The best advice that I ever got was to focus on foot placement. Once that is happening every time...then the rest is fine tuning.Yankee is spot on... getting the most out of the wave will come from setting that rail quickly. Real easy to shoot strait down a face and then there is no energy to work with. Working down the line is where the fun is.
Thanks guys, so tell me more about where my upper body and foot positioning, I can pay attention to this all I want but if I don't know what i'm looking for I'll just be looking at myself with a big question mark. I know that my turns start with my head, then shoulders, then waist, etc., and I think I understand foot placement, but I usually rely on instincts, gotta remember I started out skateboarding back in the day, lots of muscle memory still from that. I'm 5'9" and my board is 6'4", any thoughts?
I guess what i'm trying to get at here, is that I believe every board has an "identity", and when that identity is unlocked you then know what the limits of your board are and what it excels at the most. I feel once you unlock that, the only thing holding you back is you. I realize that the only way to figure this out is to surf the thing as much as possible and feel it out, but given the board dims (listed in OP) and characteristics, how would you approach surfing this board?
its funny cause ive had boards that i totally hated for the first few session and put them away. I would get them out later and for some reason they would be like magic. go figure. For that board giving those dims i would use it more for really big days or down the line screamers (fast and racy as Shaun Tompson would say). I has ALOT of volume.
I hear ya, don't get me wrong, I LOVE this board, I've done some of my best surfing on this board so far, it was like cheating the moment I started paddling it the 1st time, catches waves easily and turns really well. It does have A LOT of volume though, which was intentional, so that I can get comfortable with shorter boards again but not hurt my paddling as I have shoulder issues and felt I needed the extra foam, especially to get through the mushier summer months. The better I get the less volume I think i'll need on future boards, but this one is a keeper. What i'm basically searching for is the "Game Genie" for this board... if you're a Nintendo fan
alot of it too is what the wave will give you. if you surfers fast waves then you are limited to certain things, same with slow peelers so you have to account for that.
Good point, I'm itching for some proper waves so I can get to work on this thing again, it's been all LB the past month or so
Also get an Indo board. It will help your foot placement, stance and your ability to coil and uncoil to produce speed and power in your movements, generated from the hips and lower body and translated to the upper body and the board itself. And TC Redlines are good in big surf. I like them in pumping waves almost as much as the Sunny Gs.
Do those Indo boards really help? Anybody ever break an arm falling off one of those? I have great balance but hey ya never know HAHA I'm thinking of getting a carver skateboard, lots of ppl on here have em and they swear by them, I just don't know how I'll like one compared to a regular skateboard which is what i'm more familiar with but I realize they are for two totally different things. I'll have to pick up a pair of those TC Redlines one of these days to have around for when it gets juicy out there
Watching videos can help, but you have to understand what you're watching. Pay close attention to the relationship between the head and shoulders when others are doing their power moves. When I was in Hawaii and having trouble getting deep dig on my bottom turns, a friend of mine came up to me, and put his finger to my chin and turned it to the left, then said "use your head." It made all the difference, where your head goes the body will follow. Do this move to yourself, take your finger and twist your chin, you should feel it in your shoulders, that's the most basic start of turning with more power in your torque.
Hey Pump, did you mean LEAN into the turn? If so that makes sense, I was trying to figure out what you meant and this is all I can come up with.
DPSUP???? what the F? I thought you were at least good enough to throw a fitzpedo.... Im worried about where you are in surfing now dude... after skimming through the comments.... I saw something that I think is a good observation... don't spend too much time out on the shoulder. I remember once I learned how to keep myself in the "power pocket" of the wave (btw, I heard that expression from Dane Reynolds... not my own creation.) I was able to get more turns in each wave. also, I found that I got even more power out of mush waves by holding the turn back into the foam ball and turning once I hit that spot. but seriously.... work on the fitzpedo... when the time is right you'll know when to use it.
No worries Fitzypoo, I've been practicing my Fitzpedo on the kiddies at the community swimming pool and I think it's ready to unveil to the world. Might make my first target the elderly lady holding onto the foam noodle in the impact zone, that would have to top anything that's been done to date, no? Seriously though, I appreciate the tips, I'm not as good as some of youse guys on here, but i'm working on it. As any good artist, you never stop trying to perfect your craft, although perfection is unattainable, the pursuit of it is where people grow and evolve into something better than before.
maybe. what i am talking about is counter rotating the upper body in a turn. you see it all the time. Guy wants to do a big left carve starts the turn but rotates his upper body to t he RIGHT when he should be turning his whole body into the turn.