Carving and Maneuvers Surfing the Soft Top Board are the predecessors to moving to shorter boards. An 8′ soft top is a very maneuverable board and for those who don’t get in the water frequently, it could be their board forever.
The value of a soft top board is it is easier to paddle than a lower volume board and catches waves easily. It is also stable on the pop up and easy to ride. One progresses from riding foam waves to riding real waves. At first the surfer just drives the pocket but then can learn to do maneuvers.
Carving and Maneuvers on the Soft Top
The first maneuver on a soft top riding a real wave is the bottom turn into the pocket. When the surfer catches the wave dropping down the face, he carves by turning his eyes, head and upper torso in the direction of the pocket and places a little pressure on his toes or heels (which ever is on the side of the turn) to turn into the pocket.
A regular footed (left foot forward) carving face side will turn right. To turn back side he turns left and places pressure on his heels. A goofy foot will do the opposite. Once in the pocket, the surfer wants to accelerate which is often called pumping. The surfer moves his front foot up and down on the nose causing the board to ride up the wave and then releases so it will slide down. A few pumps is enough to begin a maneuver or trick.
The easy tricks for a soft top are a cut back and running up the face. A cut back is reversing the direction of travel. As the surfer rides the pocket, he turns his head and upper torso down the wave and pressures his heels (regular foot running face side) to turn the board in the opposite direction. Then he can do it again to stay in the pocket. This is usually done to get back to the power of the wave or for style.
Running the board up the face of the wave is the start for other tricks. The surfer does a bottom turn while riding in the pocket and runs up the face. This may also be done to escape a falling lip about to crash on the board. At the top, the surfer could do a cut back and that would be ripping the lip as the spray from the tail plumes above the lip. This is not easy on a soft top. One could also do a 360 or an aerial but this is usually done by and advanced surfer.
The soft top can catch big waves. This gives the surfer the opportunity to increase the challenge. If the surfer can perform all these feats, he might then want a board that carves more effectively. When moving to hard boards and especially shorter boards, they become more difficult to paddle, catch waves, and ride. Move patiently shorter 6″ at a time to maintain the stoke.
Read a good book to get ready.
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