Next time you are in the water, watch your arms during a turn. Are they helping, or are they just along for the ride?
For most surfers the arms are passive. They move, but they do not direct.
At ESC we use a concept we call the Magic Surfboard. Simple idea: your hands hold an imaginary small board. What your hands do, your real board does.
If your hands point down the line, your board goes down the line. If your hands drive up and around through a turn, your board drives up and around through the turn.
It sounds simple. It is. But the impact is immediate.
And here is what connects to it: extension. Most surfers stop their turns about 70 percent of the way through. They get scared, they pull out early, and the turn looks incomplete.
The rule: wherever you think the turn ends, give it extra. Drive through, all the way, more than you think you need to.
Arms leading and finishing your turns will change the look of your surfing faster than almost anything else.
Ivan.
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