One Piece of Advice...

Three pieces of advise:

Don't look down at your feet/boarte. One has a tendency to go where one is looking. That's why drunk drivers so often plow into cars stopped alongside the road or other objects that catch their gaze. My buddy noticed I was doing this (looking at my feet not plowing into cars) as it's a common beginner thing. He made me aware of it and I stopped. Once I started looking where it is I want to go (down the line, next section, whatever), my surfing improved immensely. I still suck tho.

If in doubt, paddle out. There have been times where I've decided not to go out. Maybe the conditions were crappy and blown out or I just wasn't feeling it. I have always regretted not going. Always. On the other hand, I have never gone surfing and afterward said 'Man, I really wish I hadn't gone surfing'. Even on the shiitiest of days, it's always better to go.

Sand reconne. Learn it. Use it. Live it.

 

gaysurfer rofl nice profile pic.

 

never take the first wave of a set?? in most places unless its the east coast and the first wave is the only one that does close out.

 

1. If it feels good, do it. If you can't win, don't try.

2. You'll never win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. (ie, charge the set wave, don't barrel dodge, grab your balls and go).

I think those two may conflict, but they have the merits.

 

Thanks for that word of advise, V. I've heard it before, but it helped get me out this morning. Surf was nothing special, but I was out there nonetheless. Air temps in mid 60s-70s, water 50, sunny although a bit breezy. Still getting used to the thicker rubber. Have never regretted paddling out, only regretted not doing so.

 

color outside the lines

 

Let's fvck some whores! Dew.

 

Play like the big man you know you are

 

wait your turn and pay your dues.

 

This guy knows whats up!

 

Glad I could help with a bit of encouragement Dos. I still sometimes don't follow that piece of advise and I still always regret it. But I'm getting better.

 

Never piss off someone who bleeds for 5 days, every month and doesn't die.

Maybe I should have posted this in the Surfing With Your Significant Other Thread.

 

Lol! I TOTALLY heard Dice Clay on that one!

Seriously, though... learning to surf on a single fin makes you use your rail. Then when I got into multifinned boards, my surfing started changing... surfing more of the fins. The guy who taught me how to surf, and who I used to surf with a lot, kept riding singles, and saw my surfing getting weak... little flicky moves that had no power. This was before videos and when NOBODY took pictures. One day we're driving back from a surf, and he just said... "You know... if you want to surf with power, you gotta use your rail." I took it to heart.

I started to notice how you can use your bottom (sort of shifting your weight and banking your turns), use your fins (sort of snapping everything from your back foot), or your rail (using the power in your legs to bury the rail AND fins). By far, the best lines, and the most power in your surfing comes from using your rail. EVERYTHING else comes from there.

 

My favorite turn is the first turn of a frontside full rail cutback... that power turn at the top that rolls into a down carve all the way to the bottom. The second turn... the rebound up in the pocket... is where I'm eeking out the last little bit of speed that's left. If I hit that second turn with any power at all, I feel like I didn't do the first turn right.

 

"Give respect to gain respect" - Nat Young

 

When Nothing is Going Right

Go Left

 

Interesting description of your favorite. Some good advice I got as a grom, was putting that cutback on rail (back when we called them roundhouse cutbacks) and maintaining momentum on the rebound (second turn) to "thrust" into the next section. As I progressed though, I sorta focused on loading up and spending it all on the first turn (similar to your description I think). Then, I realized sometimes spending it was fun but would cause me to not connect on otherwise makable sections b/c I had very little power going into the rebound. So, I really like to do both depending...

Cool thread.

 

The front-side hack is more satisfying because it's a bit trickier coming back around post hack, but I feel like I can throw a couple extra buckets of water on a good backside hack off the top, so it's a toss up for me.