WIPING OFF SPEED

Alright, so we talked a little in the previous section about zonal surfing, and staying in the top two-thirds of the wave, and how this is super important when it comes to nose riding.

But if we just left it there, only ever staying in those zones, you'd end up going too fast and outrunning the good part of the wave.

And that's where wiping-off speed comes in. 

WHAT DOES WIPING OFF SPEED MEAN, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Wiping off speed is the process of stalling or slowing down your board and adjusting your line, to reposition yourself in the pocket of the wave ready for nose riding.

Without the ability to wipe off speed a surfer will travel too far away from the pocket of the wave, leaving little opportunity for cross-stepping and nose riding.

Shortboarders will use cutbacks to reposition themselves in the power pocket of the wave, whereas longboarders take a slightly different route.

WIPING OFF SPEED ON A LONGBOARD

The act of wiping off speed is to reposition oneself back into the power pocket of the wave, and on a longboard it is done by:

a) Slowing the board down by putting more weight at the back of the board.

b) Adjust your line, dropping down to zone 3 and the flats of the wave - away from the curve into a nose-up pivoting bottom turn.

Both of these techniques do the same thing, they slow the board down and help the surfer to reposition themselves in right part of the wave for nose riding.

WRAPPING IT UP

The ability to wipe off speed on a longboard and reposition yourself will dictate your levels of success when it comes to noseriding.

Yes, it will take time to master (plenty), but it really is at the heart of all good longboarding, and is the foundation for all noseriding.