for Front footed Surfers

[racer1]

I also think it's a height issue. Taller guys tend to be front footed and shorter guys tend to be back footed. I think it's about your weight needing to go more forward and the heavier part of your body being higher up and converse for shorter guys (lower center of gravity). So shorter guys can be neutral footed or back footed, but taller guys have to lean further forward to get the same fulcrum leverage.

For example: Dane, Jordy, Zeke all ride low/medium entry, high tail rockers.

 

[rts265]

I've been especially more conscious of using my back foot these last few days since this thread popped back up.

there was a situation where I would normally outrun the section or bog a rail trying to correct and I told myself 'backfoot', got right back into the pocket. IDK. I'm not qualified to give an opinion, but there is something about the back foot for sure.

 

[bird.LA]

I also think it's a height issue. Taller guys tend to be front footed and shorter guys tend to be back footed. I think it's about your weight needing to go more forward and the heavier part of your body being higher up and converse for shorter guys (lower center of gravity). So shorter guys can be neutral footed or back footed, but taller guys have to lean further forward to get the same fulcrum leverage.

For example: Dane, Jordy, Zeke all ride low/medium entry, high tail rockers.

Hmmm... IDK. I'm tall and feel more back footed/I like a bit of entry rocker. Then again I'm no Dane/Jordy/Zeke...

I can surf more front footed and have been doing it on my Phantom quite a bit recently by necessity of the design, but a couple of slightly disappointing sessions this weekend has me yearning to get back onto something that requires a more back foot heavy approach.

Just my $.02, certainly possible I'm the exception to the rule or just kind of a kook

 

[racer1]

You're not a kook if we're all kooks.

 

[Muscles]

I also think it's a height issue. Taller guys tend to be front footed and shorter guys tend to be back footed. I think it's about your weight needing to go more forward and the heavier part of your body being higher up and converse for shorter guys (lower center of gravity). So shorter guys can be neutral footed or back footed, but taller guys have to lean further forward to get the same fulcrum leverage.

For example: Dane, Jordy, Zeke all ride low/medium entry, high tail rockers.

I think you're right. I'm tall and heavy and favor my front foot when pumping down the line.

I noticed a lot of larger surfers, myself included, have a really really hard time learning to properly shift their weight back for turns. For years I just surfed off my front foot and did not weight back and engage my rear foot enough. It just feels unnatural. I forced myself over a six month period to do nothing but pump down the line and engage a turn with my all my weight on my backfoot. It took me forever to figure out because it just felt so strange. After awhile, something clicked and I can now throw all my weight without issue. I think that the front foot bias is tied to being tall and having a lot more leverage and body movements along with a high center of gravity. I still see a lot of tall surfers that just surf off their front foot and use the rails more than their fin cluster.

If you watch someone like Dane you'll notice his weight shifts back and forth between his front and rear foot depending on what he is doing. I think that is ideal. Of course, I'm not Dane and just a regular kook. YMMV. Surf however you feel like.

 

[bird.LA]

tall and heavy

Perhaps the second part here is the key to why my experience has been different haha

 

[frontsidegrab]

You're not a kook if we're all kooks.

Haha! Agreed. I'm no pro and didnt mean to slight anyone's stance on surfing. Isn't surfing so f^cking fun?! The more control you have the more freedom you get.

I heard a prominent surf coach talk about Dane. He said his ability to leverage turns through his HIPS was unmatched. (cue dudes bringing up the importance of deadlifts). I heard this several years ago. It brought me down a path of being aware of how loose and engaged my hips are while surfing. A revelation! Instantly more leverage on tap. No longer the big "leaps" of weight shift. "It begins and ends in the hips", is the journey I went on and I've never looked back. Weight the front foot? THRUST forward. Approaching that steep section pull those hips back and rotate!
Just my own kooky experiences. I just keep a small reminder to myself, even while sitting on my board feeling the ebbing ocean. Let my hips loose. That's whats worked for me.
-Slightly buzzed kook out

 

[Muscles]

 

[everysurfer]

I agree no one from the Phillipines goes vertical of their front foot. California surfers can

And I think all turns are initiated from the back foot.

