I (we all) love the style of Curren, and I’m trying to learn the rail to rail style in small waves, and also getting more rail down in my turns.
The flat rocker 5’11 beachbreak board with squash tail does’nt really seem to help, but since I’m pretty hopeless I’m not sure about the board… Would ie a 6’4 rounded pin help me surf more on my rails? Is it possible to combine a rocker and round pin for small waves?
“…His popularity remained at a fever pitch. Everyone wanted to surf like Curren…”
Can you describe the best way to generate speed on a shortboard in small waves? After watching other surfers I try pumping the board by alternately weighting and unweighting my front and back feet. Perhaps I’m doing it wrong, 'cause it doesn’t seem to have great effect. Thanks.
asked by Mark Robinson
Surfline’s resident speed demon Nick Carroll replies:
Hi Mark,
Speed generation in any surf is a result of drive – i.e., pressure exerted against the waterflow by one or more of your board’s drive surfaces. In larger surf this’ll often happen automatically, and sometimes to a fault; this is why turns “spin out” or get out of control. In smaller surf, however, drive must occur as a result of the rider taking action of some sort. That’s why you’ll see people in sloppy surf jumping up and down on their boards, flapping their arms, and god knows what other crazy hijinks. They’re trying to exert pressure.
WK believes the best speed generation technique of any surfer was demonstrated repeatedly by Tom Curren during the good ol’ Op Pro at Huntington back in the '80s. Huntington’s horrible gutter – between the outer sandbars and the inside closeout – was a torment for many surfers, who couldn’t make it across all that dead water. Curren made it over on many occasions, not by jumping up and down or even “pumping”, but by weaving and rolling subtle turns from rail to rail, a bit like a carving-style skateboard rider. This allowed him to keep consistent pressure on the fins and back rail edges, squeezing the drive out of even the least visible curves.
Try that: just rolling slight rail changing turns up and down the wave face. Use as little upper body movement as possible, instead rolling the turns out of your hips, knees and ankles. Imagine your board pressuring water against the inside fins and back third of the rail line.
Depending on your board’s bottom shape – a concave bottom will help, since it’ll pressure the water inside the concave curve – you’ll find more drive this way than in two dozen bunny hops.
Once you’re proficient in this technique, you’ll begin to find steeper spots in those little waves, and begin to work turns off them for added speed.
With a flatter board, you are going to get flatter turns, not the rails type you are looking for. If you keep the same rockers, a round pin won’t help (outlines are the least important part of a shapes design) A tail rocker with more boost closer to the tail will help for quicker, shorter turns, smaller fins will also get more rail in the water, thus the lack of need for bigger fins. You can keep the width in the tail, but you will not be able to nurse your board into the turns. A drive to the bottom and an intantanious transition from bottom to rail, this is what you need to do to achieve the desired effect
Can you describe the best way to generate speed on a shortboard in small waves? After watching other surfers I try pumping the board by alternately weighting and unweighting my front and back feet. Perhaps I’m doing it wrong, 'cause it doesn’t seem to have great effect. Thanks.
asked by Mark Robinson
Surfline’s resident speed demon Nick Carroll replies:
Quote:
WK believes the best speed generation technique of any surfer was demonstrated repeatedly by Tom Curren during the good ol’ Op Pro at Huntington back in the '80s. Huntington’s horrible gutter – between the outer sandbars and the inside closeout – was a torment for many surfers, who couldn’t make it across all that dead water. Curren made it over on many occasions, not by jumping up and down or even “pumping”, but by weaving and rolling subtle turns from rail to rail, a bit like a carving-style skateboard rider. This allowed him to keep consistent pressure on the fins and back rail edges, squeezing the drive out of even the least visible curves.
Not mentioned here is how Cheyne Horan carved him up in the first two OP pros looking just as smooth and making just as many sections. Curren won the second one, but I was on the beach and many of us thought Cheyne got ripped. Either way it was beautiful display from both surfers. Single Fin vs. Thruster and two of the sports most enigmatic personalities.
Don’t be afraid of a little V in your board. Doesn’t take much. V has fallen out of fashion in modern boards, but as we’ve gotten past the ridiculously narrow outlines, it can make a board get on the rail a lot faster. People have been so afraid of V slowing them down. What’s slow is a board that surfs too flat. Throw some concave in the V and you have a rocket.
