Surfskate: pump and carve
Ready when: Pop-up and stance on land (b3) done; the fall-and-roll card in skateboarding (Pop-up and stance on land (b3)) done.
What you are learning
Surf turns on land. A surfskate has a front truck that swings, so it moves like a surfboard: you pump (bend and rise) to gain speed without pushing, carve smooth turns from one rail to the other, and turn back with a cutback started by the head and shoulders.
Words on this card Nose, Stance, Bottom turn, Surfskate, Pump
- Nose
- The front of the board, the back, and its side edges.
- Stance
- How you stand on the board; the back foot wears the leash.
- Bottom turn
- Turning at the bottom of the wave, at the top, and turning back toward the breaking part.
- Surfskate
- A skateboard with a front truck that swings, used on land to practise surf turns.
- Pump
- Pushing and rising to gain speed without pushing off the ground; a smooth curving turn from rail to rail.
Set up
A surfskate; helmet, wrist guards and pads; cones.
Weather: dry ground
Show it first for the one teaching
- Stand in your surf stance on the surfskate, knees bent.
- Push once, then bend and rise while twisting the shoulders side to side: the board speeds up.
- Turn the head and shoulders first and let the board follow round a cone.
Your part while they practise
Keep the area clear; film a run.
Step by step
- Stance the same as on the surfboard.
- Pump to gain speed without pushing.
- Carve rail to rail round cones.
- Then slow cutbacks started by the head and shoulders.
How much: 10 runs 15 min a session 3 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: One-push slalom
After one push, carve round as many cones as you can before stopping.
Who plays: 1 or more, taking turns; you count.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Set 8 cones in a line, 2 m apart
- Push once at the start line
- Pump and carve round the cones
- 3 runs each
- Fair play
- A grown-up starts 2 steps behind the line.
- Points
- 1 point for each cone passed after the one push.
- Fouls
- The run ends
- A second push
- A foot touches the ground
- Knocking a cone over
- Winning
- The most cones in one run.
- 3 cones for 1 star
- 5 cones for 2 stars
- 8 cones for 3 stars
Easier or harder
A wide slalom.
Link pump, carve and cutback.
What you will see, and what to say
- the turn is all arms
Turn with head and shoulders
Look where you turn. - the rider stands tall
Stay low through the turn
Bend the knees.
Self-check
10 metres of pumping without a push.
Stop and get a coach when
Repeated falls.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains rail-to-rail turns, rhythm.
awiseathlete.com/sports/surfing/surfing-i1