Fixed that for you

 

[everysurfer]

Bottom turn off the front foot. Leaning into the turn.

 

[fishtank]

For example: Dane, Jordy, Zeke all ride low/medium entry, high tail rockers.

can't say i agree with that sentiment, jordy is not front footed. he's got a close stance and tends to sit on heavy the tail through turns, very similarly to AI. the bunny chow and girabbit he did with ci have quite a bit of entry rocker and less curve out of the tail.

 

[racer1]

Again, guys we're not talking about through turns, we're talking about driving.

And Bunny Chow is "relaxed (low) entry" with "medium exit" rocker and Girabbit is "medium entry" with "aggressive exit" rocker, according to CI Website.

 

[teeroi]

I must be back footed cause my toe side tail rail is the most crushed in part of my board even with tail pad and patches. Heel side if I go right a lot. The only dents on my front foot are from heeling a floater and duck diving. If I surf without a leash a lot the nose gets beaten up from my elbows grabbing the board after a fall.

 

[HotHail]

Years of skating plus even more years of competitive skiing have more or less doomed me to forward weighting my surfing. On frontside bottom turns and backside top turns, I think being heavy on the front foot allows me to get more on rail and really carve the turn, unweighting as I get more vertical. But unless I'm carrying a ton of speed, I pretty much have to surf off the back foot on my frontside top turns or backside bottom turns, otherwise I'll bog the rail and/or catch the nose. As for driving, I'm actively working on being more backfooted but it's an uphill (or upwave?) battle.

 

[racer1]

I must be back footed cause my toe side tail rail is the most crushed in part of my board even with tail pad and patches. Heel side if I go right a lot. The only dents on my front foot are from heeling a floater and duck diving. If I surf without a leash a lot the nose gets beaten up from my elbows grabbing the board after a fall.

I'm definitely front foot, but I have very little denting on my front foot deck. My rear foot deck is always fuct.

If I could explain it better, it's like skating a mini ramp or transition, you lean forward going down the ramp (going down the wave) and then unweight to the back foot when going up to the coping. Then lean forward again going back down.

 

[Havoc]

i initiate my turns with my ass

 

[laidback]

Big turns

 

[teeroi]

I'm definitely front foot, but I have very little denting on my front foot deck. My rear foot deck is always fuct.

If I could explain it better, it's like skating a mini ramp or transition, you lean forward going down the ramp (going down the wave) and then unweight to the back foot when going up to the coping. Then lean forward again going back down.

Yeah Racer.

I’m just messing around. I wrote a skate analogy myself but deleted it and a support your local shaper post and deleted cause I seem to trigger some erbb members. I think I’ll just stick to the surf journal thread because posting surf pics, surf sessions and regulating donkeys hasn’t fallen out of favor yet.

But.... skating a bowl is a closer analogy to surfing. Doing a frontside carve grind you pumped forward going down a waterfall pump up the transition all weighting front foot more. Neutral before coping. Weight front foot to initiate carve, then neutral, back foot heavy if you want to lap over. Front foot to come back in.

I know I surf hard off my front foot cause I’m right handed but surf goofy. I’ve been riding low entry for paddling into waves. A little more kick in the tail to make up for the curve I’m losing in the front.

 

[griffinsurfboard]

Many top label boards have their fins placed at 11 and 3 1/2

This is to help the directional concave bottoms regain the drift - release - needed in board design

Add the fillet to these fin shapes and the real part of the fin is 11 3/4 3 3/4

There is no support in the sweet spot of the board until you pump it from the middle

Then at speed you can move rearward for those memorable maneuvers - no one is excited about just pumping across the wave ;-)

 

[griffinsurfboard]

Tomo made a HUGE splash with his 10" fin placements in the beginning .