New to the forumn so take it easy .....Was at my local break yesterday when a Lboarder paddled by and offered some advice. I was on my bigger shortboard as it was waist to maybe chest. I dropped in and had my back leg bent to where my knee was almost to the board. He stated that I do NOT want to get in to the habit of droppin in on my back knee as it's a hard habit to break. I do realize that draggin the back leg can reduce steering but I do see some of the pro's doing this (albeit in much bigger surf). I mostly was trying to stay low in order to have better balance. Any advice ?
Hey Bro welcome! You seem to come accross like a solid guy- alot of other ppl on here will end up getting the business since they are new...and usually they arnt too humble... staying low for better balance is a good thing... but also getting to your feet asap is good too. He was right in his advise... if someone offers free advise in the water- take them up on it!!! Dragging the knee could produce bad habits- plus you will not have any good turning capabilities... you really got to get up quick- maintain balance no matter what- and turn and go... then start shredding- like njshreddmachine Now if your on a - lets say - 23 ft wave in jersey... then maybe... maybe you will have to drop the knee.. i would ask njshreddermachinee about that one.... he will be the one bench pressing on the beach as a warm up before he paddles out. nice guy... he also has the fastest car on the block fyi. anyways bro- stay cool and keep it up! Practice is the main thing!!! ps- can someone spell check me... i dont have time and im going on lunch break...
Welcome to SI, I think that's solid advice for the most part, get all the way to your feet ASAP, if you are tucking into one, then drop to a knee if it's a tight squeeze, that's what she said....
the only advice I'd add is to not look to what pros do and try to emulate. Most of the time you see a pro doing that its to get into a certain spot or position for the camera
Its not a bad thing if your doing this with purpose... When taking a left (my backside) if the wave is steep or I want to get my board pointed down the line extremely fast, I will go into the front foot on the board and the back kneed on the board holding the rail and once the turn is completed I will get on my feet. Its a seamless move for me and I use it to my advantage. I never do this when taking off on my front side though as there is no need. However, it can be a bad habbit if you have not conquered the pop up and turn yet. Get comfortable using both methods and figure out when you need to use it.
All ... thx for the advice .... all good stuff. I don't do all the time but will have to work on it. I'm humble enough to realize that others can see what we're doing wrong well before we can. He was a solid guy and good surfr. Those who give respect get respect. See ya
Another piece of valuable advice: work on getting to your feet as quickly as possible and then try to incorporate looking down the line at the same time (Dont look at where you are, look to where you want to go). You will be surprised how quickly you make it down the line of the wave.
You don't want to be bent like that while surfing down the line. That means your weight is heavily toward your front foot. The best surfing as far as turns and manuevers in the pocket is done off your back foot. With your back leg bent down toward the board you end up squatting more than actually standing up. You are lowering your center of gravity by staying closer to the board and water, which makes surfing easier quite honestly (as you said, for better balance). Front foot weight is good for speed down the line but you will never get to really use your fins of you aren't surfing off your back foot. Pros may do it when dropping in on bigger waves for stability or pig-dogging a backside barrel but they will get upright as quick as possible when it's not needed. If you are squatting to duck into a barrel you can tuck your knee, rather than squatting with both legs like a sumo wrestler (which looks kooky). But if the wave is open and peeling you want to be upright and surfing off your back foot, and you can't do that correctly when your knee is bent down almost on the board. In short, don't do it if it's not needed.
