How to Stand Up Paddle Surf

The Best of the Best How-to-SUP Stuff from Around the Globe — Just Add Water & Go!

More cross stepping

Couple of tips. On smaller, peaky waves try, both on your forehand and backhand, paddling into the break, then rotate into a quick top turn from the back of the board. As the board comes around start walking immediately (no matter how poor your cross stepping is, you will find you can take at least two, maybe three steps) This will set you up in the high line (in the fast section) then step or shuffle up front using your knees to push the nose down and steer.
If the waves are faster, take off sideways, as deep as you can, away from the break, stay high and start running up front as soon as you stand up. The secret is the quick movement during or immediately after the turn.
On bigger waves let your board run all the way down the face, then using your head, shoulders and arms, rotate into a hard bottom turn generating thrust both out and up the face. As the board comes up the face, set the outside rail deep (and slightly down angle) into the shoulder by a hard downweight squat or do a ‘Stanley’ stomp. This will set you up for a quick cover up or a cheater five through the section.
When the wave mushes out on you, try cutting back while pushing down on the tail with your back foot, then lift your front foot off the board, forcing a quick stall. Keep the board hanging up there (you can even do the twist) until the wave picks up, then quickly run up front. Last trick, make a conscious effort to lift your feet when stepping.

Nose riding How To??? - Harbour Surf Talk - All - Harbour Surfboards - Message Board - Yuku

More Cross Stepping Goodness!

 Just another one. Not from me.  See link.

ever see ice skaters at a stand still in the middle of the rink . their feet are at 90 degrees . that so each foot can counter the slide . for nose riding you have to be able to push-pull front to back and side to side . so for practice , front foot at 12 o’clock and back foot at 3 o’clock . butt up the heel of your front foot into the arch of your back foot forming a slight "L" .

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in the same alignment , lift up your back foot and place it in front of your front foot’s toes forming a "T" . practice walking that way L T L T L T forward . then walk backwards L T L T L ( walking back is more important than forward ). always touching foot to foot . hard isnt it ? after you can do it tight , later walking more open will be much easier . experiment walking stiff leg , knees super bent , etc. try it , and let me know how it goes . then we can move to the next practice .

that’s a good land practice , just like golfers swinging their arms at the bus stop . in the ocean , try this . near the beach in like knee high water with a sandy bottom , stand on your board and find your balance in a sort of surf stance ( can be more narrow ). before you take a step , lean back with your head or shoulders , then initiate the step . take 1 step forward , then place it back . later 2 steps , 2 steps back . all the while keep your gaze on something far away like a boat or building . practice that little STALL , its the secret to noseriding .

Surfing San Diego Forums: Cross-stepping: tips?

Another cross-stepping tutorial!

I found this on trails.com.  Pretty good!

Learning to cross step on a long board can be very tricky and takes a lot of practice until you figure out how your body needs to be positioned. The cross step is an elegant movement that keeps the board trim and steady. If you hope to hang five or even hang ten, you have to know how to cross step.

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Position Surfboard on Wave

When you begin to cross step, you will want to position the board so that it is in the upper third of the wave. The board should be aimed at roughly a 45 degree angle away from the wave. You want to start the cross step while the board is still high, before the wave begins to close out.

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Cross Stepping on an Inflatable!

Want to see someone who *really* knows how to cross step on a SUP, then check out this video of Tim Mellors of Custard Point Surfboards in the U.K.  Wowza, can he ride or what?  Notice how small the steps are he takes, how delicately he puts his feet down, and how when he walks his shoulders don’t bob up and down.  Great stuff.  BTW, in this vid, he’s riding one of his company’s new line of inflatable stand up boards.  Beautiful!

How to Cross Step, by the Indo Guy

This is probably the best and most useful introduction to cross stepping that I’ve come across. It’s written by Hunter Joslin, who makes the Indo balance board. ( See: indoboard.com) Read it once, read it twice, then go out and practice.

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Do it on a 2×4 or a 4×4, as well as on your SUP. Here’s how it goes, as written by Hunter J.:

The true essence of longboard surfing is discovered through mastering the style and flow of cross stepping. No one has ever said “Wow! Did you see that nice shuffle to the nose?” “Cross stepping defines the difference between ugly and beautiful…” says Joel Tudor when asked about the state of the art of longboarding. Joel goes further in pointing out the real difference between shortboards and longboards is that we can walk on our boards.

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Cross Stepping to the Nose

This isn’t a SUP video per se but if you’re interested in cross stepping to the nose, this is a good one to study. These guys know how to do it. Very cool.