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"Waikiki is for beginners only."

Have you heard someone say " Waikiki is for beginners only."  

 

Well, it is true a lot of people experienced their first wave at Waikiki.  ( This photo is at Queens. )

 

Current champion surfers like Carissa Moore, Kai Salas, Kaneila Stewart, Kelia Moniz, Kelis Kaleopaa, Bonga Perkins, Dino Miranda all learned and still surf at Waikiki. 

 

But do you know Eddie Aikau, Gerry Lopez and Ben Aipa all got their start surfing at Waikiki ? 

 

You hear tourist websites talk about the gentle rolling waves at Waikiki, "perfect for beginners to learn on".

But there are different points of levels at Waikiki, partial due to the reef bottom.   

 

There's a beginner / instructor area on the inside,  a middle section and the furthest outside section for the more advanced.  

By the way, those section are for "Canoes" break.  " Queens is meant for advance surfers only,  no lessons should be taught there.   

 

Here I took off from the outside peak at Canoes.   Yes, on certain days you can get barrelled at Waikiki.  

 

Surfing is called the "Sport of Kings".   Waikiki surf spots were reserved only for Hawaiian Royalty in ancient Hawaii.  

Now "anybody" can surf there.  Don't be rude after you drop in and tell me that " Waikiki is for beginners only ! "

Learn to respect the ocean, learn to respect the locals and learn about the past before you say that.  

 

To my readers, I will be in Waikiki this month for a few weeks.  Hope to see you at "Canoes" surf break.  

| きーちゃん | - | comments(0) | - | - |
The right way to turn a long board

When talking about how to turn a surfboard, you always hear me say things like:

Front hand palm up, Back hand across the chest,  Shoulder and Waist twisting, Look ahead, etc. 

 

"But everyone's style is different" you might say.  And you are correct, but ONE thing is the same. 

 

This turn is kind of text book.  Back hand coming across the chest.  Front arm is leading ( you can't see it, because it's so far around his back ) 

 

Back hand coming across the chest, hand gesturing the angle he wants the board on. 

( but the front arm is not leading ) 

 

Front arm is leading.  It is way far out in front. 

( but the back hand is not coming across the chest ) 

 

Here is my friend Maui Zack,  back arm coming around and front arm leading. 

( but his palm is facing down/back not up ) 

 

Back around pointing down, I think to create a pivot point.  Front arm way up in the air.  

 

Very powerful cutback, but his front arm is not leading and his back arm is back, not coming across the chest.  

 

Closeout Off The Lip.  Front arm opening up.  Is he going to make it ?  I bet he did.  

 

Nice back arm coming around and across the chest.  But front arm is pointed down not leading the turn.  

 

So YES, you are right,  everyone turns their board differently.  Everyone is built differently.  Their board and fin(s) are different.  Some longboarders are more Classic in their approach,  some are more radical progressive.  

 

What I teach my readers is a basic form of turning.  After you learn the basics, THEN you can change it up to suit your style, board, wave.  

 

But now go back and look at all the photos.  Although each surfer style is different and executed a proper turn on a longboard, ONE thing is the same.  

 

Their back foot is over the fin at the back of the board.  That is the right way to turn a longboard ( or any surfboard ) 

 

Please check out Eason's surf photography, Matsunosuke Kugenuma, Surfer's Nation and Hope Cheng photo of FB and http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more.  

 

 

 

 

 

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How to spray on a long board

Question:  I can't turn hard on my longboard, will a 7'6" be easier to spray ? 

 

Answer:  If you learn to turn your longboard now, your spray on a 7'6" later on will be even more.  

 

Nice bottom turn.  Body aligned with the deck.  Spray coming off the outside right rail.  She eyes the spot to cut back out on the shoulder.  

 

She raises up her left hand, which in turn raises up the nose.  Her front right hand was left back. 

 

As she goes to cutback,  her right hand does not lead the turn.  Her left hand just barely comes in front of the chest.  

 

Right hand stays down to make a anchor / pivot point.  A little bit of spray comes off the left inside rail.  Board goes through the turn FLAT.  

 

What could she have done to make a bigger spray ?

More speed ?   She looked to be moving quite well. 

Better placement ?  She looked to be in the pocket / sweet spot on the wave, but maybe the wave doubled up on itself.  

More angle ?  Yeah, she could have open the right arm more and come across the chest more with her left hand to create more torque and twist, getting the board more on rail.   ( let me show you what I mean ) 

 

Big opening of the lead arm.  Big angle.  Tight arc.  Board fully on rail almost up to the nose. 

