Back Foot Placement

General Discussion
1

Hey everyone,

Just thought I’d fish for opinions on this issue that seems to be bothering me lately.

When trying to surf more vertically, I have been trying lately to consistently release or “snap” my tail to come back down the wave. Consistency is the key here and I feel like I get hung up many times. Unless everything comes together, I usually end up making a larger arc than intended or get stuck on the top.

I have noticed that my rear foot placement on all my boards(6’3 hybrid fish, 6’6 squash, 6’8 SW, 7’0 RP) is just over the back or just behind the rail fins. Should I be trying to get that back foot further back over the rear fin? I have tried to adjust my stance before, but it feels like it is too wide and a little awkward. Is this something I need to adjust and get used to, or should I accept my “natural” stance and think about using smaller center fins in order to release my tail on the top?

I haven’t used traction pads for awhile, but maybe that might help adjust my rear foot placement.

What do you guys think?

Mahalo,

Paul

2

I have the same problem and my friend who can break his tail all the way out on pretty consistent basis keeps telling me that you back foot has to be all the way back on the traction pad, which should be directly over the trailer fin. and a traction pad will help a lot with that kind of surfing. i have a really narrow stance myself, and it is perfect for a single fin or longboard or any retro board but for high perfomance surfing it is way to narrow. you could move your front foot say half an inch back and move your back foot a little as you surf, sliding it forward for trim and back to bust your tail out and throw a bath tubs worth of water out the back.

3

I went through a whole design process based on what you describe. If you do a forum search for the thread “surfing off the tail” you’ll get a lot of information.

I ended up designing a board I thought would surf off the tail. I even bought a tail pad ( my first and last). What I found is that if I moved my foot back to the stomp pad the board was too squirrely and lacked drive.

In the end I believe you should just surf to have fun, forget about “trying” to do manuevers and for sure don’t try to assume positions (narrow stance, wide stance, etc.) that are not natural for you. Too often I see groms out “trying” to pull big moves and they just eat it and look terrible. Sometimes they get all frustrated and come up cursing. Not my idea of fun.

My bet is if you stop looking at the surf mags and thus stop looking at photos of “pros” doing all the latest moves you will notice that the best surfers at your local break are just smooth and powerful and seem to do it without “trying”. Stop looking at the mags you may lose the urge to go vertical and instead find that a smooth swoop off the top feels better.

Just my 2 cents.

ps oops. Just noticed you are on Kauai. Maybe your local break is Tunnels or Hanalei and the local rippers like the Irons brothers. Go vert brah!

4

i my perfect world surfing is just for fun and not money (but still life) and boards grow on trees like apples and there always is a good swell and theres peace and muti-colored waves… damn i can still dream can’t i

but for really just surf to have fun thats why you started right? if you can’t have fun then whats the point of living

i would rather die as soon as i can’t surf/shape/skate/board, than live to be 99 and stuck in a wheel chair depending on other people to even let you take a crap, but then again thats just me

surf to have funny

5

I hope to live to be 99, even if in a wheelchair. I’ll just have my nose in a Surfer Mag going vert and boosting airs! Finally!

6

back foot placement or back foot weight , I wonder ?

It’s interestting [to me at least] that this thread came up now, as sandgroper and I were discussing this issue the other day as we looked at the photos Steve took during this last weekend .

There is one photo there somewhere of Ian doing what appears to be a radical backhand kick-stall . It is , however , a between manouevres set up shot of him heading off the bottom , towards the lip , feet perpendicular to the stringer , and ALL his weight on his back foot .

When I saw the next photo , he had gone over the back of the wave , as the wave passed him by .

Something I don’t always do well, either , but shoulder rotation and flexibility in the torso also help , I reckon .

Interesting that pascal [‘popeye’] and I were also talking along similar lines yesterday , and I was thinking of starting a thread [on a topic similar I guess ] , as it is a technique issue with me .

Oh , by the way , maybe it should be noted that sandgroper’s board of choice for ages has been a 6’8 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/4" pretty rockered out thruster , with a rear “stomp " / traction pad …and that my 7’er , at nearly three inches thick , 20” wide , and flat rocker , is waxed , rather than traction padded …factors that play a part when switching boards , I guess .

cheers

ben

surf to have fun , yes , I couldn’t agree more …but for me , especially when regularly switching between my boards , sometimes a change in technique enables me to surf better and make the most of the waves on hand better …and hence , have more FUN !

