GOS PRO WAVES - FRONTSIDE BOTTOM TURN and OFF THE LIP

GOS PRO WAVES

But, apart from having fun watching some good surfing, how can we improve Our Surfing by watching pros? GOS knows how: we’ll teach you the best possible way to study pros surfing technique and analyze their surfing or yours. The best way to improve your surfing skills is to watch your surfing, understand what you’re doing wrong and learn from your mistakes! You can send us your videos and we’ll analyze them together! We’ll explore your strengths and weaknesses together, but we’ll also teach you how to analyze and learn by watching the pros – or you  – surfing… have fun with GOS and don’t forget to check out our GOS website for more pro waves!!!!       

Trick tips: FRONTSIDE BOTTOM TURN AND OFF THE LIP

Today we’re going to try to analyze some basic surfing maneuvers together.  We’re going to learn with the pros! We’ll watch a video, Mick Fanning versus Dane Reynolds (you can view the whole video on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42yAIWPNCfU), and we’ll try to explain the maneuvers Mick Fanning executes step by step.  Watch the video first, then read our comments while watching it again, pause it to really understand every move he makes. What we want to do is explain every single move he makes, and provide you with the exact timing, so you can easily check it out and learn how to improve your surfing skills! To achieve the best possible results, we suggest you watch the video, read our comments, and try to really understand what we’re telling you. Then  sit comfortably on a chair, close your eyes and picture it in your mind, try to repeat these moves in your mind and the next time you go surfing, try to concentrate on what you learned with GOS and do exactly what you did in your mind. One more thing: just enjoy your surfing!  

We’ll start with the frontside BOTTOM TURN and OFF THE LIP. 

The BOTTOM TURN involves riding to the bottom of the wave and curving; it’s the most important maneuver in surfing because it allows you to gain speed at the bottom of the wave to ride back up the face of the wave and hit the lip. 

The OFF THE LIP is a great maneuver which involves riding vertically up the face of the wave, hitting the lip, turning and releasing your fins, then re-entering. 

 
(0:30) when Mick Fanning takes off, he rides down to the bottom of the wave, leans forward toward the nose of the board and keeps his knees bent;  

(0:31) his right hand is almost touching the water, as if to use it as a pivot to hang on to and he’s looking at the section he wants to hit;  

(0:32) at this point his body is leaning forward on the inside rail of the board, knees still bent, he’s ready to extend his legs; he’s pushing down on his toes to tilt the board onto the rail;

(0:33) his right leg is pushing on the tail – explosive power – he’s rotating his left shoulder and arm towards right, he’s extending his legs and releasing power, his torso is still leaning forward toward the nose of the board while his head is turned toward the lip, as he’s looking at the section he wants to hit ; his board is not tilted on its rail but is now flat on the face of the wave as he’s starting to head upwards;

(0:34) his front foot helps the board go upwards vertically while he turns his head back down and he’s now looking at the bottom of the wave - always look to where you want to go and anticipate your next move -  he keeps his left arm down and raises his right arm to facilitate torso rotation later on; his knees are bent for balance - a low center of gravity provides better balance;

(0:35) the board comes over the lip, his torso and legs are totally bent forward on the board and the power is once again released on his back foot, on the tail of the board; the board turns, its nose is facing the bottom of the wave;  

(0:36) now he’s extending his legs again and pushing on the board to descend;

(0:37) he leans forward again, toward the nose of the board, he’s looking at the lip, ready to hit it again.

Now that we’ve watched and analyzed this video together step-by-step, we can say that the BOTTOM TURN is the most important maneuver in surfing and that it’s essential for any other maneuver.

If you want to get more RADICAL in your surfing, you have to learn to turn at the bottom of the wave.  

Green Ocean Surfing

The first totally free interactive online surfing course

www.greenoceansurfing.com

Glossary of surfing

Glossary of surfing

A

Aerial: A trick where the board takes off from the lip of a wave and after traveling lands back on the face of the wave and continuing…

A-Frame: When a wave breaks and creates an A effect with both a right and left wave breaking at the same time.

Aloha: In the Hawaiian language it means affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. It also has come to be used as an English greeting to say hello, also used by surfers.

A.S.P.: ASP stands for Association of Professional Surfing, established in 1982.

B

Back side: Refers to the position in which you are facing the wave. Surfing backside means that the posterior portion of your body is facing the wave face.