 

That all equals up to a big gouge on the wave's face that leads to a huge spray.  

 

Watch this guy's right hand

 

See unlike the girl's arm where her palm was facing down, his palm is facing up.  

 

Almost like a waiter carrying a tray.  

 

Now go back a draw a line from the girl's head to deck and the guys top of his fingers, through the head and down to deck.  Notice his his bodyline / board  angle is much stronger.  ( which equals more spray ) 

 

There's more techniques to turning hard on a long(er) board.  ( one trick is circled here ) 

 

But being further back on the tail, makes the board "shorter" and less volume/mass in the water TO turn.  

Palm opened up not closed down.  

 

Thinking "COME back" instead of "CUT back" helps to bring the nose back to the curl / power source of the wave. 

And that makes more SPRAY !

 

Please check out Hope Cheng Photos and Eason's surf photography on FB to see more.  

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Do you fit in ?

When it comes to surfing, some beginners pick up the sport quite easily, some not so much and don't get accepted by the locals.  

 

Maybe it's because they just don't FIT IN.  

 

Rider has the basics of paddling and popping up, but he still hasn't learned how to "FIT IN".  

 

Rider has gotten to her feet but her board is underwater.  "Look DOWN go DOWN" is part of the reason, but the main reason she can't " FIT IN " is the direction she chose to take.  

 

Long boards have more stabilty and float for the beginners to learn on.  But the usual length of 9 feet does make it hard to fit into certain waves, like Beach Breaks.  

 

This surfer is not a beginner, yet she is having a hard time keeping the nose up. 

( her board is a classic 50/50 rail single fin with not much rocker )

 

If you choose to ride a bigger board in quick dumping beach break waves, you have to be very aware of the close out.  

Even though she is on the tail and trimming across the face, her nose stills " Slaps ".  

 

But most of the time the nose "slaps" or "pearls" is because the rider is going too straight.  

Like putting a square peg in a round hole, it just doesn't fit.  

 

She has to: 

#1 Bottom turn after the take off 

#2 Angle in her take off

 

Either of which she may not have the skill yet to do.  

 

Another reason is the beginners take off too close to the center of the breaking lip.  The wave breaks from the center outwards.  The peak is the most steep, quick and powerful.  That is why most beginners take off on the softer shoulder of the wave.  

 

And if you take off going into the curl, instead of away from it, you are bound to not fit your board into the curvature of the wave.  

 

Rider is a Regular footer that commonly have a easier time going to the Right,  But the side of the wave he is taking off on, is breaking Left.   He is working AGAINST the wave, not WITH it. 

 

Yet sometimes, it's not the beginner on the wave fault, it is the fault of the beginner getting in the way. 

She probably could have made the drop, but to avoid running over the other surfer, she was forced to turn down. 

And now the board is not FITTING IN.    Good Bye.  

 

Do you " FIT IN " at your local surf break ?

 

Please check out Hope Cheng Photos, Matsunosuke Kugenuma on FB and http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

| きーちゃん | - | comments(0) | - | - |
Turning a long board part 7 the "most" important turn

Question: What is the most important TURN in surfing ?  

 

Answer:  The FIRST turn................. Which is the Bottom Turn.  

 

Most people would not consider this a "maneuver", but what she is doing is very critical.  

 

After paddling and popping up, what's the first maneuver a surfer needs to make ? 

 

The first maneuver is the Bottom Turn.   Where you go from nose of the board pointed to the beach to the nose then pointed to the side.   The essence of surfing is TRIM.  If you can't get your board to be pointed across the face of the wave you then can not trim.  Then you'll just be "riding" the wave is the white water, not "surfing" on the green face.  

 

Rider is up to his feet.  Eyes are down the line, but the back hand is bracing off an invisible railing.  Front arm is not open.  Stance is in the middle of the deck.  Left front foot is rolling overon its side. 

 

So the front inside rail "catches" ........

 

Board straigthens out flat and he falls over to the side. 

 

There are so many micro movements to perform a good Bottom Turn.

There are also many other factors as Angles, Speed, Pressure, 

There are also different wave conditions.  

 

But a good Bottom Turn allows you to do every other maneuver better.  

Cutbacks, Noserides, Barrel Riding and even just kicking out of a closeout beach break wave, REQUIRES a good Bottom Turn.  

