Surflab

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Exciting Changes Ahead! 🌊We’ve restructured our footage review process to make it more beneficial for everyone. While live sessions will be on pause as we adapt to new dynamics with our two candidates, we’re thrilled to announce a fresh approach: your submissions will now be reviewed and shared here in the community!Here’s why we’re embracing this new method:✔️More Engagement: Posting reviews here encourages interaction and brings our quieter members into the conversation. Lives were limiting, as only those free at the time could participate.✔️Flexibility for Clay: With a packed schedule of retreats next year, this setup allows Clay to review submissions remotely during his downtime—ensuring faster and more consistent feedback.✔️Easier Access: Every review and takeaway will be visible to everyone, making it simpler to learn and improve without sifting through past live sessions.✔️Focused Feedback: This organized system will help you concentrate on specific areas to improve.🔔 A few reminders: • Submit one video at a time to give everyone a fair chance for feedback. • Avoid submitting distant or surf-cam footage—Clay needs clear visuals to provide effective, actionable advice.We can’t thank you enough for your support, patience, and understanding as we work through these changes together. Your willingness to adapt and grow with us means the world, and we’re so appreciative of this amazing community. 🙏P.S. I’ve added a Google sheet in the comments for tracking your submissions. If you’d like your older footage skipped, simply select “Y” in column F. This will indicate you’re uploading newer training footage. If you select “N,” Clay will proceed with reviewing your current submission. Let us know if you have any questions!

Ricardo Nembardo

in 🏄 ombe-community

September 04

00:16

Hi All, Just hoping someone could give me some pointers on what I could do to improve, feel like I’m really off balance and losing a lot of speed. Thanks in advance

Rohan

in 🏄 ombe-community

September 04

00:59

Had a lekker surf on the 1st, best way to start the Spring time and new adventures. Was planning on doing the Make a Wave challenge again, I unfortunately dont have the time right now. Just too many things going on and I have been a bit spread to thin. Anyways, here's three of the better waves of the day.

Started doing some Leo moves exercises two weeks ago and it is already making a difference. Wasn't struggling with my pop up like in the previous video... Changes the game quite a bit.

Scott Wagenblast

in 🏄 ombe-community

September 04

00:09

Graham Marsden Been focusing on getting my front arm out of the way on frontside top turns. I've read your "put your elbow in your back pocket" comment enough times that it's finally starting to carry over into the water.

I think I still need to open that shoulder sooner, but at least my arms were both pointing in the direction I wanted them to go.

John Kuras

in 🏄 ombe-community

September 03

00:36

Day 8:

Another pre work bowl session...just working on all the things, but mostly focusing on the compression extension and listening/feeling the rhythm of the transition. Also, a small 7 sec clip of me from this weekend, as a tiny spec in the ocean, trying to apply that bowl practice to what we consider a wave here in South Carolina.

Don't expect any feedback on the surfing cause unless you zoom in, which I'm not sure you can do, can't even see me and it's a Short clip on a little closeout so nothing great to see. Only included it to show that I am attempting to take my dry land practice into the ocean with me when I go.

Every day just gonna keep grinding...

in 🏄 ombe-community

September 02

00:16

Hey All! Went to the wave in Bristol last week and did a few advanced lefts - definitely happy with my progress but the start of the wave always looks a bit slow! Any tips would be great! Thank you!!

Graham Marsden

in 🏄 ombe-community

September 02

I found this on YouTube and I think it will get a few wry chuckles (and winces!) from people 🤔

5 Things Surfers Don’t Tell You About Paddling Out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYSzPF0T7S0

Michael Van Mil

in 🏄 ombe-community

September 01

00:29

Although I got improvements on my back side, still there is a lot more to improve. First time I could keep up with the wave this time and go up a bit. Think me back hand have to come more to the front. How can I go more up to 12 o’clock? Please tell me what I can do to improve more.

Graham Marsden

in 🏄 ombe-community

August 31

• Edited (Aug 31, 2025)

Excuse the length of this, but, for 21 years (yes, twenty one bl**dy years!), I've been surfing and, in all that time, getting to my feet has been an issue.

I could kneel on my back leg and stand up, I recently worked out how to push up on the front knee, get my back foot under me, step the front foot through and stand up and, of course, I can do a completely ungainly "scramble to my feet and hope I can keep my balance and not fall off...!" 😕

But, in all that time, I've only ever done multi-stage moves and, despite watching lots of videos and practising different techniques etc, I've never been able to do that smooth, single movement onto my feet and up.

Recently, following my surfing holiday at Croyde where (once again) my back started acting up during sessions, I've been doing more back raises, pikes and knee-to-chest tucks on my Swiss Ball etc to try to get a bit more strength in my back and core.

Also, during the recent session at Bracklesham, I kept missing waves when trying to do the "front knee, back foot" walk up, because I ended up pushing down on the back of the board too much, so it was making the nose pitch up meaning I couldn't get the front foot through and the board would stall.

So I was watching one of the old Zoom Lives today (and fell asleep half way through!) but when I woke up, I was thinking about the Bracklesham session again and wondering how I could get more forward to keep the nose down as I walked up, to let me get my foot through and stop me losing the wave.

I experimented with a few things, then tried just pushing up on my toes and lifting my hips, when something like this happened:

https://youtu.be/MdRlbwrM8FA

Ok, that's actually after already having done a few tries, but somehow I finally found out that I could actually Walk Up as a Pop Up, getting the back foot to land first, followed by the front, and get upright!!! 👍

It's not perfect in the video (I know my head is moving around too much and drops at one point instead of staying looking up and forward) but I was concentrating more on just getting the basic feel of the technique and I'll work on the details later.

I don't know why I've never been able to get that before and I'm only currently doing it off my toes as I can't yet do it from my knees as if I was on a short board, but, hell, after 21 years, I'll take any win I can get!

So, take it from me, if you think you can't do something, just keep doing what you can and, one day, you might just surprise yourself! 🤙

Patrick McMahon

in 🏄 ombe-community

August 30

00:22

Need more twist in my life, right? I’m fully platued, help.. haha

Graham Marsden

in 🏄 ombe-community

August 27

The remains of Hurricane Erin were throwing some big swells towards the UK today, which looked promising.

Unfortunately it was also sending 20mph+ winds across too, meaning the big swells were turning into blown-out, close-out mush :(

But I decided to go down to Bracklesham to get back on the Ombe Ambassador 6'11 board that Clay shaped for me a year or three ago and which I hadn't ridden for a while.

Firstly, in a fit of enthusiasm when I got there, I decided to try to get out the back, but the conditions were just hectic for me, however I did manage to (sort of) achieve a few duck dives (Yay!) but...

... Important technique note: If you lose control of the board in a duck dive, it's a really good idea not to try to catch it in your teeth!

Ouch :(

One slightly split lip (but no damaged teeth later), I decided to stay on the inside in the foam.

I was hoping that my recent experience with doing a short-board walk-up on my 8'2 Torq would help, except I was having great difficulties even catching anything.

Despite my best attempts to do the Oreo technique, so often either I was too far back so the wave just didn't push me, or I was too far forward and nose-diving.

Even when I did catch something, I wasn't managing the walk-up because as I was pushing down with my front knee, the nose of the board would pitch up, causing me to either lose the wave or not be able to get the front foot through.

I did catch a few eventually and was actually in the right position for the webcam, so I could do a video I've wanted to do for a while.

Ok, the walk up wasn't great on this one either, but I was getting stacked on the front foot and being a lot more relaxed and stable.

https://youtu.be/hZbAJzT-RXk

So it wasn't a great day, but at least there were some positive benefits from it.

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