's downfalls!

I can pop up fairly well on smaller waves or whitewater, it's just not what i'm used too having to do on the face of something worth trying to ride because of the angle. I seemed to have my weight further forward on the board to keep a good pace when paddling, so this I think has transfered to my pop up positioning aswell.To be fair the surf wasn't great today and I think I may have been putting more concentration into the paddling and trying to get into the routine of keep an eye on what was happening behind me as I am paddling. It's amazing how many things there are to take into consideration once you start trying to ride the green water compared to being pushed along by the foam!

Looking forward to getting in again and having another crack at it, amazing how getting chucked around like the inside of a washing machine can be so addictive!

Thanks very much for the help

Sam

[jaffa1949]

Welcome to your approaching winter sambotc, one thing you are doing very right is getting as much surf time and noticing what does and doesn't work for you.
I admire your perseverance with the crappy board and I think you can look forward to a big improvement on something better, if you have friends that surf see if you can get a try on a slightly bigger board or one with more volume and see how that effects your surfing.

Really surfing is about doing it as much as possible and keeping the gradual improvements, stay keen and fit over winter and try the swimming program suggested on this site.

[sambotc]

Thanks jaffa, it's not perseverence, more like an addiction! I've done body boarding before years ago so i'm kind of used to the sea, wipeouts and how a wave forms. Not really much to compare to though both in skills or fun factor! I'm lucky in that I live on the Devon/Cornwall border and frequently work in Cornwall so get the pick of about 15 beaches to surf depending on conditions. I quickly learn't not to run before I walk after getting in when the conditions wrong, so i'm now trying to find the more mellow conditions to learn on.

When you say angle yourself down the line on take off, what kind of angle would you suggest? 45 degreees ish? Also I seem to always angle myself so that I am backside on to the wave as for some reason this feels more comfortable (i'm goofy footed) is this O.k or should i try and force myself into the frontside direction first?

I bought the 6' 10" because my surf buddy bought his 6' 11" T2 rusty and I had a go on it. I seemed to pick up the standing etc quite quick in the white water so maybe felt a bit over confident. since being out the back I can see where a mal or similar would have helped, but on the plus side, i am getting better at duck diving now so wouldn't want to be out without the option of duck diving.

Hopefully a few more sessions should see me pick up a wave or two out the back and then I can concentrate on fine tuning the balance etc?

[surf doc]

When you say angle yourself down the line on take off, what kind of angle would you suggest? 45 degreees ish? Also I seem to always angle myself so that I am backside on to the wave as for some reason this feels more comfortable (i'm goofy footed) is this O.k or should i try and force myself into the frontside direction first?

I can't give you an exact number to angle. I would listen to what Jaffa said and try it out and get a feel, see what works for you. Obviously different waves will call for different types of takeoffs and it's all about repetition. Generally the wave should also dictate which direction you go but that's a whole other discussion. I don't think it really matters which side you're more comfortable with at this point(backside vs front) but I wouldn't rely only on one direction, you'll want to be able to go either direction in the future.

[sambotc]

Managed another session this morning, thats 4times this week, body needs a rest now I think feeling a bit knackered! Surf was pretty mellow, 2fters fairly clean. Managed 3 good rides. Took off at a slight angle and turned frontside to ride along the wave which was pretty cool seeing the wave beside me! wether or not i'll be able to do it in anything bigger for a minute, we will see.

When you say adjusting your take off for differant waves, could you give me a few examples of what might change for what type of wave please?

Thanks for all the advise, pretty pleased with my progress this week thanks to all the advise and a load of hard work.

[Rickyroughneck]

Managed another session this morning, thats 4times this week, body needs a rest now I think feeling a bit knackered! Surf was pretty mellow, 2fters fairly clean. Managed 3 good rides. Took off at a slight angle and turned frontside to ride along the wave which was pretty cool seeing the wave beside me! wether or not i'll be able to do it in anything bigger for a minute, we will see.

When you say adjusting your take off for differant waves, could you give me a few examples of what might change for what type of wave please?

Thanks for all the advise, pretty pleased with my progress this week thanks to all the advise and a load of hard work.

Always try to angle your take off slightly. I find myself angling most on late take-offs and steeper waves, but that is more out of fear of nosediving than necessity. You can still successfully take the drop even pointing directly at the beach, it is just harder.

[sambotc]

Managed to get out today for a session, the conditions were 3-5ft with a strong offshore. Because of the wind, the waves were closing out really fast along big sections. Also the waves were real hollow.

I didn't manage to catch any because they were real steep almost vertical. The few that I tried (smaller ones) just felt wrong compared to previous waves, but they have been much more forgiving. Over the fall's was the main flavour of the day! So, any ideas what could be the cause? I was having to try and take off at the more critical point of the wave as they were forming real quick, and angling my take off also, but like I say I was on the peak when trying to pop up which didn't feel right? Should I be up and balanced at this point i;e i'm popping up too late, or is it maybe that my board doesn't have a big enough nose rocker? Or just that I need to man up and learn to pop up vertically which feels weird as it's like i'm going to launch myself off the face of the wave?

I'm not really at a stage where I would try again soon as I know my limits and although I felt safe, just didn't feel like i was good enough to be in today, and not riding a single wave sucked! Having said that, it would be nice to know what I was doing wrong!

Cheers in advance!

Sam

[esonscar]

I didn't manage to catch any . . . . . Because of the wind, the waves were closing out really fast along big sections. Also the waves were real hollow. . . . . . it would be nice to know what I was doing wrong!

Maybe nothing - in my experience riding closeouts is only for bodyboardrs or advanced surfers. I'm not being big headed, but when I ride closeouts I don't even need to paddle for the wave - I just know (from experience) where to be allowing me to just swirl around, push down on a rail and - boom me and the wave are at peace albeit for a very short time!
I might do a reo or an off the lip or a whaterver, but the ride is a pure trick event with no intention of surfing down the line unless a lucky tube appears !

Stick with it anyway and remember - a wave is a wave so go catch any you can and enjoy