Week 5: HOW TO TAKE-OFF
Yes that CLICK BAIT above is me and yes it hurt.
This is a clip of me in my early 20’s surfing Pipeline. After a fractured knee cap, 7 staples in my head and a hematoma on my lower back, I learned the hard-way on where to take off.
This week we’re tapping into the best place to TAKE-OFF. How you take off (ON A WAVE), 100% determines the way you will finish your waves.
I like to look at a wave in 3 SECTIONS. The Top being the lip, the Middle being the face of the wave and the Bottom being... well, the ”bottom” 😃.
As you can see in the illustration below, the best place to take-off is that line between the Middle and the Top of the wave. The Middle and the Top are where ALL the speed is on the wave. You really want to learn this space well. If you’re able to take off here consistently, you are probably having a lot of speed once you stand up.
During the take-off you want to avoid two things:
- Taking off on the TOP OF THE LIP: the GIF above is a perfect illustration of “getting launched.” On that pipe wave, the wave was moving so fast, I got scared, stopped paddling, tried to stand up and well you know the rest of the story now.
- Taking off on the BOTTOM: this will leave you having zero to little speed and time to stand. It seems self explanatory but if you’re new to surfing, this diagram should bring some more clarity!
This weeks challenge:
Love hearing all the feedback, keep it coming!
- Matt
We are all praying and doing what we can for everyone on Maui. I have my ear to the ground on some great ways to help those that are in need. Attaching a link below. Please feel free to reach out to me personally if you have questions or ways to help.
LAHAINA STRONG.
PAGAN USA - UNDER CONSTRUCTION SURF CLUB