In some manoeuvres in surfing, assuming a “set” body position at the start of the manoeuvre, just makes it all work. This is particularly true when it comes to forehand and backhand bottom turns and cutbacks.

Creating horizontal speed on your backhand is similar to what you do on your forehand. The same straightening of the body with a lifting of the arms in the direction of travel. And maintaining this speed for a wave’s duration, is all about having a quality bottom turn - top turn combination, using the correct techniques to “drive” the board through the turns.

when evaluating a surfer’s performance, a good place to start is to assess a surfer’s “bookend” skills. The “bookends” of surfing are what a surfer does at the start and end on the wave’s they ride. This includes the decisions made and the techniques used for surfing success.

At the real beginning of the surfing experience, surfers must learn to catch and ride whitewater waves. This episode shows beginner surfers riding the whitewater and highlights some of the common mistakes they make.