Beach break:  Waves breaking on a sand bottom beach.

Beach Boys: A popular American rock band (formed by Brian Wilson) from Southern California, reflecting a youth surfing culture and who promoted surfing worldwide.

Backdoor:  Name of the right breaking wave at Pipeline, on the North Shore of Oahu, HAWAII; basically it’s the reference for all the right waves in the world and it’s called “backdoor” because you enter the TUBE from the back, i.e. from behind the peak.

Baja: Mexican surf spot that is very popular among southern Californian surfers and others.  

Biarritz: French town on the Atlantic Ocean, where many Italian and European surfers go during their summer holidays.  

Big Wednesday: A cult movie (1978) directed by John Milius, that made surfing popular worldwide.  

Body Board: A short, soft foam board used for bodyboarding. It’s ideal for all ages, and it’s great fun.

Bottom: The bottom part of a surfboard, the bottom part of a wave.  

C

Channel: A trench between sand banks or reefs. Often associated with a strong current. Channels are also the design feature of a surfboard to guide water along its underside.

Cheyne Horan: An Australian pro surfer, a legend, who won second place at the ASP in 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982.  

Classic: Perfect surfing conditions.

Close out: When a wave does not break in any direction but just breaks all at once and doesn't allow for anywhere to surf.

Coral reef: A mound or ridge of living coral and other organisms that create the peeling effect on such waves.

Carroll Tom: An Australian surfer, two times world champion, who was popular in the ‘80s for his surfing skills and for riding big Hawaiian waves, especially Pipeline.  

Curren Tom: A Californian surfer, 3 times world title holder. He’s still considered one of the best surfers in the history of surfing.

Cut back: An S maneuver to turn back into the breaking portion of the wave to gain speed for other maneuvers.

D

Delaminations: They are basically an air bubble or soft spot that appears under the board's surface. They are usually caused by a small hold in the outer glass that allows water to seep into the blank underneath. Can spell doom for the board if left untreated. 

Deep inside: Riding deep inside tubes.

Deck: Top part of a surfboard.

Drop in: Dropping in is a crime in the surf world. A drop-in is where a surfer catches a wave without having priority, i.e. there is already a surfer on the wave.

Duke dive: A method for getting through a broken or large wave without being washed towards the shore. Basically, pushing the surfboard and one's body under the wave, like ducks do when they dive. 

E

Endless Summer: A movie directed by Bruce Brown (1964), in which two California surfers follow summer around the world, looking for perfect waves. 

F

Fin: Fins are found at the bottom of a surfboard to make it stable. 

Flat: When there are no waves whatsoever.

Floater: Modern frontside or backside maneuver that involves "floating" over the broken part of a wave and re-entering the more ridable crest.

Freeth George: An Irish - Hawaiian surfer (1883 - 1919) who is often credited as being the father of modern surfing.  

Frontside: Surfing 'frontside' means that the anterior portion of your body is facing the wave face.

G

Glass: Glassing is the process of pulling fiberglass cloth over a surfboard.

Glassy: A very favorable, windless surf condition in which the texture of the ocean surface is ultra-smooth, like glass.

Gnarly: Heavy, intense waves or situations.

Goofy foot: When a surfer rides with their right foot forward.

Grab rail: When a surfer grabs the outside portion of the surfboard rail while performing a maneuver or commonly seen while surfing backside in a barrel.

Green room: The inside of a tube.

Grommet: Young surfer. Sometimes shortened to “grom”. Can also refer to children in general, not just those who surf.

Gun: A long narrow board designed for surfing big waves.

H

Hang five: A longboarding trick in which the toes of one foot are curled around the nose of the surfboard.

Hang loose: A Hawaiian term; "Hang Loose” or "Shocka" is used as a non verbal expression or greeting to tell the recipient that everything will be OK, Relax. 

Hang ten: An advanced longboarding trick in which the toes of both feet are curled around nose of the surfboard.

Haole: Hawaiian term whose original meaning was "foreigner".

Hawaii: It’s basically surf heaven. The Hawaiian Islands (Hawaiian: Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands: Oahu , Maui , Kauai ,Big Island, Molokai, Lanai. Captain James Cook visited the islands in 1778 and named them the "Sandwich Islands"; in 1959 they became the 50^th state of the United States of America.

Head high: A term used to describe wave size. Roughly 6-8 feet.

