Intermediate Surfers Learn to Rip the Lip
Learn Ripping the Lip
Rip the Lip
Intermediate surfers learn to lip the rip by first learning to accelerate in the pocket and then do bottom turns into the face. One of the favorite things surfers love to practice is ripping the lip. It is a central feature of all maneuvers and competitions. It is flipping the tail of the surf board over the lip of the wave. It can be performed both going forward and reversed.
The first necessary ingredient is speed. On short boards, surfers accelerate by pushing the nose of the board up and down the wave creating an unweighting action. Coaches like surfers to accelerate just two or three times. We accelerate before and after a maneuver in the pocket.
Beginning the Technique
To begin the ride up the lip, the surfer gets in a low center of gravity position usually trailing the inside hand in the water. He performs a bottom turn by rotating his body in the direction of the turn and pressuring the inside rail with toes or heels (face side or backside). As the surfer nears the top he wants to counter rotate his upper body by first moving his head shoulders and arms toward the bottom of the wave.
Many surfers like to throw the top arm over the body to help with the motion. Joel Parkinson, champion professional, keeps both arms level in front of him and rotates smoothly from the upper torso to the feet to effect the torque. When the torque reaches the feet, it board whips toward the bottom of the wave with the fins sliding over the lip.
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Intermediate surfers learn to rip the lip but have all the basic fundamentals from good surf lessons.