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Great Noseriding Tutorial!

Posted on | May 25, 2009 |

This was written by a prone surfer but the total massive excellence of its advice is also applicable to SUP.  Read it, do it!

Observe any talented tipster; past or present, from contemporary to old school, they all do it. They all understand the value of setting the tail and walking smoothly up to and back from the nose. Fact is, when you see someone pulling solid, stable, gravity defying nose rides; you’re witnessing a surfer who understands the physics of setting the tail and walking smoothly to the tip. I planned to reel off a few names here, but there are just so many, both famous and anonymous. Point is, at your local break, you already know who to watch. The real trick is, to know what you’re watching.


Setting the Tail
The physics: a belt of water flows around the inside rail, across the deck and tail locking your board in place. Tail set, the horizon of possibility broadens considerably.
Here’s just a few of the infinite ways to achieve this:

The stall.
A gentle pivot off the bottom, resisting the urge to drive hard.
Trimming in under the lip of a steep section, as you approach from a fatter section behind.

Timing varies with any method you choose; but there is one general rule to note here.
Set the tail for your nose ride as the wave becomes steeper and quicker.
Now that’s a major issue when learning to nose ride. Because the old grey matter is screaming just the opposite. However, slow and easy translates as, no water flowing across the tail, lack of stability and therefore a tail slide or nose dive.

Walking
Nothing but cross step will cut it; Why?
Because it’s highly functional, it maintains trim, glide, positioning and ultimately, control; and if you’re really lucky you get to look cool and groovy too.

Picture this? You spot a sweet section. In your mind’s eye you see Tudor casually strolling up to hit it right in the cranky bit.
Yet reality is cruel, you stall, and shuffle clumsily up towards the beak. What happens? The shuffling motion breaks your tail free causing an uncontrollable tail slide or nose dive, all is lost.
Sound familiar? Ok let’s hit rewind.
Stalling, you set the tail and casually cross step your back foot forward. Even pressure is maintained, weight is smoothly transferred from one position to the next. Trim maintained, tail is set, all is well. Encouraged by the sense of stability, you take the next step in confidence; the nose is now within easy reach. Two more steps and hey presto, a new headline, “weekend warrior defies gravity on the tip”.

Stepping up:
Label your front foot (a) and back foot (b) Practice at home to start; sure the family will think you’ve finally lost it. But hey, they always new longboarders were weird, so now they’ve got proof.

Lean your weight forward over (a)

Comfortably balanced over (a), step (b) Forward in front of (a). You now have your legs crossed yet your body weight is still mainly over (a).

Transfer your weight onto (b), releasing the pressure on (a) and step (a) forward into its new position.

Maintain an even pressure on your board, ensuring trim is held and most importantly, that your tail is not broken free. However, before you start running the beak with new found confidence, understand this ; there’s no point going forward, if you can’t find your way back.
To teach yourself to walk the board properly, it’s vital you know how to go backwards as well. The problem is that getting back is considerably more difficult than coming forward. This results in many a longboarder focusing only on stepping up, leaving the way back, to an awkward and often uncontrollable shuffle or jump. It’s a bad habit, that’s hard to break once learnt.

If you want your surfing to progress, learn to step back at the same time that you practice coming forward. Much more will be revealed to you, than should you choose to neglect this vital part of your surfing.
Stepping back:

Lean slightly forward over (a) yet increase weight and pressure on (b).

With pressure increased on (b), step (a) back. You now have your legs crossed yet your body weight is still mainly over (b).

Transfer your weight onto (A), releasing the pressure on (b) then step (b) back into its new position.
Vital tip: to avoid coming unceremoniously unstuck, lean your weight forward just a little when stepping back.

Whether coming back from the nose to change your line, sling shot a cutback or to avoid a fool paddling through the lineup, the end result is the same. You want to maintain trim, speed, balance and ultimately control. So take your time, don’t race straight for the nose, aim for two steps forward and then two back. Practice until it feels natural, It matters not what others think, what matters is that you learn control while maintaining trim, rail and tail settings. Because when you do hit the beak with all set in place it’s worth it on a level that must be experienced to be appreciated.

As always, remember for both the safety of yourself and others, when you’re teaching yourself something new, practice away from the crew.

Have fun and stay in trim.
Ben Bennink   

LONGBOARD CLINIC ~ your guide to the glide ~

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Comments

One Response to “Great Noseriding Tutorial!”

  1. John Martin
    October 2nd, 2009 @ 3:04 pm

    Ben,
    Thanks a million for your tips on setting the tail for nose riding , practise at home, etc. (I found it while reading up on SUP) I’ve been watching great nosr riders in Santa Cruz for a long time and not understanding what I was seeing.
    I’ll be out today working on control first and technique later. PS I lost control years ago and spun a heavy board out, banging a friend in the head. I know now that you need a twenty foot circle to turn loose a 12 foot board on a leash.
    Thnaks Again,
    John

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