Heat: During a surf competition two or more surfers compete in each “heat”.

Hossegor: A French town north of Biarritz; one of the best beach breaks in the world, it has legendary, perfect tubes. Many surf brands, such as Rip Curl and Billabong Europe are headquartered in Hossegor. 

I

Impact zone: The zone in the surfing lineup where the set waves break and make it difficult to paddle. This isn't the best place to hang out!

Inside: The inside section to where waves are breaking, this is closest to the beach with surfable waves.

I.S.A.: International Surfing Association. It’s an international organization that has been running biennial competitions for professional surfers since several decades.  

J

J-Bay: Jeffrey 's Bay shortened; it’s a South African surf break of the highest caliber. It's one of the world's most famous, high quality right handers.

K

Kahanamoku Duke: (1890 – 1968) a Hawaiian swimmer and surfer, credited with spreading the sport of surfing in California at the beginning of the century and in Australia in 1915. He won a gold medal in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm and in Belgium in 1920.

L

Lacanau: A small French town near Bordeaux on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s renown because it was the first European town that hosted the ASP Championship.   

Late take off: Taking off in the non-critical part of the wave and catching the broken part of the wave.

Leash: The cord, consisting of rubber and rope, that connects the board to the surfer.

Line up: This is where the waves consistently break and where most of the surfers sit and wait for the set waves to come in.

Lip: The breaking crest at the very top of the wave that has not fully broken yet.

Local: Locals who regularly surf a specific surf spot.

Localism: Term given to hostility displayed by local surfers to surfers visiting what the locals consider to be their break. The hostility can range from verbal abuse in the line up to physical violence.

Longboard: A longer surfboard (9 ft/2.7 m or more); longboards have been used since the 1940s. Sometimes the term is incorrectly used for boards of 8 feet or more.

Lopez Gerry: A Hawaiian surfer, also called Mr. Pipeline, who became popular for his appearance in the movie “Big Wednesday” and for his legendary house, which was right in front of the spot. 

M

Mavericks : This is a famous big wave spot off the California coast.

Morey Boogie: The original bodyboard invented by Tom Morey in the ‘70s.

MundaKa: Considered by many the best surf spot in Europe. It’s located near Bilbao and has long, perfect left-hand barrels.  

N

Natural foot : When a surfer rides with their left foot forward (also see Regular Foot).

Noll Greg: Nicknamed "Da Bull" in reference to his physique and way of "charging" down the face of a wave, he is an American pioneer of big wave surfing and is also acknowledged as a prominent longboard shaper. Noll became known for his exploits in large Hawaiian surf on the North Shore of Oahu. He first gained a reputation in November 1957 after surfing Waimea Bay.

North Shore: the north shore of Oahu, Hawaiian Islands; it’s full of perfect surf spots and produces some of the biggest waves on the planet.

Nose: The front of the board.

O

Off the lip: A re-entry. Turning the board quickly off the top of the wave to come back down into the face of the wave.

Offshore: This is when the wind at a surf break is blowing off the shore ; It makes for ideal surfing conditions.

Onshore: This is when the wind is blowing towards the land, spoiling the waves. Always remember; offshore good, onshore bad!

Overhead: A term used to describe wave size. Roughly 8-10 feet.

P

Pintail: A very narrow, nearly pointed, tail. Pintails are used almost exclusively on big wave gun surfboards.

Pipeline: Pipeline is a world famous surf spot on the North Shore of Oahu so known because it lays down tubed waves like pipe being laid down. A very dangerous spot.

Point Break: A cult movie (‘90s).

Potter Martin: A British surfer (born in 1965). He was World champ in 1989 and was popular in the ‘80s for his radical surfing moves.

Pope’s living room: The inside of a tube. The same as green room.

Q

-

R

Rail: The edge of a surfboard.

Reef break: When set waves come toward the beach and break further out as a result of a reef under the water. Most reef breaks are a combination of rock and reefs that create the peeling effect on these such waves.

Reentry: Turning on the lip of the wave to come back down into the face of the wave.

Regular foot: When a surfer rides with their left foot forward.

Richards Mark: Australian surfer, 4-time world champion (1979 – 1982); a legend…

Right: When a wave breaks from left to right from the surfer's point of view.

Rocker: The longways curvature of the underside of a board. More rocker means a more curved board, less means a flatter board. Generally a flatter board goes faster, but some curve is needed to stop the nose digging into the water, or to "fit" the curve of the wave.

