World champ Mick Fanning talks about going fast in this sweet Surfline vid.
His main points:
1. Stay high on the wave at first then push down on your front foot to drop down the face.
2. Don’t spend too much time “wiggling” at the bottom or middle of the wave. Ideally you want to be zooming up and down using the whole face.
3. Crouch low then stand tall to create that nice gliding weave along the wave.
Even if you’re land-locked or your local break sucks you can still progress your surfing.
Share the cost of a crappy boat with some mates and go scurfing (wake surfing).
Zac and I went halves on Cool Runnings for a mere $250 each. Check out the pic it was a pimp ride!
You can learn many aspects of surfing while getting towed behind a boat. Especially bottom turns, carving, snaps and airs.
Wakeboarding is also rad and teaches skills like edge control and board feel.
It’s crucial that you get a boat with an inboard motor so you don’t mince yourself.
If you just want to get towed behind the boat on your surfboard you can probably get away with a 40 horsepower engine.
If you’re keen to surf the wake (without a tow rope) and do some wake boarding you’ll need at least 70 horsepower.
Use ballast to get a better/ bigger wake. It’s best to use a specially designed “Fat Sac” that you fill with water from a pump.
You can also experiment with where the passengers sit and see how that affects your wake.
How to Stand Up on a Wakesurf Board:
1. Wax your board up hard.
2. Wear a lifejacket. Apart from the obvious less-chance-of-dieing thing, the flotation will make it easier to pop up.
3. Lie in the water with your feet facing the boat and the board perpendicular to the way the boat is pointing, like you would if you were getting up on a wakeboard. Draw your knees up close to your chest. Have your feet sitting on the board.
4. Hold the handle tight with one hand. Hold the board against your feet with your other hand by grabbing the top rail.
5. Ask the driver to put the boat into its lowest gear so it moves slowly. Make sure the base of the board is pointing towards the boat.
6. The slow momentum should press the board to your feet so you can let go of the rail and grab the handle with both hands.
7. Tell the driver to accelerate hard. Now push your back foot down on the board. Simultaneously stand up on your back foot as you swing the front foot around so your board is pointing forward.
Surf’s up brah!
Photo: Acody
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The more confident you are, the better you’ll surf.
Confidence is a state of mind. You can manipulate it to your advantage.
Start by thinking back to the best wave you’ve ever caught at your local.
How big was it? How did it feel? How did you shred the crap out of it?
What sounds did you hear? What colours did you see? What could you smell?
Now put together an imaginary movie of you ruling that wave. Make it detailed.
Play the little movie in your head every time before you go surf this break.
Then say to yourself: “This is my favourite break. Every time I surf here I shred it like a mo fo!”
Make an imaginary movie of the best wave you’ve caught at each of the breaks you surf to boost your confidence and get “in the zone” as you enter the water.
This works. Try it.
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Here’s how you can learn that new trick you’ve been dieing to get dialled.
Slap on a DVD of your favourite pro shredder (they should have the same stance as you e.g. regular or goofy).
Fast forward to where they bang out the trick you want to learn.
Put it on slow motion.
Now stand up and get in your surf stance (you may feel like a knob doing this so feel free to close the curtains).
Keep a close eye on what the pro is doing and imitate their movement.
Watch the trick several times, each time focusing on a different aspect.
1. Stance.
At what points are they getting low with bent knees?
When do they extend their legs and stand up?
Are they relaxed or tense?
2. Upper Body.
Do they lead certain parts of the trick by swinging their arms and shoulders?
3. Speed.
How fast are the going and how do they generate speed?
4. Eyes.
When do they look up at the lip and when are they staring down line to set up for the next trick?
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The more you do this, the more natural it will be for your body to replicate this trick in the water.
Now go hit the waves. Don’t forget your tool belt ‘cos you’ll be throwing hammers all day…
Sucking at paddling just plain sucks.
Power is important; but you’ll have to pay attention to technique if you really wanna paddle better than your mates.
More Glide.
After reading Total Immersion (a killer book on swimming) I realised that it wasn’t necessarily the strongest swimmers that were the best. The smoothest swimmers are the ones ruling it. Same goes for paddling your surfboard.
The important point here is to focus on gliding through the water and minimising drag.
In Richard Schmidt’s Learn To Surf article, he recommends taking fluid, relaxed strokes.
He also says we should minimise unnecessary body movements.
Stopping my hips rocking has had a sweet improvement on my speed, increasing it by around 10%. I also noticed I was reaching too far and the shoulder twist was increasing the rocking. I’d recommend you reach out nice and long but don’t over-extend and cause your stick to rock.
Positioning on the Board.
Positioning on the board is also key for gliding: Too far forward or too far back and you’ll slow right down. If you’re centred on your board and it’s lying flat it will glide faster. Lie your board flat in the water without you on it to find out how it sits best.
When you’re paddling, glance down at the nose as a guide for your positioning on the board. Try to keep the tip just an inch or three above the water (depending on your board size). Keep tweaking your body position back and forward till you find what Wanna Surf calls your sweet spot.
I’ve found my sweet spot is basically going as far forward on the board as possible without nose diving on take off.
Align yourself to the stringer (if you have one). Feet together-ish.
Plunge Arms Deep.
Let your hand enter the water smoothly. Plunge arms to the elbow, then pull down and back (this is the only time your arm should be tensed) then relax as your arm exits the water and glides forward again, just over the top of the water without touching it.
Make sure you don’t plunge so deep that your arms twist back in underneath the board. They should stay parallel to your stringer for the full stroke.
Turbo Boost.
For a final burst to get that wave, I give a few quick kicks.
I also like to hit the NOS button sometimes and throw in two butterfly strokes at the last minute for that extra speed to start steaming down the face.
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Click here to check out the Total Immersion book so you can learn how to paddle faster than your mates.
Photo: Phoam
