Any other one direction surfers out there? I am decent surfer and can hold my own on anything from 1 ft to 6 ft or so. I like to ride my 6'0 fish most of the time and bust out the funboard when the conditions call for it. There is only one problem...I only can go right. My attempts to go left are just terrible and it usually results in me popping up and riding down the line, no turns, no pumps to gain speed, nothing. Anyone else out there like me? I feel like I need to be able to go left to get to the next level in my surfing but I am curious to see if anyone else has a problem as bad as mine.
I used to have the same problem about five years ago. I switched from my 6'0 fish to a much smaller 5'6 squash tail and im cured. Can rip the fish now that i went back to it
Patience. For the chosen liquidic thunderhump bellows from the depths. As she moonwalks her way to your sandy mound, you will/must juice it proper. Enter the relxation station. Point left and fire. Melt the water. Make it more wetter.
Try popping up in reverse...I have a hard time surfing backside too. Maybe start on a longboard to learn?
Go left every chance you get... If your like me, you'll pass on a left, if there are rights to be found... But, you have to keep at it and eventually it will start feeling better to go left. Its all muscle memory.
Yea, I pass on lots of lefts and then end up kicking myself as I see them roll by. It is just so hard to motivate myself to go left when I could just as easily go right. I think I should find a spot that only breaks left, problem solved.
As I was learning to surf I found myself only going left (goofy). I knew if I wanted to surf a lot more waves (especially in NJ) I would have to learn to go backside. I took a whole tropical season and only went right. Now I KILL rights for fun.
Is this a real question? lol I ride regular, but going backside seems more natural because you are leaning into the wave. You might need more of a stick. Sounds like you may need to get back to the basics, and get away from that 6.
One of the breaks I'm often at (Lincoln Blvd. at Long Beach) seems to me to throw much better lefts than rights for some reason, so I go left (backside) a lot. Sometimes I'll ride Hemlocks, and I find that the bar there, depending on how it is at a given time, splits peaks fairly evenly: I'll go right or left there depending on which I'm in a better position for and which way looks like it has a longer line.
JTBLUE, I think what your saying would make you the exception. I feel that most people are more comfortable going frontside (facing the wave) rather than backside.
Don't try to bottom turn on a small left hander (2 - 5 feet). Aim the board as much down the line as possible while you're paddling. Turn your front foot so it's close to parallel on the stringer. This opens up your shoulders to the wave, and you can see where you're going better. Bend your knees and get a low COG. Use your back foot to drive up the face, then lean foward on the front foot to drive down the face.
if you are constantly looking at the wave while surfing backside, its near impossible to do anything except ride. when i surf lefts (i'm regular) i always concentrate on glancing at the wave then pumping, slashing, spraying, whichever. if you try to keep your eye on the wave you will limit your body movement limiting your ability to increase your momentum. youll be able to surf much better if you make sure you glance then surf. just keep in mind there is more strategy required surfing backside than frontside.
like said above the most important thing is vision. you tend to go where you look so force yourself to look over your shoulder. also, some stuff is easier on your backhand like late drops and cutbacks.
