Scott Wagenblast

13 Mar 05:03

Would be curious to know the answer as well. For the wave on the right, did you hit the top turn on a slightly softer part of the wave compared to the one on the left? Looked like maybe you didn't get as much push from the wave when you started the carve and your body got a little out of sync with the board.

Reply

08 Mar 00:05

I think your technique looks pretty good. I'd suggest changing up your line a bit. For example, around the 12 sec mark on the second wave, you projected straight across the wave and initiated the turn midface. I think if you had set that up by going more nose to the beach and doing more of a bottom turn you would have stayed closer to the power source and gotten more help from the wave on the cutback like Graham suggested. This has helped me recently on my frontside turns.

Reply

04 Mar 22:22

Looks like a good place to practice. I would say try moving your feet more to the heel side of the board so that your toes aren't hanging off as much.

Posted

01 Mar 00:02

00:07

Plenty of room for improvement in technique and video quality but over all psyched about this turn.  Probably surfing a little flat, but I was happy with the line, not digging a rail and flopping straight to my back (as has happened many times), and passing the coffee toward the foam.  Work in progress but starting to feel a lot better.

1

Posted

18 Feb 06:13

Clayton Nienaber I am starting to hit my forehand carves with more consistency and I think the biggest change has been going for the turn early in the wave... take off, bottom turn, forehand carve... versus trimming down the line building speed and trying to cut back from the shoulder of the wave.

I almost always bog the rail when initiating the cutback on the flatter shoulder, but this is much less of an issue when carving more in the pocket.

Does turning in the steeper part of the wave make it less likely to bog the rail since there is less water in the way?

1

That's awesome. Nice to be able to surf regularly. Bet the video feedback will be a big help in your progression as well.

Reply

13 Feb 23:55

Looks like great progress for having just started last year. How often do you surf?

10 Feb 00:49

What kind of ramps/bowls are available at the skate park you'd be skating? Are you new to skating or just new to surfskating?

A smaller bowl with mellow transitions could be a good place to start once you get comfortable skating the board on flat ground.

When I first started skating at my local park, I would practice front and backside turns on a quarter pipe and/or a miniramp. If you have access to a bowl, the corners are a lot of fun to turn through as well.

Backside turns feel much easier and safer, and in terms of leaning and getting the board unweighted, I would suggest working on those first.

To lean and match the angle of the ramp, you'll need to carry a bit of speed in order to stick to the ramp. I'd suggest getting comfortable turning at a lower arc staying a bit more upright, and then work your way up from there by carrying more speed into the ramp and projecting up a little higher. You can increase the lean as you carry more speed and turn through the steeper part of the transition.

If you can, go to the skatepark in the morning when it's less crowded. I wear all the pads while at the park. Don't usually need them, but good to have just in case.

Check out the OMBE surfskate videos on youtube and the insiders catalog if you have access. Lot of good tips technique wise.

Reply

I like that you went right for the carve/cutback off the drop in. Thought about this as I surfed this morning.

Got a couple nice turns when I went for it early in the wave, and dug the rail when I tried after racing down the line.

What would call that first turn, a carve or cutback?

03 Feb 08:05

That looks like a great wave to practice on.

Couple things I noticed when looking at this clip compared to your land based pop ups.

1. In the water, you paused after getting your right foot planted between your hands. I'd say try to make it one continuous movement from prone to standing like you do in your land based training.

2. In your land based pop up you keep your back heel off the ground which allows you to keep your hips squared off with the front of the mat. In the water, you pivot your back heel down while standing which puts your lower body more side on. I have tight hips/ankles and I don't like the feel of having my back heel off the board. Focusing on my coffee cup arm has been a huge help with my surfing, but getting really front on just doesn't feel realistic for me. I would say try to be more consistent between what you practice on land and what you do in the water, whether it's surfing with your back heel off the board or pivoting your back heel down on land.

3. On your land based pop up clip, Clay's comment was to stand taller. If you can afford to burn a wave or two, I'd say try a couple where you do nothing but stand taller without worrying or trying to do anything else just to see how it feels.

Have fun!

Reply