BOTTOM TURNS

Often overlooked, and rarely given the credit it's worth...

...the bottom turn is the silent workhorse manoeuvre at the core of all good surfing.

Why?

Well, literally every turn in the book is set up by some kind of bottom turn variation.

Perfect this manoeuvre and you'll see your surfing flourish as a result.

WHAT IS A BOTTOM TURN?

The bottom turn is a manoeuvre performed in the lower 1/3 of the wave to help change direction - without losing speed.

Surfers use the bottom turn to maintain speed and change the lines they draw on the wave to adapt to the canvas in front of them.

WHY IS THE BOTTOM TURN IMPORTANT?

Up until this point we've concentrated solely on trimming along the wave from take-off. This is fine and all, but it doesn't set the foundations for performing any form of turn, for that, you need the bottom turn.

A good way to think about this is to imagine a steep, wide skate ramp...

If you were to drop down the ramp with the goal of riding back up, where - and how - would you turn your equipment to do this?

If you were to try and turn back up the ramp in the steep part of the curve, your wheels would simply skid out and you'd fall.

Instead what is needed is to drop to the bottom of the ramp, and only at that point - with the reduced curve - is it possible to change direction and drive back up.

The same thing applies to surfing green waves, and it's the bottom turn that is the manoeuvre at the heart of the whole process.

SHALLOW AND DEEP BOTTOM TURNS: WHEN, WHY AND WHERE TO USE THEM

Bottom turns can be broken into two separate categories: Shallow & Deep.

What's the difference?

The difference is in the angle of the line that you draw.

Let's look into each in a little more detail below :

THE SHALLOW BOTTOM TURN

The shallow bottom turn is used for more horizontal surfing, great for when you need to generate speed down the line or make it around big sections.

Advanced surfers will tend to use shallow bottom turns to perform floaters, cutbacks, and any other manoeuvre that requires a more horizontal set up.

THE DEEP BOTTOM TURN

Deep bottom turns are used to square up to the wave to attack the wave more vertically.

A deep bottom turn will see the surfer take a much straighter line - towards the beach - before driving through the bottom turn in a more dramatic directional change towards the top of the wave.

Advanced surfers will use deep bottom turns to perform snaps, re-entries, tight wrapping cutbacks in the pocket, and more.

Top to bottom surfing utilising deep bottom turns and vertical surfing is widely considered the most difficult form of surfing, and is generally reserved for advanced surfers on performance equipment only.

DRIVE: WHAT IT IS, AND WHY IT MATTERS

I can't move on without first touching on the subject of drive...

WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DRIVE?

Drive is the term we use for the maintenance of speed whilst changing direction on a wave.

Drive is maintained by converting the waves energy into speed potential that gets held in the body, stored up for release much like a battery stores energy for use at a later date.

The transfer of the waves energy to the body and surfboard is during the direction change process on a wave, by engaging both the fins, and the rails of the surfboard.

WHY DRIVE MATTERS

As referenced above, drive stores up the waves energy in your body just a like a spring. This is important as it allows you to not only harness the waves energy, but store it for future use.

As you progress you'll be in a constant pendulum of driving and releasing speed as you ride along the wave.

This drive will allow you to perform more radical manoeuvres, and create a better symbiosis between you and the waves.

WRAPPING IT UP

The bottom turn is so often discounted as a manoeuvre to focus on and perfect yet it really is the basis of all good surfing.

So, in the next lessons we'll be going deep into how it's done: forehand & backhand.

BOTTOM TURNS

YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO ACCESS THIS COURSE

LEVEL 1 BEGINNER

GOTTA HAVE POP!

SPEED

TURNING

THE SUBTLE ART OF NEGOTIATING WAVES

PADDLING

NEXT STEPS...

LEVEL 2 PROGRESSOR

IT'S TIME TO PROGRESS...

POP-UP LIKE THE PRO'S

READING WAVES

CATCHING UNBROKEN WAVES

TURN BABY TURN

TRIMMING

NEXT STEPS...

LEVEL 3 IMPROVER

THE QUICKENING

ANGLED TAKE OFF

SPEED

BOTTOM TURNS

CARVING

CUTBACKS

NEXT STEPS...