Roundhouse cutback: A complete 180-degree directional change in which the surfer turns from the shoulder all the way back into the curl or whitewater of the breaking wave, before completing the ride. A very advanced maneuver, which is difficult to complete if enough speed isn't carried throughout the entire 180-degree turn. A roundhouse cutback is usually complemented by a foam bounce recovery off the approaching whitewater.

Round tail: Round tail of a surfboard.  

S

Secret spot: A surf spot that’s kept secret. 

Section: A segment of a total wave.

Session: The time you spend surfing.

Set: A group of waves, usually large, that come in from the "outside." Surfers usually paddle towards the outside (towards the horizon) when they spot a good set.

Shaka brah: It’s a common greeting gesture. It is often associated with Hawaii. It consists of extending the thumb and smallest finger while keeping the three middle fingers curled, and raising the hand as in salutation with the back of the hand facing the person that is being greeted; it means hi, how’s it going, etc.

Shaper: The person who shapes a surfboard.

Shore break: Waves that break very close to the shore or on the shore.

Shorty: A summer wetsuit with short sleeves and pants. 

Shoulder: The end section of the wave that has yet to break or be ridden.

Skimboard: A small, flat, wooden or fiberglass board used to glide across the water's surface.

Slash: An extreme maneuver that entails executing a radical cutback.

Slater Kelly: A pro surfer, born in Florida, 9-time world champion (a record!!) and the youngest to win the title. He’s one of the most talented surfers in the world.  

Spot: Where the best waves break.

Snaking or to Snake a Wave: To “steal” a wave. The surfer closest to the breaking portion of the wave gets to surf that specific wave. Taking off in front of that surfer is referred to as snaking and shouldn't be done.

Sponger: A body boarder, soft board or body surfer.

Stick: Another term for a surfboard.

Stoked: To be very happy and excited. Surfers are usually very stoked after a good wave or an awesome session of surfing.

Stringer: This is the bit of wood that runs up through the length of your surfboard.

Swell: Swell or groundswell refers to solid, real waves.

T

Take off: The point when you drop into the wave and are about to start your ride.

Tomson Shaun: South African surfer who won the world title in 1977 and revolutionized the way of riding inside tubes in the ‘70s.   

Tube: The tube of the wave where it pitches outward and creates a spherical tube in the wave where you can get covered by the wave.

U

Ulluwatu: It’s one of a large number of quality Indonesian surf breaks.

V

-

W

Waimea Bay: A legendary bay on the North Shore of Oahu, which produces some of the biggest waves on the planet.

Wax: It’s used to prevent your feet from slipping off your board.

Wetsuit: A neoprene (rubber) garment used for surfing in winter or when it is cold. Originally invented by Jack O'Neill, founder of a famous surfing brand, O'Neill wetsuits.

Whitewater: The white foam part of the wave that occurs after the wave has broken.

Wipeout : Falling off your board is referred to as a wipe-out.

X

-

Y

Young Nat: An Australian surfer whose nickname was "The Animal" due to his aggressive attitude; he was world surfing champion in 1966.

Z

Green Ocean Surfing - About us

We often approach surfing the wrong way: what you see… is not necessarily what matters…

“nice board”, or “these boardshorts match my lycra” or even worse “surfing makes me look cool!”.

But in the end what matters is that you surf, and once you’ve tried surfing you’ll never quit. Once you catch your first wave, you’re hooked !

What we would like to do is to bring surfing back to its true essence, help surfers respect the ocean, the environment and other surfers who share our passion and experience. If surfers know more about the environment they’ll respect it more and they’ll make sure others respect it too. Learn how to surf in the best possible way, advance and teach others, the world will be a better place…

In the end it’s just a man and a wave, and whatever stands in between them is man-made. We, as surfers and human beings, are responsible if something comes between us and nature: 99% of the stuff we use is among the most polluting (such as neoprene, resin, surf wax, etc.). GREENOCEANSURFING doesn’t want to radically change a worldwide business, we want to raise awareness of the issue. Knowledge is the best weapon in the fight against pollution.
We, as consumers, can make the surf industry become more environmentally aware by choosing the right products. And, as surfers, we can and MUST do all we can, to prove we deserve the gift we’ve been given: riding waves. If we knew the extent of the environmental damage caused by making a surfboard and the environmental impact of producing a wetsuit, we would probably change the way we see ourselves in the surfing equation, and understand that things have to change and that we MUST take action now! Tomorrow’s already too late!!! We can grow together as surfers and as an integral part of this wonderful planet…
Mother nature has had enough! How about you?

