angled take off vs bottom turn

[bakers]

hey im surfing a 7'10 minimal at aberavon (beach brake) usualy at 2-4foot braking wave.
im catching unbroken waves providing luck is on my side and im in the right place at the right time. im struggling with positioning in the lineup. am i correct in saying that when im about to catch a wave it is seconds before it peaks up and curls over to brake. i often find myself on top of the wave up high getting throwen forwards in front of it, this isnt to bad on the smaller days but on the bigger days it feels like im doing something majorly wrong. however when i do get up without getting shafted i try to execute a bottom turn and all the wave brakes around me on both sides. should bottom turns be left for the bigger days and angled take offs for the smaller days? or a mix of both.

[ATTMFKH]

Like this .......

[bakers]

haha epic picture!! and ye thats pretty much what happens!

[surfnoob]

Depends on the wave - if they are dumping and there is no peak to speak of then it going to be a short ride whichever way you go.

[Jim Birtwisle]

Ideally you need to try and 'catch' the wave as early as possible, this should be easier with a mini mal. Try and work on paddle strength as much as possible when out the water including some exercises where you work on more explosive bursts of power. The earlier you get into the wave the more time you have to assess what kind of line is best. Each wave is different, at least slightly and it just takes time to learn to read what it might do. The more you work on your paddle strength the earlier you will start 'planing' along with the wave and the more time you will have to look in the direction you want to go and assess a) whether it is worth taking (ie not closing out 10 yards down the line) and b) whether you will need to take off more straight, for example on a fatter wave or more angled on a steeper wave. Don't stress to much about the bottom turn at this point, it depends on what the wave is like as to how aggresively you can go into and out of the bottom. The important thing is to get in as early as possible and stay as close to the breaking shoulder early on in order to pick up the speed. Before committing to a wave make sure you have a little look over your shoulder away from where you intend to go to make sure you're in a good position then just paddle like stink, get the nose lower than the tail of the board and keep your eyes glued on where you want to go. Oh and have fun!

[bakers]

hey cheers guys for the input, what kind of explosive exercies work good for surfing? curls and the such? went in for a dip yesterday and had quite a good session, exiting the water was quite the opposite though, ended up taking a good drilling on the rocks cracking the board all the way round, just dropped her off for repair n wont be ready to pick up for a week. gona have a week of exercising to make up for the down time

[pootle]

I got this book for xmas http://store.magicseaweed.com/The-Complete-Guide-to-Surf-Fitness-Book/Item/8229/

Not a bad buy and it has given me some good ideas for workouts and training that should help, but loads of ideas for different exercises that will be positive. That said none of it is rocket science - if you think about what movements you are doing while you are surfing and look at exercises that are similar.

For example for explosive paddle power (what you are keen to work on) you can swim - front crawl obviously! If you do a session in the pool, warm up with some good steady swimming for 10-15 mins, then you can up it a gear and do some bursts. Try swimming a length absolutely flat out, the cruise again for a few lengths, then do the same again and so on. There's loads of different intervals and ways of doing it, so just come up with something sensible that gives you a reasonable recovery before blasting another a fast length. If you are really keen you can get one of those dog bone shaped floats, you can do your bursts with the float held between your ankles.

Swimming isn't perfect as your body position isn't quite the same and you don't have a board to avoid with your strokes, but if you can't get out it's better than nothing.

anothere good explosive exercise is clap push ups - this will probably do more for your pop ups, but it will also give your arms and shoulders a good plyometric work out....

[Jim Birtwisle]

Ouch, well I guess it's all part of the learning curve. Personally I wouldn't bother too much with crunches, these will help to an extent but for your good core strength try bar bell roll outs. These are brutal at first so try them on knees to begin with. I like to do 'clapping' press ups. Try doing 20 normal then say 5 where you push right off the ground. As you get stronger increase the number you do where you leave the floor. I'm no personal trainer or anything but I found this worked for me. Some kettle ball workouts would also be beneficial I think but overall you want to make sure your core is strong andbalanced, rather than looking to just put on heaps of muscle. There is, however no substitute for just being out on the water and actually surfing.

[ATTMFKH]

. If you are really keen you can get one of those dog bone shaped floats, you can do your bursts with the float held between your ankles.
....

it goes between your thighs , between your ankles make you swim 'a bit special' ............ if you're hardcore, just cross you legs

[Locals_only]

I prefer to keep my moment by using an angled take off instead of doing the bottom turn'

However though as stated above, every wave is different, and it all depends

Surfing is all about operating in the present

[bakers]

ive orderd that fitness book, give me something to help pass the time in work.
tried doing some push ups last night, not gona lie i struggled to get to 20, dangerously unfit.
gona hit the swimming baths this week n do it like a man with crossed legs.
bit annoying i cant watch any surfing videos on youtube or any site like that as my laptops completly funked, guessing all that porn didnt do it any favours.

[Jim Birtwisle]

ive orderd that fitness book, give me something to help pass the time in work.
tried doing some push ups last night, not gona lie i struggled to get to 20, dangerously unfit.
gona hit the swimming baths this week n do it like a man with crossed legs..

It will get easier. Just make sure that if you're body is feeling the strain the next day you give it a rest for a day or so before going back for more. I only used to be able to do about 3 hand clap push ups after my first 20, now I do 3 or 4 bursts of 25 with a 3-4 minute rest in between so you just have to build up to it. As mentioned above these are good for your pop up, perhaps more so than paddle strength but the two go hand in hand when catching waves so well worth it. It's not just an early paddle in that will help you decide how to take the early section of a wave but getting to your feet without thinking about it also does wonders.

[pootle]

. If you are really keen you can get one of those dog bone shaped floats, you can do your bursts with the float held between your ankles.
....

it goes between your thighs , between your ankles make you swim 'a bit special' ............ if you're hardcore, just cross you legs

Ahh lol - yeah thinking about it, makes more sense that way. I've never used one of these floats before, but I have tried the crossing legs method a few times, but after less than half a length my legs end up dragging down a bit too much and I give in and kick a little to keep them floating (i.e. cheating!!)

[ATTMFKH]

Get one of these

place between thighs & start swimming front crawl - allows you to isolate the legs, concentrate on your stroke & breathing, and only work the upper body ........

[Leven]

What are they called? (Other than float!). I've wanted one for ages, and never known what to google....

[SST]

It's called a pull buoy

[Chris F]

Make sure you spell buoy properly, or else you might end up on some very dodgy sites!

[slappywagish]

paddle and catch it early on a minimal, if it gets hollow you'll be in a bit of bother with that board. try a rail grab to pull it in and get a shot at a nice clean ride