Surfing
Surfing
11 surfing tricks every surfer should know
Mastering these surfing tricks takes constant perseverance and practice.
Crushing the waves is a great way to challenge yourself, build muscle, and show off to your friends. Before you can deem yourself a master of the sea, you must get the basic surfing moves down, like duck diving and popping up on your board quickly. Once you nail those moves, you'll be ready for these sweet surfing maneuvers.
1. Bottom Turn
Kolohe Andino
© Pat Nolan / Red Bull Content Pool
"The bottom turn is where it all begins. It's the foundation for the rest of your repertoire," says surfer pro Tom Curren. Take off for the wave late, and remain steep within it. Time your bottom turn perfectly so you can twist without losing speed. Stay low, bending your knees and distributing your weight evenly over the board. Put pressure on your toes as the rail finds the water's surface.
2. Snap
The surfer moves from a bottom turn up to the top of the wave at a 30- to 50-degree angle. Find a steep wave and perform your best bottom turn. Use the board to direct yourself up the face of the wave. Once you're halfway over the wave's crest, turn your shoulders toward the wave and lift your arms, pushing away from the board with your back leg.
3. 360
Julian Wilson
© Jason Halayko/Red Bull Content Pool
Basically, you'll fully rotate while on the face of the wave during this move. For a carving 360, you'll approach a 45-degree angle wave. Keep your speed, and drive your board toward the wave's lip. Turn your board against the whitewater as you rotate, transferring your weight to your front foot.
4. Air
Gettin some air
© Ryan Miller/Red Bull Content Pool
Inspired by a skateboard ollie, modern surfers took this move and adapted it to surfing. Approach a 2- or 3-foot wave, gain speed, and launch off the lip as you fly over the wave and land on its face. "The biggest thing is timing", says pro surfer Josh Kerr. "You actually want to be gaining speed as you're approaching the lip."
5. Cutback
Josh Kerr
© Ryan Miller/Red Bull Content Pool
This handy trick lets you reduce speed and turn to change directions, taking you back from the wave's shoulder to the steep part. At the wave's top, shift your weight on your back foot. Lean your left hand down while digging the left rail into the wave. Turn your head and twist your shoulders toward the curl to change direction.
6. Foam Climb
Michel Bourez at Jeffreys Bay
© Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content Pool
As you climb the foam wall of a wave, build momentum and apply a solid bottom turn to gain enough power to get you over the foam. Use your shoulders and arms to pull yourself and climb the whitewash. At a low balanced stance, put pressure on your back foot to handle the impact.
7. Tube Ride
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Tube hunting in Lombok
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Tube riding is the ultimate surfing trick. You get an impressive and aesthetically pleasing look of the curl's lip fully covering you as you ride the hollow part of the wave. Crouch and tightly angle yourself as you drop in right ahead of the wave's lip. When inside, stay centered on your board and above the white section of the wave so you don't slow down or get thrown off.
Jamie O'Brien
© Brian Bielmann/Red Bull Content Pool
8. Alley Oop
This intense air jump lets you fly high over a wave while the shore's breeze keeps your board stuck to your feet. Find an open-faced wave with a breaking section. Accelerate toward it, and bottom turn at 45 degrees. Bend your knees and let the nose of your surfboard pass the lip. Kick your tail out, and pop off the lip.
Red Bull pros who do it best: Julian Wilson, John John Florence
9. Carve
This move lets you change your direction when in the wave's opening. Put all your weight on the board's rail and let it bury itself underwater, building an arc shape within the wave's curl.
Red Bull pros who do it best: Jake Marshall, Mick Fanning, John John Florence
10. Rodeo Flip
Kelly Slater came up with this trick on his own, saying, "I don't remember seeing it anywhere. I discovered the maneuver on that wave." As you catch air, you'll spin and flip with your board. Once you get air at the top of the wave, grab your board and flip forward or backward before landing back on the wave.
Red Bull pros who do it best: Jordy Smith, Mason Ho
11. Flynnstone Flip
This is a kickflip perfected by famous surfer Flynn Novak. A Flynnstone Flip entails grabbing your board in the middle of a backflip. Approach the open wave at high speeds, and catch enough air to move forward and do a 360 flip at once.
Red Bull pros who do it best: Flynn Novak, Zoltan Torkos
Don't be afraid of a few wipeouts — even the pros are known to fall off their board every now and then.
