Graham Marsden

Portsmouth, United Kingdom

Posted

13 Oct 21:41

Yesterday a local beach surf school which is right next to a cafe/ restaurant organised a social meeting for Surfers and paddle boarders at my nearby break.

Unfortunately conditions were virtually flat, but I got to meet a bunch of people, some of whom I'd seen whilst surfing, but not really talked to.

We started with a group warm up, then people did whatever they wanted, so a few of us got in some paddling practice up and down the beach.

Then I had a go at working on my duck diving technique, although not with much success as the board kept twisting when I couldn't get my rear foot central ☹️

Maybe next time I'll try with my knee and see if that works better.

Anyway, it was a nice get together and they hope to be doing it every couple of weeks 🤙

Coryn Daniel I'll post it right after yours... 😁

Scott Wagenblast A follow-up to this:

I've just been watching the replay of the Forehand Cutback live session and at 43'20" onwards Clay was showing someone how to lift the front arm up and out of the way (the elbow in the back pocket technique), but keeping the coffee cup arm tucked in with the back of the hand touching the face, so the elbow drives through.

I realised this is very similar to one of my favourite martial arts techniques, so next time I'm on the surf skate, I'm going to try that and see if it works 🤞

Reply

I agree with you about the wheels, but I'm not so sure about the bearings.

Here's a guide from the shop where I got the Dragon wheels from and they are literally trying to discourage people from spending lots of money on "improved" bearings.

Speaking as someone who sells stuff on a website, you don't do something like that unless you really feel strongly about the issue!

https://vandemlongboardshop.co.uk/pages/skateboard-bearings

Scott Wagenblast Interesting thoughts.

I was experimenting with reaching up with the arms, rather than pushing up with the legs which was helping somewhat, but I'll think about what you said next time I'm there.

PS I know it's the legs that do the work, however it's the timing that's the main issue at the moment.

Reply

Emily Brooks From what I've seen, it's a combination of speed and angle.

If I can get more speed, I'll be higher up the banking, but I need to get my head lower to help project the board up...

Maria Molè Fortunately it was only a split lip, no teeth or gum damage.

Hope you find some nice waves 🙂

Posted

11 Oct 08:32

Following a suggestion from John Kuras, I invested in a set of Powell Peralta 64mm Dragon Wheels.

Even though they're 93a hardness, so technically softer than the Carver 95a Park Wheels I was using, I definitely found them faster and smoother! (Apparently it's something to do with the rebound on the urethane. Whatever...)

I wanted to try them out on the bowl I usually skate in, but unfortunately the drain was blocked and it was more like a paddling pool, so, instead, I tried them on the mini-metal half pipe.

Here's some video of my attempts, both frontside and backside https://youtu.be/MeBpABRdjqg

I'm a bit out of practice (been doing more surfing!), so I still need to work on the timing of the transitions, but John K also suggested adding a bit of "lift" from the back toe which I did find made a difference and I got further up the slope than I'd gone before.

Ok, so (yes, Clay, I know!) I still need to get my head lower, but I'm planning on getting to a different park with a better bowl hopefully next week, so maybe I'll be able to work on that there.


11
1760054185029_1000008383.1760054185.jpg

Maria Molè Unfortunately it's a lot easier to read the waves when you're looking at a video and there's no pressure... 😕

I'm on the south coast of the UK, so we rarely get good waves, it's either flat or messy wind chop ☹️

Here's a pic of when I was surfing after the remnants of Hurricane Erin came through and I tried to Duck Dive a wave, but lost control of my board and caught it in my teeth! 😬

Someone else pointed out I was bleeding and I said "maybe, but there's waves to catch!" 🙃

I did get a few days at Croyde Bay in North Devon last month when it was good, but I won't be able to get back until next Easter when the campsite opens again.

PS and, yes, I talk about this side of the pond 🙂

Reply

Jason Daliessio Lie your board flat in the water and see how far above the surface the nose is.

Then get on the board and arch your back, first with your legs apart, then straight, then straight whilst pushing down with your thighs and see how the position of the nose changes.

Reply