Green Ocean Surfing
The first totally free interactive online surfing course
http://www.greenoceansurfing.com/

Andrea Bonfili _ Surf Coach
Fabio Fontana _ Web Master
Bruno Pepe _ GOSpublisher

Trim and surfing stance

In today’s lesson we’ll deal with the toughest and most important part of surfing, which is how to trim the board, i.e. hold the correct surfing stance. We’ll start by holding the correct position while lying down on the board.

This is a lesson you have to pay very close attention to. How do you trim a board, how do you find the correct position on a board?

In the video you can see how you have to keep the surfboard in the water, its tail and nose should stay out of the water.

Place your hands on the edges of the surfboard, put one foot on the board first; it will help you find your balance.

Then place your chest and then your other foot and look what happens to your board.

If you see the nose sinking under the water, it means you’re holding the wrong position. What do you do to make the nose come out of the water? Place your hands under your chest and start moving your whole body slightly backwards.

Andrea Bonfili - surfing instructor - Green Ocean Surfing

Same thing if you see that the nose sticks out of the water too much; it means that you’re too far back. To move forward stretch out your arms and, while still holding on to the rails of the board, push your body slightly forward helping yourself with your toes. It’s important that you move slowly, an inch at a time.

When you feel you found the correct position of the board on the water you can start focusing on the correct body position.

At the beginning, if you feel your board moving under you, wobbling to the right and to the left, place both feet off the board.

Remember to always keep your hands near your shoulders, to arch your back and lift your chest high off the board, never put your chin on the board, and keep your head and eyes forward, face the nose of the board.

If you feel the board tends to roll to one side, you can find your balance again by automatically moving a little to the other side of the board. Slowly place your feet on the surfboard, keep you ankles close together.

Use the point of the nose for reference and keep your eyes and nose in line with the nose of your surfboard; if you do that, you’ll be exactly in the middle of the board.

This is the toughest thing to do. The easiest thing is to stand up. As soon as you feel the board is stable on the water, you’re ready to start paddling. To paddle correctly on a surfboard, you need to have a deep, short stoke. 

Remember: if you have a long stroke, you’ll move your whole body and your surfboard sideways. If you have a deep, short stoke, your body will stay still and only your arms will move. 

edited by: GOS
www.greenoceansurfing.com     

A surfboard’s component parts

The deck, bottom, rails, nose and tail.

In today’s lesson we’ll talk about a surfboard’s component parts. The top side of a surfboard is the deck: this is the side surfers lie on and the surfboard wax is applied to.

The bottom of the surfboard is simply called the bottom and it’s the side the fins are attached to.

The sides of a surfboard are the rails. The front part is the nose and the back part the tail.

Fins are found at the bottom of a surfboard. But what are fins used for? Fins are like a car’s wheels, they help surfers steer their surfboard and gain direction control.

A surfer executes a turn on the board by shifting his/her body position; fins help turns by keeping the surfboard from sliding sideways and allow the surfer to draw lines on the wave.

The lines drawn can be more or less sharp and radical; what do we mean by radical? We mean a surfer’s level of surfing and technical ability: the more radical a surfer is, the sharper and more vertical the turns he/she executes on a wave will be.

The leash or leg rope is the cord that attaches a surfboard to the surfer’s leg and is made up of many parts; it helps you keep your surfboard when you wipeout. Without a leash you will have a long swim to retrieve your surfboard.

The leash is made up of three parts:

- one end is attached to the surfboard’s tail;

- the middle part is made of elastic rubber having a limited stretching ability (and this is very important!).

- and the other end is an ankle strap that the surfer attaches to one ankle. Attach it to your back leg (the foot that is on the board’s tail).

In the video I’ll show you how to attach your leash. The first part of your leash is composed of overlapping and securing Velcro straps. At the end of your surfboard’s tail you’ll find a small hole, or leash plug. Create a loop in the leash cord. Thread the cord through the leash plug on your board. Now you need to attach the leash to the cord. Overlap the three Velcro patches and your leash’s attached to your board!

edited by: GOS
www.greenoceansurfing.com