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

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.

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?

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!

Any idea what clicked for you? Struggling with my right arm as a goofy foot.

John Kuras Yeah that's tough. The wave pool would be a nice addition to that area. The surf skating is a lot of fun and definitely helps to keep you motivated and engaged through the flat spells.

Looks good. Have you had a chance to surf since making the progress in the bowl? NJ has been almost completely flat to start the year.

Nice!

John Kuras Yeah, looks like you'd have enough space on most the attempts to clear that ledge. I think backside turns generally feel easier for the reasons you mentioned, but the coping can definitely be hard to judge. I am always surprised how much room I have when looking at my video clips.

John Kuras Does that ledge stop around that shadow line in the clip?