Moving onto a shortboard?

Question

Considering trying surfing on a shortboard, just wanted to know the main differences to a funboard and if theres anything that i need to do differently, the main thing im wondering about is where do my feet go because im under the impression your back foot goes right to the back of the board, also why do people on shortboard always bounce right after they pop up?

Answer 1

A fun board has wider nose, wider deck, and is really fu to ride.  Short boards have pointy nose and the rails are thin to medium thick.  The bouncing is because the surfers stand up too fast on a wave that is too slow in breaking and they try to catch up to like a dork bouncing on their boards. Dont do this because it really doesnt help, waste your energy on catching waves that are going to break.  Your feet have to go over the fins on your board so you can steer it. you want to have a shoulder width stance, bend your knees. Balance your weight over you board, not too much weight on the back because then you miss the wave or not go fast at all.

Answer 2

You do ride a short board a little farther back.  Rear foot should between the fins.  The bouncing is called pumping (or the Huntington Hop).  What they are doing is trying to force water past the fins.  Thrusters have a lot drag due to the fin cant so in order to maintain speed they always have to be turning.  The other way to keep speed is to force that water through by pumping.  It ain't pretty but times it's necessary.  You may also see people making quick s-turns, which does the same thing.

Answer 3

Ok a short board is soooo much harder to surf on if you are use to a long. So i say try it and see how it goes and make sure you balence yourself more on the short than the long.

Answer 4

Your rear foot is closer to the tail since you want to whip your turns faster.  Not everyone bounces.  If they bounce it could mean they are trying to pump their boards for speed or that they are dropping faster to the bottem then they are used to.

Answer 5

i bounce left :p

ya, your back foot is farther back

Answer 6

I learned on a 7 foot board, and transitioned to a 6'3'' fun board. The transition wasn't huge, but it definitely too a day or two to get used to.

Answer 7

It really depends. I learned on a short board so for me it was an easier tranistion moving to longer boards.

Basically, the pumping motion is usually from people popping up on a shortboard on smaller days. Sometimes you need to help get yourself into the wave by stomping a bit. After that, depending on your shortboard, you often fid yourself again, trying to get further in front of the edge which often causes the same motion.

Your feet generally are closer since the board isn't as long, but in terms of position it's a matter of personal preference. Some guys ride the tail a little more to give themeselves more ability to do cutbacks, other guys use the same footb position that they use on a longer or funboard.

It's all a matter of feeling it out, but the ride is a lot quicker and more intense on a shorboard.

have fun man.