Learning Maneuvers for Surfing Shortboards comes with intermediate surfing. After the surfer has mastered catching foam waves and popping up, he will move to riding real waves. Surfers first learn to catch and drive real waves and then they want to learn how to play.
The first maneuvers for short boards are the bottom turn, the cut back and accelerating. These can be learned for riding the 8′ soft surfboards as well. The long boarder abbreviates these maneuvers and has to manipulate their board in longboard fashion.
The Bottom Turns, Cut Backs, Accelerating, and Ripping the Lip
When beginning on small green waves, the surfer catches the wave down the face and usually just runs it out in the foam. When catching bigger waves in the 3’+ category, he can learn to bottom turn into the pocket. Maneuvers begin by turning the eyes toward the direction of travel. Then the head shoulders and arms all pivot toward the turn. This brings torque down the legs to the feet. The surfer riding regular making a face side turn puts a little pressure on his toes.
It would mean that bottom turning backside would create the opposite reactions. The surfer turns his eyes to his left and then his upper torso which torques down to his feet and he places pressure on his heels. The movement for bottom turns and cut backs are similar.
In the cut back, the surfer wants to reverse his direction of travel. He turns his eyes down the face of the wave so the board will turn around toward the falling lip. The purpose of the cut back are to get back to the power of the wave, stall for maybe a barrel, and for style. The cut back is also used for ripping the lip. As the surfer rides up the face of the wave after a bottom turn, he does a cut back at the top to get back to the bottom of the wave.
Accelerating is important for speed. After the surfer bottom turns off the face of a wave, he accelerates a few times for speed before he attempts a maneuver. After performing a maneuver or trick, he accelerates again for a few times before the next maneuver. Accelerating is achieved by running the nose of the board up and down the face with the front foot.
A surfer can practice these maneuvers for a long time to continuously improve. They are the basis for all tricks and aerials. There is never an end to challenges because waves are always different and the surfer assesses what he can do on which waves and when.
Read a good book to get ready.
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