Get a 6’3 Channel Islands Merrick Black Beauty (Curren’s design that he was riding at the time). The center vee with concaves will keep you loose, fast, and moving rail to rail. Don’t even waste time trying to have someone replicate it. Just get it if you’re serious. It is SO easy to get going rail-to-rail while maintaning speed on these, you just think it and lean and whoom- you’ve done it. Just try it.
Be careful where you tread with this one, my link to Channel Islands that alluded to the same thing had JFO throwing rocks.
Quote:
Get a 6’3 Channel Islands Merrick Black Beauty (Curren’s design that he was riding at the time). The center vee with concaves will keep you loose, fast, and moving rail to rail. Don’t even waste time trying to have someone replicate it. Just get it if you’re serious. It is SO easy to get going rail-to-rail while maintaning speed on these, you just think it and lean and whoom- you’ve done it. Just try it.
Then get a video of the Curren biography, or watch Dean Morrison on a good vid like Chords. Morrison seems closer to Curren’s style than anyone else. Just uncanny natural wave sense, placement and minimalist carving.
thanks, and sorry for the corny start, probably not gonna spend a million on a ci to start with, I’m waaaay to old to think I’m the next curren, almost 30 yr old and over-stoked. I think Curren is one of the few you can learn heaps from by just trying to copy, since his style is so clean ok? I also think deano,parko,maz quinn, machado and margo (many -o’s) has some similar techniques. Feel free to post more suggestions of videos that have a good display of carving and small wave surfing… sorry for my bad english and I hope this was’nt too corny…
Many surfers have tried to duplicate Curren’s style…Ive been a huge fan for 2 decades now.
IMHO, Curren’s surfing style comes from…
the long open faced waves he grew up on - helps to smooth out turns
use of his powerful legs - everyone always talks about his smooth style but TC was also a power surfer.
the boards he rides (this one is the least important IMHO - get the “Searching for TC” video…he rides a short flat twin fin in classic TC form)
In his heart, he was always soul-surfer first…he wasnt out to simply rip a wave apart (Kelly Slater is King there) he was also trying to flow with it.
His shoulders/arms always led the way for his cutback
His upper body always seems relaxed…arms in particular
He used his legs unlike most guys…very crouched, low to the water.
Taylor Knox has a very similar style in bottom turns but different in his top turns.
I also appreciate stylists like Parko/Morrison/Fanning. Fanning has a beautiful smooth top turn.
Trying to duplicate TC surfing style in poor or half-assed waves is futile. I know that I can smooth out my surfing much easier in good clean open faced waves…its very hard to do this in 3 foot windblown crap.
I too think Curren is a power surfer. How could he not be? His legs do all the work and he makes it look effortless. EFFORTLESS!! If he didn’t surf with power, he’d be pumping and chophopping a lot more.
The beauty of his surfing is that he looks relaxed up top but you know that his legs are positioned and flexed so as to act as a spring.
Also, let’s not sell his younger brother Joe short! He’s also amazingly smooth and very fun to watch.
Growing up I never thought much of Tom Curren because I only saw footage (or in person) of him riding crappy waves. I saw him surf in the Stubbies at Oceanside Pier, the year after Gerlach won it, and Curren was falling all over the place. I also saw him rip at the OP Pro the year before the riot. But, again, the waves were never big or powerful when I saw him live or on film.
THEN, I went to a show at the La Paloma (I forget the film) and it showed tripple overhead Sunset Beach, and Curren was turning TOP TO BOTTOM, just bashing the lip and making incredibly tight turns in the most critical places. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone surf Sunset like that, and I had seen all the old school guys before him surf there (on film). I was blown away, and from then on I knew that Tom Curren was a great surfer and great big wave rider with power.
I too think Curren is a power surfer. How could he not be? His legs do all the work and he makes it look effortless. EFFORTLESS!! If he didn’t surf with power, he’d be pumping and chophopping a lot more.
The beauty of his surfing is that he looks relaxed up top but you know that his legs are positioned and flexed so as to act as a spring.
Also, let’s not sell his younger brother Joe short! He’s also amazingly smooth and very fun to watch.
Power generated through technique. Low center of gravity, balance centered, shoulders relaxed, phenominal technique! Perhaps the most imitated surfer ever. The prototype of the modern contest surfer.