 

Yeah, I know this isn't a longboarder,  but I wanted to show you a clear trailing line left behind by the surfer.  

You can clearly see where the surfer went Down before going Up.   A strong powerful Bottom Turn always leads to a strong powerful next maneuver/action.   

 

 

Now compare these next two photos.  Can you tell which has a better Bottom Turn ? 

 

#1

 

#2

 

#1 Most of the front of the board is out of the water.  Spray is coming off the outside rail.  Body is Coiled up and ready to release.  

 

#2 Most of the front of the board is under water.  Spray is coming of the shin of her foot.   Body is stiff and just leaning over.  Basically a delayed face plant.  

 

Good size wave.  Deep Bottom Turn.  Lots of spray coming off the outside Right rail. 

Front arm leading, opeing to the wave.  Back arm coming across the chest. 

 

Which then leads to a smooth arcing cutback out on the shoulder. 

Notice the spray now coming off the inside Left rail. 

Notice now the arms switch rotation, back arm moves behind the back and from arm comes across the chest. 

 

If you want to improve your longboard surfing ( or any size / type of board surfing ) you need to work on a good Bottom Turn.  First things First.  

 

Please check out Hope Cheng photos, Matsunosuke Kugenuma on FB, and http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more.  

 

 

 

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Turning a long board part 6 inspiration

There's an old saying, " I'll believe it when I see it "

 

If you're having trouble turning your long(er) board, here are some photos to INSPIRE you.  

 

When people think Longboarding, they think Noseriding.  

 

But to get to the nose, you need to be able to move back and forth along the whole length of the board. 

 

That will teach you about weight distribution, foot placement and how to turn off the tail/fin at the back of the board.

 

Sometimes a big board can throw big spray on a small wave. 

 

Here she is doing a Fade Bottom TURN.  She takes off going Left, pops up and swings back Right.  

And YES, a Bottom Turn is a turn and the most important turn as it sets up every move after. 

 

When a surfer performs a Cutback, the purpose of the move is to COME BACK to the energy of the wave. 

 

The skills necessary to the longboard IS THE SAME for turning a short(er) surfboard. 

 

But a longboard can cover more ground and make mushy sections in smaller waves that a short(er) board would have trouble in.  

 

" Yeah but Longboards are for Old Guys,  I want to surf what the young ripper dudes are surfing on ". 

 

Here's a older dude doing a Backside Off the Lip in quick dumpy beach break conditions. 

 

And makes the re-entry with a grab rail.  Looks pretty radical to me, don't you think ?

 

Old Guy - Young Kid, Boy - Girl , Classic - Progressive.  Just surf !!   

 

But if you think you need a Short(er) board to do turns, you are wrong.   

 

The skills you learn turning a long(er) board will help you when you eventually progress to a short(er) board. 

 

At your local break, who do you see catching a lot of waves, making multiple turns going left right up and down, enjoying themselves all the while with a smile on their face ?   The surfers who learned the basics of turning on Long(er)boards.  

 

Yes, you CAN turn your longboard.  You just need the right inspiration and to believe

( and to keep reading my Surf Better Blog )

 

Please check out Eason's surf photgraphy, Matsunosuke Kugenuma on FB and http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Turning a long board part 5 Time and Place

Question:  When I try to turn my longboard, I always fall on my back or land on my face.   Would buying a Mid-Length board help ?

 

Answer:   Instead of wasting money, work on your TIME and PLACE. 

 

Here is an example of falling on your back. 

Problems:

#1 trying to turn from the middle of the board. ( place )

#2 No twist of the shoulders and waist.

#3 Turning too early or too late. ( time ) 

 

Here is an example of landing on your face.

Problems:

#1 Turning in the flats. ( place )

#2 Turning too late ( time ) 

#3 Hinging at the waist. Bodyline broken.  

 

Most of the time that beginners get "Stuck" in a turn is because they initiate their turn too late and too far out on the shoulder.  

 

By the time the brain tells the body to turn the board, it is too late and not enough speed or wave angle to turn off on.  

 

You maybe looking ahead to the place you think is best to turn on.  But remember, the energy is rolling up the face of the wave. 

 

So in a few feet, that energy sends you up too high on the lip to come back down, and you get stuck at the top. 

( sounds familiar ? )  

 

Another problem is "tracking", like your board was riding on a train track. 

Here the rider did a little cut or turn down. ( you can see the spray off the inside rail going forward ) 

His upperbody, shoulders and hands are counter-balancing to keep in from fall off the board. 

