personally i enjoy surfing my backhand, and these days i actually prefer it i think. its seems to me that no-one else does tho, how come?
Good question, as a GF I pretty much had to learn to ride backside well. I think that a backhand smashing turn off the top is the biggest rush ever! Much more “backfooted” than when I go left. I have also noticed that many people these days seem to drop in on their forehand regardless of their position on the wave or which way the wave has it’s best ride potential. Frustrating…for sure!
So. Calif. goofyfoot here. Trestles, Malibu, Dume, C-St., Stables, Pitas, Rincon... Need I explain why I'm WAY more comfortable backside than front?
I think it depends on the waves you have available. Nothing is more fun than backside surfing top to bottom on a long walled up wave that bends towards you.
On the flip side, nothing is more frustrating than backside surfing a soft wave that bends away from you…even though the frontside guys are probably having a blast doing cutbacks on the same waves.
Bingo
yeww! i’m goofy aswell, i have been in j-bay the last 5 months, and i think that surfing supers on my backhand has really progressed my surfing a lot more and i have learnt a lot more, than if i was just surfing lefts all the time like i used to back home.
Thread police…sh!t thread!!! Hey billy tell us more about surfboards and less about how rad you are on your backhand.
I grew up surfing lefts… learned to surf backside. Now I live where a good left is at least an hour drive away. There’s always a few short lefts here and there, but a good, long, peeling left is hard to find.
I always felt I could get more leverage off a backside hack and hit it harder than frontside… just body mechanics… less sensitivity, but more power.
But even now… and I know this sounds old school… but one of my favorite things is to do on a small day is lay back and skim along a long, clean wall on my log… and stall it into a microtube. Beats butt dragging, hands down.
I ride mostly longboards… in bad nj summertime surf…
RIding to my forehand I generally feel more comfortable because I seem to locate myself better on the wave and can pick and choose right where I want to be.
When I go backhand I seem to lose where I am on the wave real easy, usually shooting out shoulder or riding to high on the wave and pulling out the back.
Perhaps I just need some more practice…
marsh. re-reading what what i said i get how it could have been perceived incorrectly not least to say arrogant, but thats not how i ment it, more what i ment was as more of an all round for everyone, whilst trying to use my own experiences as an example, what i’m trying to say basically is i think that anyone who surfs their backhand a lot more will progress their surfing a lot quicker, and as a result will be a much better surfer. but here at home no-one wants to surf backhand, so i’m just asking if other people are finding the same…
and Slaters switch-foot barrel is insane!
as for the surfboard and surfboard design i think a looser board makes surfing a lot easier on your backhand, maybe a board with a small winger into a rounded pin tail? do you think something like that would work?
also i have seen these boards that are like this and are non semetrical and i was wondering how they work, surely you can surf one way on them but the other way will feel different, what if any advantages does it offer?
http://surf.transworld.net/files/2010/01/asymetrical_ci_board_kelly-512x682.jpg
and this board with what looks like just one big channel in the middle, but it stops quite abruptley so would it work? if so how? i read what channel islands wrote on their blog about it, but i’m not quite sure i understand it still.
http://surf.transworld.net/files/2010/01/kelly_slater_experiments_with_chunnel-512x378.jpg
i prefer backhand surfing overall and forehand for barrel riding
I grew up surfing a nice long left, and short peaky rights. I ended up being a regular foot but I can switch. I always liked riding backside, and making those big hacking cutbacks, and top turns. After spending that last 30 years surfing rights, I seem to prefer facing the wave. So switching seems to feel better.
I do agree that when you ride a wave that is bending away from you backside, it is harder. I recently went home and had a hard time making sections on waves going backside, but making them when I switched. I also think that maybe a shorter board works better going backside, I was riding a 8’ pin tail board.