7

The key to the quick snap-back off the top lies in unweighting just prior to the move. As with anything else, practice makes near-perfect.

8
Quote:
The key to the quick snap-back off the top lies in unweighting just prior to the move. As with anything else, practice makes near-perfect.

exactly. your weight needs to transfer from back foot to front foot as you drive out of your bottom turn & rotate your hips to open yourself to the top-turn. kicking your fins out the back looks back foot heavy but it’s an illusion, the fulcrum of the turn is actually beneath your front foot.

…or something like that. lol. geez this stuff is hard to describe in writing. nick carrol is good at it.

9

“geez this stuff is hard to describe in writing. nick carroll is good at it.”

yes .

And Brad Gerlach and Derek Hynd and Rabbit too.

It was a Surfing Life ‘book’ [?by Nick Carroll?] that dealt with this stuff , WASN’T it ?

[thanks , Nathan …you just reminded me ! I keep telling myself "I will buy it one day "…maybe a Dymocks Christmas present this year to myself , methinks !]

cheers mate ,

  ben
10

…if you stand up forward and you want rad reentries…in the future board, change the side fins position and add a bit of rocker there , to a tail kick…

you lose a bit of intrinsic speed, but …

11

sounds to me more of a technique than design issue. it’s possible to kick the tail out on a range of shortboards from thrusters to quads & twins & even singles.

12

…oldy,

what s your opinion with an extreme tail kick in a single fin board, like 6 6 x 20´´(WP forward) x 2 3/4 and with a 7´´ fin?

cheers

13

Hey, thanks guys for all the good input. I agree that no matter what, you need to be having fun, as me and my dogs do about 4 days a week all around the island. I do find that it’s easy to get into a performance rut where you focus on your strengths and you end up surfing with the same ability for years, never getting any better. In order to progress(if you want to), I think you need to be honest about your weaknesses and then search for ways to overcome them. Not to the point of frustration, which will kill the aloha, but in order to make your session even more enjoyable. Let’s face it, the better you are as a surfer, the more fun you’re going to have!

I enjoyed surfing off the tail thread, although there was a lot of bickering about spots.

Aloha,

Paul

14
Quote:

back foot placement or back foot weight , I wonder ?

It’s interesting [to me at least] that this thread came up now, as Ian [‘sandgroper’] and I were discussing this issue the other day , as we looked at the photos Steve took during this last weekend .

There is one photo there of Ian doing what appears to be a backhand kick-stall . It is , however , a between-manouevres set up shot of him heading towards the lip , feet perpendicular to the stringer , and ALL his weight on his back foot … When I saw the next photo , he had almost gone over the back of the wave , as the wave passed him by …

…Oh , by the way , maybe it should be noted that sandgroper’s board of choice for ages has been a 6’8 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/4" pretty rockered out thruster , with a rear “stomp " / traction pad …and that my 7’er , at nearly three inches thick , 20” wide , and flat rocker , is waxed , rather than traction padded …factors that play a part when switching boards , I guess .

cheers

ben

surf to have fun , yes , I couldn’t agree more …but for me , especially when regularly switching between my boards , sometimes a change in technique enables me to surf better and make the most of the waves on hand better …and hence , have more FUN !

15

Do yourself a favour and go to www.billabongpro.com and click on the mundaka video of Taj vs Adrian Buchan. it shows in slow motion how Taj has such an incredible backhand in some small averagy lefts.

pay attention to his stance, where he holds his front and back arms, his twisting shoulders and his firewire. you’ll become a much better backhand surfer.

here’s the link

http://64.78.18.131/live/MDAKA06/video_player.asp?rVideoStream=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/aspworldtour/mdaka06/HOD/mr3vdm13.wvx

16

…as dino andino said , the “knock-kneed” back leg , too…

interesting speed generation in small waves , thanks for that link Josh !

ben

17

If you use the upper half of your body and spin around, you will get the board to snap back quicker. Try doing a top turn without rotating the upper half of your body, then try again, but throw your arms around in the direction you want to turn. You will notice that there’s a big difference in how radically you will come around.

How you use your arms and how you stand on the board will have a big effect on your surfing. Keep your legs bent, and let your arms lead you through maneuvers. Swinging your arms around will give you a lot more drive off your turns.

I don’t use tractions pads on all my boards, but I do like the ones with the little bump down the middle. I find that it helps me keep my back foot perpendicular to the stringer. I think you can turn much harder when your feet are perpendicular.