 

But the board "tracks", and squirts out going straight.  His body can't compensate, upper body and head goes pass the rail and he gets bucked off.  

 

He turned too hard, compensated to hard ( then not enough ) and didn't get back on rail early enough to control the board. 

 

In the previous photo, there was too much wave for the rider to handle.  

Here there is not enough wave to keep the rider upright, so he falls over.  

He turned too far out in the "flats".  He should have initiated his turn way earlier on the shoulder.  

 

To turn a surfboard, you need to turn off the fins, which is at the tail of the board. ( fine, you know that already )

But you also need to turn at the proper place and the proper time.  

Here you can see the boy initiated his turn between the curl and the shoulder.  

Look under his butt, and you can see the engagement of the inside rail by the spray going down and too the right. 

Then in the cutback, you can see the spray going up and to the left. 

If he turned too early, it would be too tight to fit in the space provided and the energy of the curl would have too much angle. 

If he turned too late, he would be too far out on the shoulder. There would be no edges to push off of.  Plus he would lose too much momentum and speed to keep the rail/board from sinking.  

 

Are you falling back in your turns ? 

Are you landing on your face when you try to cutback ?

Then you need to work on WHEN you turn ( TIME ) and WHERE you turn ( PLACE ).  

"But How will I learn those ?"  ............... uh well, ....... it takes TIME.  

 

Please check out Hope Cheng photos, Jeremy Aireal photography on FB and http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Turning a long board part 4 compression vs. crouch

Most beginners stand up too tall when trying to turn their longboards. 

 

Their body gets fully extended and then they fall back.  

 

But the other problem is the total opposite.  Some beginners can not turn their longboards because they are TOO COMPRESSED.  

 

Surfer is trying to turn Left.  She is very squatted down.  Yes, here head is over her feet, but her butt is sticking way out.  Look at the toes on BOTH her feet.  She is leaning, not turning.  

 

Here she is trying to Left, but her head is over the Right rail.  She does "grab rail" to lift the outside rail and engage the inside rail to help her turn ( or maybe she was just too scared to let go her right hand ).  

 

Here going back side right.  Crouching down stance.  Even though her shoulders are inline with the deck, the deck/board is leaning away from the wave.  That is the reason why the outside rail is "catching an edge" and soon she will be flipped over on her face.  

 

Compression is good and necessary to turn your longboard.  His knees are bent, but also notice the twisting of his waist / upper torso.  

 

Compression then leads to Extension.  Action and Reaction.   

 

There is a difference between coiling up and just crouching down.  

 

Here she is not really crouching / squatted, but you can tell she is a bit scard / apprehensive in her turn.  

 

There is a time and a place for crouching down and being very squatted.  It is a useful tool to maneuver a longboard ( or any board ).   But when you squat or crouch because you are afraid or trying to stay up right, that's when it is not good.  

 

Look at the "good" surfers at your local surf break.  Do they tend to be crouch or squatted ( and are stiff ) ? 

Or do they mix compression with extension ( and are loose ) ?

 

Please check out Eason's surf photography and http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more.  

 

 

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Turning a long board part 3 "you are not ready"

Beginner:  I'm looking up and my front arm is out wide leading like you said, but I still can not turn !

 

Me:  You need to learn the three " W ". 

 

She looking left with her eyes up and out.  Her front arm leads in the intended direction she wants to go. 

 

But she doesn't turn. WHY ? 

Was her feet too close together ?

Was she standing up too tall ? 

Did she need to step further back towards the tail ?  

 

No, simply put, there is NO PLACE to turn on.  

 

I'm sure she was told by her instructor, "Once you're up and riding the wave, look Left and you'll go Left".  

 

But by the time she finally gets up, the wave is already "dead", and there is no more momentum to allow her TO turn. 

 

Those two examples is trying to turn when it's not possible because the wave has no more power left. 

 

Here the rider is set up to trim down the line.  

Notice the 4 bad habits.

#1 Back arm bracing

#2 Front hand steer with the arm locked down to the waist

#3 Both feet pointed to the rail

#4 Glue footed.  ( can you see her trying to tranfer weight by leaning on her front foot ? ) 

 

She tries to turn but just catches her outside rail.  WHY ?

She is trying to turn from the middle of the board.  You turn a surfboard ( any size with any fin configuration ) from the tail.   The board is running too flat, which leads to the next problem. 

She is trying to fit a "square peg in a round hole".   She is going into the steepest part of the wave where the curl is breaking, she should be going away from it.  

