Frontside Air Surfing: Step by Step Tutorial That Doesn’t Suck

An aerial is when both you and your board hit the lip of the wave, at high speed, and launch off into the air.

HOW TO DO A FRONTSIDE AIR

Step 1: Pump to generate enough speed, remember more speed the higher you will go.

Step 2: Perform a shallow bottom turn to set your line and keep your eyes focused on the section.

Step 3: Approach the lip on a soft angle and aim to reach the section a slipt second before you would for a top turn.

Step 4: Widen your stance, staying low and compressed in your legs and project out and forward.

Step 5: Back foot shifts towards the tail kicker and front foot sucks the board towards your chest.

Step 6: Raise your arms to unweight and hold this position and keep your weight over your hips.

Step 7:  Grab a rail to correct the trajectory, if needed.

Step 8: Turn your eyes, head, and body towards your landing zone (this needs to be on the whitewater).

Step 9: On your decent extend your legs and shift your weight onto your front foot.

Step 10: When your board re-connects with the whitewater, bend your knees, torso and compress to take the impact.

Step 11: Distribute your weight over both feet and finish the move.

WHEN WOULD YOU PERFORM A AIR?

When the set-up opportunity arrives.

At speed, as the opposite curl or peak of a wave is coming to you before the wave closes out.

Or, at high speed, as you go up to hit the lip for a re-entry or snap but you actually take out part of the lip and fly into the air.

As you launch off into the air, you are crouched and compacted. As you come back down to land on top of the back of the lip, your arms and legs should be extending to keep downward pressure and contact with your board. If you lose that contact, you lose control of your board as you are standing on nothing and you have nothing to press your body back against.

Try to avoid this by holding one or both rails of your board to keep it in the right position under your feet.

Extending your arms up and legs down will help you to make lighter landings (rather than heavy impact). If you remain in a crouched position throughout the whole aerial, the impact will be greater - both on you and your board.

MISTAKES

a) ACTION: Not hitting off at the correct angle.

RESULT: Difficult to get enough air/ land correctly.

CORRECTION: Time your lift off and angle better.

b) ACTION: Not enough rotation in the air.

RESULT: Land at a wrong angle on the lip/ wave face.

CORRECTION: Go over your intended aerial in your mind. Visualise your ramp up rotation and landing.

c) ACTION: Lose contact of your board or control of your board.

RESULT: Lose control in the air. Impossible to land smoothly.

CORRECTION: Try to glide with your board in the air. Grab one or both rails to keep your board correctly positioned under your feet.