nose digging in

pbuckland05

Im fairly new to surfing I have a longboard sometimes when I try to catch a wave I seem to keep digging the nose in, one time it happened I flew forward while the board came from behind and hit me in the back of the head.
I have tried moving back on the board but this only helps sometimes any help would be appriciated.

gerk86

be concious of your body position when paddling for a wave. If you nosedive scootch further back mentally noting where you are. Then if you paddle and catch a wave try to remember somehow where that position is and should feel like.

I have a sticker on my board. When my chin is directly over it when lying prone im in the proper position.

Watching someone pearl while paddling for a wave is fairly funny to watch it has to be said. (as long as they're ok after that is )

pbuckland05

gerk86 wrote: »

be concious of your body position when paddling for a wave. If you nosedive scootch further back mentally noting where you are. Then if you paddle and catch a wave try to remember somehow where that position is and should feel like.

I have a sticker on my board. When my chin is directly over it when lying prone im in the proper position.

Watching someone pearl while paddling for a wave is fairly funny to watch it has to be said. (as long as they're ok after that is )

The sticker is a good idea I must do that yeah I probally look funny on a side note I found a cool website in the US that does really cheep wetsuits and they ship to Ireland! cool http://www.wetsuitwearhouse.com you can get a billabong foil for 60 euro how bad.

tippbhoy

Can you describe this a little more?

The most typical reason would be that you're too far up on the board alright but if this is a longboard and you've moved back with no improvement and if it's throwing you forwards violently with the board getting flung far into the distance then it's probably not a simple nose dive through positioning.

When you catch the wave are you at the base of it or the middle to top of the wave when you start moving forward? If you're up at the top when the wave starts to propel you forward then the only way is down, specifically the nose first and cos you've caught the full force of the wave you're in for a big hit. A simple nose dive would be less violent as you wouldn't have got far with the wave before crashing out.

The problem then is that you're not catching the wave soon enough and you need to paddle faster or more efficiently before the wave arrives. This way when the wave comes up you are propelled forward by the base of the wave (getting up on the tip to do the cool moves will come later , well I'm hoping anyway:rolleyes:) as you have decent momentum without relying on the wave initially. If you don't have enough momentum you'll get pushed further up the wave and then when it breaks you're in for a big drop.

That's my thoughts anyway :cool:

Btw: when you take a hit stay under for a few seconds until you're sure the board has passed over you, then surface with your face protected if you're unsure.

jtsuited

everytime i get in the water I pearl the first few waves. I just imagine how funny it looks and it puts me in a humorous relaxed mood.

I dread the day that I'm not horrific at surfing because I need a good laugh to relax me in the waves!:D

pbuckland05

Thats great advice thanks I think I might be a bit slow getting off so the wave picks me up and nose diving I go, I also try to catch the waves as they are breaking which probally dosnt help my case, I just dread pearling last week I got a smake on the back of the head with a ten foot long board and it hurt so anytime I go under I turn into a ball and pray the fin dosn't, slice me,
But Im having a ball learning I never thought Surfing would be so addictive I live 2 min from the beach and alls I want to do is stay in the water 3 hours is not uncommon and I keep saying to myself at the end just one more wave, there should be a warning on surfboards "Surfing may damage your willpower"
anyway thanks for the advice

Gone West

On a longboard you will need to catch the wave a lot earlier than a shortboard.
You can't really drop into the green properly on a longboard with not much rocker.
So, just paddle harder. Much harder and you'll catch the wave a little earlier.
That way you're at the bottom of the wave when you pop up, with a horizontal board.
As opposed to the shorty pop up in a half-vertical position.

Also, try to learn to fall off with you on the good side of your board, not between it and the wave

ReefBreak

One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received: Arch your back more when you're paddling for a wave. This will help you to keep the nose out of the water as the wave starts to push you forward. Not only that, but an arched back also helps to engage the bigger and stronger back muscles rather than the small arm and shoulder muscles. Plus, because your back position is helping to keeping the nose up, you can afford to lie slightly further forward on the board thereby helping to get catch the wave sooner.

It's probably no coincidence that Kelly Slater has a double-jointed back.