On a longer board, you will have better balance. Therefore, you have greater ability to change positions while riding a wave. Long boarders can really show off on a wave by doing pirouettes, 180-degree turns, or by hanging 10. Hanging 10 is a phrase that means dangling your 10 toes off the front of your board, something that is possible only on a long board. Another phrase you might hear that refers to this maneuver is having your "toes on the nose," which literally means that you have 10 toes on the nose of your board. In either case, hanging 10 or having your toes on the nose is one of the most fun tricks you can do on a long board. It is one of the coolest maneuvers in the sport and one that simply cannot be performed on a short board in the same way.
Whatever trick you intend to perform on your long board, take the first few seconds on the wave to situate yourself on the board. Know where the front of your board is as well as what direction you are going. It might also help to determine how much longer you can ride the wave. You should also determine your "happy place" on the board. That is where you feel most comfortable while standing and riding on your board. Once you figure out where that is, remember it or mark it with a permanent marker. That will be your eternal reference point as your center of balance on the board.
Before you try to hang 10, you should practice moving forward and back on your board, using your permanent marker as your reference point. The best and quickest method of moving forward and backward on your board is to crisscross one foot in front of the other in a sideways fashion. Imagine you are walking on a tightrope sideways and you are walking in front of your marker and then in back of it. This movement is called cross stepping and is a crucial movement to master, should you like to perform other maneuvers on the long board.
When you feel you've mastered the cross step, you should be ready to hang 10. You have to be going fast enough on the wave to let you apply your body weight to the front of the board without falling off the wave. So, you need to accelerate by evenly distributing weight around your happy place. As you begin to gain momentum, you can then move forward on your board. Moving forward on your board has to happen steadily but quickly. You don't want to move up too fast or the board will topple over nose first. Too slow and the weight in the front of your board will slow you down and the wave will continue on without you. It is perfectly acceptable to cross step forward and back until you finally skateboarding tips it all the way up the front of your board, but waves don't last forever, so be sure to get there as quickly as you can.
When you've made it to the front of your board, all you have to do is get your toes over the tip of your board. Use your arms to keep your balance and enjoy. You can't hang 10 for long, though, so crisscross back to your original position before you lose too much speed.
Robb Bailey works for South Coast Surf Shops, San Diego's premiere surfboard distributor and surf apparel dealer for more than 30 years. He has been inducted as a lifetime honorary skateboarding tips of his college surf club, the Cal Poly Surfer's Association, and has traveled the world surfing for the past 11 years. Find out more about Robb at SouthCoast.com
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