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If you're yet to step on a surfskate, this handbook is an ideal start to the fundamentals. You'll be taught how to shift your weight to generate forward motion without the need to push as you'd generally do on a skateboard. Additionally, you'll understand how to link seamless turns and the proper body positioning for control. These movements directly apply to surfing techniques such as "bottom turns" and "cutbacks".
Surfskating offers a method on land to hone the smooth turns, body control, and balance familiar from surfing. It involves a specially designed surf skateboard, with a front truck that pivots in a way that's entirely distinct from a standard skateboard truck. If you reside far from the sea, or when the water is calm, surfskating allows you to develop your surfing skills, strengthen your legs, and refine your timing.
Overview
Get Started Surfskating: Position and Balance
Surfskate trucks are extremely sensitive to even minor adjustments in foot positioning, offering a distinctly different experience from conventional skateboard or longboard trucks. Rather than numerous pushes with your foot, a single push initiates movement. Beyond that point, all forward movement derives from the surfskate pumping technique.
Your stance is crucial for all surfskating movements. Position your front foot just behind the front truck bolts, slightly pointing forward. Place your back foot over the rear truck, with your toes angled more to the side. Maintain bent knees, relaxed shoulders, and look in the direction you wish to move. A low, balanced posture allows for swift responses to directional changes.
Mastering the Pump for Speed on a Surfskate
Contrary to traditional skateboarding, foot-pushing isn't needed for speed. You create momentum through a rhythmic weight shift from heel to toe.
The surfskating "pumping" action involves:
- Pressing through your toes and leaning your upper body into the curve.
- Synchronising the rotation of your shoulders and hips with the board.
- Extending your legs as you exit the curve to create forward drive.
Visualise an S-shape on the ground, with each curve providing an opportunity to increase speed and prepare for the next manoeuvre.
Bottom & Top Turns
Bottom and Top Turns are fundamental surfing elements, with a surfskate providing a special method for practising them.
The Bottom Turn occurs at the wave's base, redirecting the surfer back to the wave's peak (also known as "The Lip"). The Top Turn happens near the lip, sending the surfer back down the wave.
Connecting these two turns in a continuous sequence is at the core of fluid surfing. They are essential and recur throughout a wave.
Move forward, bend your knees, and carve a deep turn to one side (Bottom Turn). Then, rise into the next curve in the opposite direction (Top Turn). Linking these turns creates a fluid pathway reminiscent of riding a real wave.
Tips for Coming to a Stop in Surfskating
When surfskating, you'll develop stopping methods tailored to the surfskate’s distinctive front truck system. If you're accustomed to halting a regular skateboard by dragging a shoe, you might find the surfskate truck reaction surprising.
Essentially, the surfskate trucks' high agility allows for effortless carving and sharp turns, but demands a different approach for deceleration.
Thankfully, stopping on a surfskate is straightforward. Here are three secure and practical ways to halt your board:
- Step Off Into a Run - At low to moderate speed, step off first with your back foot and jog forward to dissipate your momentum. Always look ahead and pick a clear landing area.
- Grass or Rough Surface Stop - If possible, guide your surfskate onto grass or a rougher terrain. The increased friction slows you down swiftly without stressing the trucks or wheels.
- Carve to Lessen Speed - Execute a series of wide, controlled turns to gradually decelerate. This method is most effective when you have space around you and won't aid in immediate stopping situations.
Regular practice of these techniques will build your confidence and ensure control over your surfskate constantly. Mastering stopping early in your surfskate adventure grants you the liberty to explore turns, pumping, and various manoeuvres without the concern of deceleration.
