Streetboardz skateboards are both fun to use, and can also be a serious training tool to improve surfing performances. Check out former world surfing champion, Barton Lynch and friends, using the boards for both fun and training purposes

We all know that each of us, have areas of our surfing that need to be improved. You know, the manoeuvre that you just can get, the loss of speed at critical moments, or the failure to incorporate new moves into your repertoire. The thing that isn’t well known however, is that many of these errors or deficiencies are usually caused by small issues that can be rectified by minor modification to your performance.

A major component to creating maximum speed and power when performing bottom turns and cutbacks is to hold the “set” body position for a short duration. This “holding” of the body position allows the maximum contribution of the wave’s power, before the surfer applies their own power to the manoeuvre.

When a surfer moves from riding whitewater waves to catching unbroken waves, there are a number of ocean cues that should be recognized to assist these surfers consistently catch the waves they paddle for. These include peak positioning, and paddling for waves that can phyisically be caught.

Surfing skills to be trained should be selected to match the surf conditions faced. Choosing skills that can be performed,will create the training environment that creates success.

Just like all moves in surfing, aerials have a recognizable technique that when used, creates successful performances. If a surfer is unsuccessful when attempting their aerials however, they are missing one or more of the technique components, or they regularly misjudge when to attempt the manoeuvres.

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.