Science of pumping

thrusting in and out until climax is reached

 

from the confederate states of america....we get......eloquence.

 

What's the major glitch? Is it that gravity isn't the major force that "makes boards go?"

 

No, because gravity isn't. Gravity is just the main means by which the lifting power of the wave is converted into lateral surfboard movement.

Casey denies this, and what's more he maintains that it is inpossible for the wave to be driving board and rider via gravity when in a state of steady trim.

 

Ya its called not riding a shortboard in longboard conditions

 

Probably shouldn't argue with you, but gravity aside, are there other "means by which the lifting power of the wave is converted into lateral surfboard movement."

 

Yes, one can be moved shorewards by the lip or whitewater.

 

roys comments are not absurd... in this case. there is more push than gravity. gravity, while part of it, is incredibly weak compared to the push in cases like this.

 

True, I guess I was thinking of surfboards in trim. And in the case of a pitching lip or a wall of whitewater, hasn't gravity just converted the "lifting power of the wave" into a shore-ward movement of water?

 

well lets think about it like this.... if you lay on your back with your surfboard ontop of you, it takes very little effort to push the board off of you, against gravity... but if you are standing in the water with your surfboard like a shied infront of you, the oncoming wave will knock you flat over. so, yeah gravity is the box that holds everything together, but globally is incredibly weak.

 

Ok, for a surfer in trim, is there any other "means by which the lifting power of the wave is converted into lateral surfboard movement."

 

I believe so. But many, including Roy, disagree with me. I believe it was here about a thousand threads ago, that he and I discussed this.

I don't believe there is a simple answer, that applies to all boards, all board movements, and all waves... that "gravity," while I agree may be the main force at work in "making surfboards go," in no way explains all motions in surfing. It is an oversimplification, IMO. And while I don't believe that's what Roy is saying at all, I believe there are numerous forces at work, and the dominating force at work changes constantly as boards are ridden in different parts of the wave, and that different forces dominate different types of boards and how they are ridden.

I'll just leave it at that...

 

I would say the taller a wave is the more gravity is a factor. I've been thinking more about east coast mush burgers at waist high, which I'm in the camp of more push than gravity for.

 

Taller waves means greater potential energy. So, yea... that's a big help in terms of using gravity to generate speed. There's also the down-the-line speed a wave breaks and the wave speed itself (shoreward movement of the wave) and of course the type of bottom that makes a wave break hard or soft.

Then there's fins... which there seems to be less talk about when discussing the speed of a board and rider than there could be.

 

What's the science behind an Ollie in skateboarding? Part of that would apply, at least the weighting and I weighting of front and back feet to the board then the board pushing off the surface in a repellant sort of way. Then we've got centripetal/centrifugal force in the sense that a pump or trim are essentially mini-turns, and then rail to rail action. Several planes of action and force involved. Pretty dynamic and pretty interesting. Along with the big variable in surfing of the wave surface shape and action potential.

Keep talking guys, there could be some good learning here.

 

Pumping's not my bag, baby...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1__MPUKhZ4I[video=youtube;1__MPUKhZ4I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1__MPUKhZ4I[/video]

 

Put him on a skateboard. Have him tap the nose back and forth as he's rolling. Then you can work hip and knee mechanics into it. I can't think of any simpler way to help him.

 

It's called "gravitational marriage". I learned this principle in martial arts, but it applies in all sports, especially those with a moving playing field. As the surface/opponent yields, you fill the space. If you are going down and are on top, and apply force at the right moment, gravity adds to your force, and amplifies the effect. Same on a board on a wave. As the wave flattens out, coil, and if you can expand at the same time the wave warbles, or if you are on a high line and you can drop a tad as you uncoil, you can generate speed, if you unweight properly and let the board do the work at that point in time.

 

Correct, with one correction: Put him on a Carver board.

sandblasters, I didn't have a previous skate background so I had to learn tic tac'ing after the fact. It's a HUGE part of my Carver pumping and I do it a ton with surfboards too.