Here’s what I learned during my coach Doug’s last visit:
- Dropping in frontside, front hand is just over the stringer in the direction one is going.
- Compression in the bottom turn, and push and extend to get the lift, and be light in the top turn when going down the line. A bit more compression in the top turn if doing a cutback, however.
- Positioning is even more important than board size. It’s really key to dive in 45 to the waves and then 135, especially when they are tricky to catch.
- With a mix of swells, sometimes you have to just watch the wave a bit longer before making your move.
- (best tip ever) On the frontside cutback, on a wave like middles, the gaze goes right to the bottom of the wave, behind you, into the power pocket. Before you do this, you’ve sussed out the down the line situation, and you totally lose any vision of down the line. You are focused getting to the power pocket of the wave at the bottom, right next to the whitewater. And then compress and go back up the wave vertically.
- Don’t keep the hands too close together. Spread the arms a bit, not quite 45 out, but close to that. And lose the crazy wrist bend in my front hand (don’t know why I do that)
Here’s Doug illustrating perfect technique:
I’m should have read the wave better, and gotten two turns through section, whereas I only got one turn.
Decent backside bottom turn.
