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SeaCliff
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« on: July 02, 2008, 04:07:13 PM » |
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Well, yet another bad shortboarding habit to correct, been meaning to post this one for a while.
I've begun to notice that when I'm paddling and trying to make a wave in marginal surf, at some point when i stop paddling I'll actually place my hands in the board in relative position for my popup, push down and try and "force" the board down whatever face there is, in an effort to catch the wave. Unfortunately this has the exact opposite effect: The board displaces more water at the front, lifts the tail up and away from whatever power of the wave there is, and actually slows the board and me down significantly. This naturally increases the likelihood that I'll actually miss the wave. Not exactly sure how I developed this curious habit or what made me think it was a good idea, but I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.
What finally clued me in was studying and watching some longboarders (AK and others) paddle for marginal waves, in an effort to understand better why they got waves and I didnt, besides the obvious that they were on longboards.
What I noticed is that they actually do the exact opposite of what I was doing: once they were moving at the relative speed of the waves, they kept their hands completely off the board, arched their backs a bit more to plane the board as much as possible, and allowed the wave energy to either allow them to catch the wave or in some instances, pass under. Often successful, sometimes not, but clearly 100000% more effective than what I was doing.
Tried it both ways this morning on some marginal waves in my own little mini-study of the techniques, and I'm totally convinced: Bad habit #758 has to go!
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"I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he was driven on so fast and so smoothly by the sea…" 40.58°, -73.70°
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Mark E
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« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2008, 05:47:42 PM » |
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Usually if I stop paddling and arch my back it is to avoid "diving for pearls".
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"Take care of your knees, you'll miss them when they are gone"
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The Lone Surfer
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« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2008, 07:19:16 PM » |
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hmn. i often see good surfers arching their backs and pushing down on their board. I think the key to surfing small wave on a small board is to be into the motion of your first pump as your popping up.
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SeaCliff
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« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2008, 08:02:23 PM » |
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I think the key to surfing small wave on a small board is to be into the motion of your first pump as your popping up.
Yes, totally agree...but that assumes you've made the wave. If you don't make the wave there is no first pump - what i'm looking at are the moments just prior - in effect not killing the forward momentum by pushing down prematurely - resulting in missing the wave altogether... |
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"I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he was driven on so fast and so smoothly by the sea…" 40.58°, -73.70°
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The Lone Surfer
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« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2008, 08:09:29 PM » |
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I think the key to surfing small wave on a small board is to be into the motion of your first pump as your popping up.
Yes, totally agree...but that assumes you've made the wave. If you don't make the wave there is no first pump - what i'm looking at are the moments just prior - in effect not killing the forward momentum by pushing down prematurely - resulting in missing the wave altogether... ya know, I don't know if i've ever thought of it. if anything i think i tend to push down on the board, but maybe that is after i've caught the wave already. |
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SeaCliff
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« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2008, 08:14:28 PM » |
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I think the key to surfing small wave on a small board is to be into the motion of your first pump as your popping up.
Yes, totally agree...but that assumes you've made the wave. If you don't make the wave there is no first pump - what i'm looking at are the moments just prior - in effect not killing the forward momentum by pushing down prematurely - resulting in missing the wave altogether... ya know, I don't know if i've ever thought of it. if anything i think i tend to push down on the board, but maybe that is after i've caught the wave already. Note that I'm talking about the marginal, barely makeable shortboard wave here - but that describes so many summer waves - except for the past 6 days or so...  |
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"I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he was driven on so fast and so smoothly by the sea…" 40.58°, -73.70°
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frr#cK
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« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2008, 12:36:25 AM » |
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I dont follow...pushing down when your trying to pop up? before you catch the wave? idk, never saw you do it. I sometimes let go of the bboard completely when I paddle then in a plit second pop up...in effect touching the board only for that split second when I am popping up. hopefully not pushign down at all and losing speed. when I feel good and the wave catches me , I do this sometimes.
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The Lone Surfer
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« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2008, 09:16:52 AM » |
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I dont follow...pushing down when your trying to pop up? before you catch the wave? idk, never saw you do it. I sometimes let go of the bboard completely when I paddle then in a plit second pop up...in effect touching the board only for that split second when I am popping up. hopefully not pushign down at all and losing speed. when I feel good and the wave catches me , I do this sometimes.
i guess i'm thinking more about decent waves when you push more toward the middle of your board right before pop up to kinda make sure the board is really in the pocket, but I may be hallucinating. |
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SeaCliff
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« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2008, 06:02:43 PM » |
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I dont follow...pushing down when your trying to pop up? before you catch the wave? idk, never saw you do it. I sometimes let go of the bboard completely when I paddle then in a plit second pop up...in effect touching the board only for that split second when I am popping up. hopefully not pushign down at all and losing speed. when I feel good and the wave catches me , I do this sometimes.
i guess i'm thinking more about decent waves when you push more toward the middle of your board right before pop up to kinda make sure the board is really in the pocket, but I may be hallucinating. Think of this...you're watching a longboarder paddle from wayyy outisde to catch up and get into a very small wave - at a certain point when a decent paddling speed has been achieved you'll see him or her let the "glide" take over....and they'll catch the wave and smoothly pop up in due time. On a shortboard it (the 'glide effect') is not nearly as pronounced because the same paddling speed cant be achieved, but the effect can be the same. Guess what i'm saying is that I need to try to 'glide' more as I'm trying to catch the very small waves, and avoid any action that interferes with the board planing and gliding. Today (sadly) provided plenty of opportunities to work on this, esp at low tide...and I did. |
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"I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he was driven on so fast and so smoothly by the sea…" 40.58°, -73.70°
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ez_ed
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« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2008, 07:17:06 PM » |
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SC, couldn't this whole "bad habit" be cured by riding your 7' in weak surf?
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SeaCliff
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« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2008, 08:42:17 PM » |
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"I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while he was driven on so fast and so smoothly by the sea…" 40.58°, -73.70°
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ez_ed
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« Reply #11 on: July 05, 2008, 01:20:38 PM » |
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Gmoney335
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« Reply #12 on: July 10, 2008, 10:51:27 PM » |
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whoa, just learned something. I find myself doing just that. Like that split second where you are not sure if you have enough to drop down the face, try to push on the front to see if you can force a drop in. I do it all the time out of habbit too, dont know why, but its early enough in my short-boarding learning curve that i can correct it.
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"Our planet is facing the greatest problems it's ever faced, ever. So whatever you do, don't be bored, this is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive"-Waking life
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