Words by Jessie Tuckman. Photos by Joseph Shields.
Summers coming! It’s eagerly anticipated after the cold winter. It’s so nice to welcome the warmth and sunshine, but this often means there are some spells in the ocean. A carve skateboard could be the answer for surfers to still enjoy the feeling of carving a wave whilst getting some good training in at the same time.
There are quite a lot of brands of “carve” boards out there. Basically they are like longboards but with a springy, loose feeling front truck. This means that the truck bends easily when you put your weight on the rails. By placing your weight on the rails you achieve tighter turns much like when you ride a shortboard surfboard out in the water.
The best way to use them is to get too a place with a nice smooth surface and slight hill (so you don’t have to do all the work). You need a bit of speed to get going, but maybe the first few times, don’t go too steep so you can get used to the feel of the board before going fast.
To make a turn you need to compress your body, just like in a surfing top or bottom turn, whilst putting weight on the inside rail. Then extend your body coming out of the turn.
This type of board will turn very tightly when this manouvre is correctly executed with speed so you also need to try and lead the turn with your upper body and follow from your hips with strong rotation from your core.
You’ll be surprised how similar this is to turning whilst surfing. You will be able to repeatedly practice this move without having to paddle around picking waves first and you will find that your muslce memory will develop fairly quickly.
Ultimately, nothing is better surf training than actually being in the sea, but this comes close and is great fun too!
