Should you invest your time/money/energy into surf skating? Honestly, I think you should. Channel your inner Bart Simpson, or your Tony Hawk, and prepare to be amazed at the benefits of the surfskate! Oh, and maybe put on some knee and elbow pads…
A surfskate is a cross training method that helps you develop new movement patterns that carry over when you are surfing in the ocean. Surfskates have specially designed trucks that mimic the drawn out turns and flow that you find when surfing.
Many surf coaches are using surfskates as a tool to help their clients work on surf technique when they are not surfing. It has been found to be very effective at improving the performance of almost all surfers, from beginner to advanced.
What Is The Difference Between A Surfskate And A Skateboard?
While a Surfskate and a Skateboard look pretty alike on the surface, underneath the board is where things start to change.
The front truck of a surfskate differs from that of a skateboard. The adapter you find on these boards have a variety of springs, in combination with bearings, in order to achieve the pivoting effect that you find in surfing.
A surfskate allows you to pump uphill without having to generate speed with a landing foot, something that isn’t possible with a skateboard.
The back truck of a surfskate acts like the fins of a surfboard, gripping the ground below, allowing the front to flow freely and increase overall maneuvrability.
It provides a completely different feel and flow than your typical skateboard, incorporating the whole body, mimicking the style of surfing, and in my opinion, is more fun.
On the otherhand, a surfskate cannot do tricks like ollies or kickflips as easily as a skateboard, nor can it ride the same in a skatepark. A surfskate is primarily meant to be ridden on the ground, performing surf inspired turns.
Why is Surfskate Training Beneficial?
Think about a time when you’ve bobbed about in the water, impatiently waiting for the right wave and for the right section, sometimes never even getting the section that you want within the full surf session to practice certain moves. Frustrating right?
By using a surfskate, it just means you can take yourself off onto some solid ground, and practice the body positioning for maneuvres like the carve, bottom turn, working on your overall balance and even developing speed generation.
Because the ground isn’t an ever changing surface like the ocean, you can practice these teachings over and over again! This is going to help you when you get out there on the waves, knowing you’ve invested some time into practice when on land.
Learn more about which is easier, surfing or skateboarding, in this post.
Fast Track Your Surfing Success
Someone once said it takes a total of 10,000 hours of practice to achieve the master level at whatever it is you are working on. That’s a lot of time (nearly as much as the amount of hours I’ve put into watching Netflix).
It’s also important to note that the bulk of your surf session is actually spent paddling out and waiting for the waves, and only approximately 10% of that time is spent riding the waves.
So what’s the secret to speeding up this process for surfing? Squeeze in as much practice as you can. Knowing what and how to practice is key when improving your surfing. But the thing with surfing is that the weather is unpredictable, and you’re going to have days where there are zero waves out there.
In cases like that, this is where the surfskate offers a helping hand. The only thing is that instead of falling into the relatively pain free water, you’re going to be a victim of the concrete, so don’t blame me for the bruises you could very well get!
This little board of joy will help you refine and practice your technique wherever and whenever you want, instead of out on the surf, where you rely on specific sections and specific types of waves for those skills you want to practice.
How To Train On A SurfSkate?
Below are the building blocks that are necessary for learning certain drills and techniques on the surfskate:
- Starting on a completely flat and level ground, begin with feet placement. Not too close, not too wide, somewhere in the middle, like Goldilocks and her porridge. Aim for shoulder width apart.
- Jump on the board, and spend some time rolling from rail to rail and getting comfortable with the sensation of the board. Practice weight control and distribution, which is a key skill to carry out in the water.
- Learning when to compress and extend is crucial, without it, you won’t be able to generate speed, perform bottom turns, or anything for that matter! The fastest part of a wave is at the top, so you must be able to compress and extend at the right times to maintain height in the wave.
- Use your arms and hands as a counterbalance when you’re twisting and turning into different moves, similar when you’re surfing.
Once you’re comfortable with the flat ground, it’s only a case of upgrading the playing field to practicing on a ramp at a skatepark, for example. The major benefit of using a ramp is that it is similar in shape to the wave slope, meaning your practice on land will be even closer to the conditions in the water.
With the surfskate, you can practice these particular techniques again and again, until you master it and become successful.
Do you want to take your surfskate training up a notch? You need to check out the training program at Surf Strength Coach. Itʻs amazing!
Which Surfskate Is Right For Surf Training?
In a market that is continuing to grow, there are a range of brilliant boards for you out there. Between the Carver, one of the pioneers in the surfskate world, YOW and SmoothStar, you can find the best board for you.
CARVER
Carver Skateboards are the original surfskate. Theyʻre also the best.
Carver skateboards come with 2 different truck options they call the C7 and the CX. The C7 truck produces a smooth flowing ride that is more like riding a single fin or twin fin whereas the CX trucks feel like you are riding a shortboard.
Regardless of what truck style you choose, pick a board that is the right size for you. Carver Surfskates come in a variety of lengths and styles, use this handy chart to help you choose.
YOW Surfskates
YOW Surfskates are a popular brand that has been gaining more and more market share in recent years. Originally from Europe and featuring Mick Fanning as one of their team riders, people just canʻt seem to keep their hands off YOW surfskates.
If you are into shortboarding, the YOW Surfskate is probably one of the best surfskates that you could choose. It is very responsive and pivots on a dime.
SMOOTHSTAR
For those of you who consider themselves to be stylish, flowing surfers, then a Smoothstar Surfskate is for you.
The Smoothstar makes long, drawn out turns similar to what you would find on a longboard or singlefin midlength. They are easy to ride and great for beginners.
Regardless of what surfskate you choose, the idea is to get more time to practice your surfing when you canʻt get in the water. The surfskate is the perfect tool to help you do just that.
Hope this article helped. Till next time…A Hui Hou!!!