 

Again, another rider using the front foot weight bias.  She is able to press the nose down and ....

 

..... bring the nose up.  But she is doing it by swinging her HIPS front and back.  That is a sure telltale sign of the Glue Foot surf stance. 

Her hands are not really doing much. There is not much twisting of the waist.  Board stays flat.  

 

To correctly ( and more easily ) turn a long(er) board, you need to turn off the tail.  The fin(s) are at the back and that's where you need to pivot off of.  Notice by raising up the toes on her front foot, it "give" power to the back foot to push down the tail and bring up the nose.  

 

One thing you might not notice is she is turning at the right PLACE at the right TIME for the right REASON. 

That is the Where, When and Why.   The three "W"s I referred to.  

 

It a hard truth, but for most beginners, you are not ready to turn ( yet ).  Until you've mastered the basics.

#1 a good strong paddle ( I didn't say fast ) 

#2 a good pop up ( I didn't say quick ) 

#3 a good bottom turn

#4 a good trim, which is basically travelling across the wave, not going straight in the white water

 

Yes, a long board is very long, very wide, very heavy, hard to carry from the car to the water, and yes ....... more difficult to turn than a shorter board. But getting a 7'6" is going to make matters even worse.    

All the things ( effort, bumps, bruises, ego ) you need to do to learn to turn a longboard will help you later to turn a shorter board when the time comes to get one.  

 

If you are having a problem turning your longboard, check the three "W"s.  

 

Where:  Are you turning on the right place on the wave ? Are you turning from the right place on the board ?

When:  Are you thinking to turn too late after the wave is already too weak.  

Why:    What is the reason to turn ? To come back to the power of the wave ? To provide speed or make sections ?

           

Or like most beginners say " I want to turn, because it looks fun ! ".   Sorry, to say, if that is your reason, then you are not ready to turn.  

 

Please check out Hope Cheng photos, Eason's surf photography on FB and http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Turning a long board part 2 " the Non-Turn ".

Last week we talked about not being able to turn because the front arm is locked down to the hip.  

 

"So all I need to do is swing my arms wide to turn the board ?" 

 

Nope, it helps, but there's more to it. 

 

Here the rider is swinging her front arm to the right, good.

But she is not looking in the direction where she wants to go, bad. 

Also the twist is of the upper body is stopping at the waist.  

 

Here she is going right but sees the closeout and want to turn back left.  

 

She does swing her front arm to the left, but it is ineffective.   She is too upright and there is no transfer from one rail to the other.   Her arms swings, but nothing gets transferred down to the feet.  

 

Remember playing with rubberband balsa airplanes ?   If you held the body of the airplane and spun the propeller, it would wind up the rubberband.  But what if you didn't let go of the propeller, and just let go the body of the plane, what would happen ?   The twisting energy would get transferred from the propeller all the way down down down to the tail of the plane.   Same goes for the reason we swing are arms, to send the twisting energy down to the feet to twist/turn the board.  

 

Here while looking left, she swings her arm to the left.  You can see there's some twisting at the waist, but the front knee isn't "showing" left.   (  board is running flat and there's isn't any much of a wave to turn on anyways, so why turn ?  ) 

 

Here she sets up to turn down backside.  Eyes up is good.  Leading front hand is good.  

 

But when she goes to turn, she leads with her front shoulder. ( and cocks back with her left elbow ).

The turn is ineffective because she hindge at the stomach while her legs stayed relatively straight. 

But the main reason she can not turn properly is because her stance is in the middle of the board. 

 

Eyes looking right.  Front arm swinging right. Back arm coming across the front.  All look good.  

 

But she doesn't believe, looks down and "stands" up in the turn. Knees lock out.  Inside rail catches.  Back hand goes up involuntarilly. 

 

Rider wanting to go Left, so she correctly swing her front arm out wide.  ( not locked down to the hip ) 

 

But what's happening at the top doesn't translate to the bottom where the board is. 

The board going left should be turning/edging off the left rail.  

But notice the right rail is dropping and catching.   She needs to put pressure on the HEELS of her foot, not on the TOES of her foot.  

 

So the answer to turning a surfboard is not to "just swing your arms back and forth", like some instructors tell their students to do.   ( but that's better than having them doing nothing and locked down to the waist )

 

Next week we'll talk more about how to turn a surfboard in part 3. 

 

Until then please check out http://starb.on.coocan.jp/daily/daily0.html to see more.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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