by 'Laurent'

Body boarding maneuver

The maneuvers are divided into 4 different types :
1) basic maneuvers getting started
2) basic combinations the next step
3) Intermediate maneuvers hitting the lip and getting air.
4) Advanced maneuvers combination of moves in the air or very difficult maneuvers.

All descriptions are made for a ride on a left hand wave, if your favorite break is a right hander, just reverse all the body, hand and arm positions

Basic maneuvers

Bottom Turn

Too often, this basic maneuver is forgotten or not well executed , but a good bottom turn is the key for all others maneuvers , in other words you can't try to do 360's if you can't do properly a bottom turn. The main point is to make a turn once you reach the bottom of a wave after taking off without losing any speed…
A bottom turn is done by putting your weight on the left side of your board , digging the rail with your left elbow, lifting the other rail with your right hand , lifting off the water your inside leg and look towards your destination…
Once you feel that the turn has started and that you are now well positioned in the curl of the wave , leaving behind you the white foam , center your body back in the middle of the board, release the pressure on both your hip and your elbow, and slide forward your body slightly to get speed…
Now you are ready to execute the first basic trick !

Cut Back

A Cut Back is one of the most fundamental move in bodyboarding ; it is a turn back to the curl of the wave either to regulate your speed ( if you were too fast and close to get out of the wave ) or to get re positioned waiting for a section with a throwing lip.

· Choose a wave with a nice shoulder but without a lip nor a barrel
· Start by doing a turn on your left to just under the top of the wave
· Once you reach the spot where you want to start your Cut Back, shift your weight on the outside rail , apply pressure with your right hand in the middle of your right rail ( pivot ) , lift up the left corner of the nose with your left hand and initiate a strong turn on your right so you can actually ride the wave towards the tube ( it's like you are now riding a right hander )
· Look at the inside of the wave and do not get tempted to watch at the spray you are doing , visualize the spot where you want to stop your turn and get back to the right position.
· Once you reach that spot, simply do a turn on your left to get back in the curl of the wave and shift your weight back to the normal position.

This last turn can be done before the white foam in front of you or can be done hitting this white foam ( Re entry ). For advanced riders, this Re entry turn at the end of a Cut Back can be even coupled with a 360 reverse !!!

Drop Knee Riding (AKA Jack Stand or Hawaiian Stand)

Once you pull all the tricks prone riding, you can try Drop Knee riding as bodyboard can be ridden in both stance and the panel of figures is just as wide. Kneeling on a bodyboard with one knee at the back and one foot up at the front, for natural bodyboarders the left foot is at the front.

Drop Knee Riding is a different approach to bodyboard compared to prone riding ; it is very close to surfing in terms of maneuvers and technique but in the same time the panel of tricks is wider and it is actually much harder, just think about standing up on shortboard without fins…

The story about Drop Knee Riding said that Jack "the Ripper" Lindholm was the first bodyboarder to ride like this and it was during a demonstration in between two heats of the Pipe Master ; it was a solid 12 feet + on that day …

What is Drop Knee Riding?

You are kneeling on your board with one knee at the back and one foot up the front ( for regular bodyboarder , the left foot is at the front )

How to do it?

In the beginning, you have to choose a flat wave with an easy take off ; once you feel that you can take off and be in drop Knee quickly enough to go for a bottom turn , you can start to take off in hollow wave.

5 Easy Steps:
Note : described for a regular bodyboarder riding a right-hander, just reverse all the body hand and arm positions for a left-hander and if you are not regular .

1) Once you have started taking off prone riding (picture 1), get up on your knees (picture 2)

2) With the palm of your left hand , apply pressure on the middle of left rail to get a better control of the board while lifting up your leg (picture 3)

3) Start to lift up from the water your left feet and put it on the nose of the board ; in the same time , use your left hand to compensate and keep the board balanced. (picture 4)

4) Take out your right hand which was, since the take off , holding the top right corner of the board (picture 5)

5) Hold your left hand in the (position of 2) until you feel completely stable

Note : your right foot should be in the water with your fin acting as a rudder.

360 Turn

A full rotation (360 degrees). This maneuver can be done on the flat section of a wave, in the white foam, off the lip or even in the air (air 360) You can do a 360 while prone riding (see picture) or drop knee riding. The technique is the exactly the same wherever you intend to try a 360.

You have taken off on a nice wave, made a good bottom turn and you are right in the curl of the wave ; here are the steps to do a 360 :

· Start by doing a slight turn on your left ( facing the wave ) , this will initiate the 360.
· Slide forward on your board so your face will be roughly at the level of your board's nose , the idea is to have your body well centered on your board so neither the tail nor the nose will dive off
· Lift up your legs ( you may even cross them ), arch your back and throw your head on the left ; keep looking in the direction where you want to spin , your shoulder will follow the move
· Once the 360 is completed , re engage your rail ( same technique as the Bottom Turn ) to gain speed for the next move and put back your feet in the water. Your first 360 is done !

360 Reverse

This is exactly the same as a 360, but instead of starting your spin on the left, you start your spin on the right ; it's a bit more complex than the 360 but it can be a really nice trick if well executed

· Start by doing a slight turn on your left to the top of the wave.
· Once you reach the top of the wave, slide forward on your board , lift up your legs arch your back and turn down to the face of the wave
· Throw your head and shoulders to the right towards the tube and keep looking to the right until your spin is completed
· Once the Reverse 360 is done , re engage your rail and put back your feet in the water.

Note : a Reverse 360 on a left hander is actually a normal 360 on a right hander and vice versa ; try to surf on both left and right to master these tricks.

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Basic combinations

If you feel comfortable now with 360, Reverse 360 and cut back ; you can start thinking about some simple combos :
A 360 immediately followed by a Reverse 360 ; or a cut back followed by a Reverse 360 ; etc.…
Even these simple combos can look really good !

Air

Also called an aerial, a maneuver in which the entire board extends above the lip. This is a really important maneuver in modern bodyboarding ; you have to master this trick before trying the intermediate combinations and expert maneuvers described below. As its name suggests, an air is a turn where the entire board extends above the lip of a wave.

· Choose a wave with a steep section and a lip that is going to throw.
· Make sure that you have plenty of speed and aim at this lip ; do not try to hit it vertically , choose an angle that will allow you to land in front of the wave after flying over it.
· Once you hit the lip, throw your weight up and towards the front of the wave.
· After landing, re engage you rail for the next move.

El Rollo

The El Rollo is a cornerstone trick in bodyboarding , it consists of an air but just after being pushed by the lip , the bodyboarder has to roll over before landing.
Like a 360, there are some variations for the El Rollo : through the lip in a close out section or inside the barrel ( Barrel Roll )

· Choose a wave with a steep section and a lip that is going to throw.
· Make sure that you have plenty of speed and aim at this lip ; choose a similar angle to hit it like in an air.
· Once you reach the lip, release your rail ( do not let it stick to the curl of the wave ) , arch your head and back and look at where you are going to land.
· Follow the direction of the wave with your board and body to start the roll down and to be sure that you will land with the bottom of your board first !
· After landing, re engage you rail for the next move.
El Rollo means in Spanish"barrel" , you have to follow the natural cylindrical move of the lip with your board ; it is easier than it looks if you choose the right wave !

Reverse Rollo

This trick is an El Rollo against nature ! Instead of using the arc of the wave for the roll down, you have to rotate from the right to the left using your outside arm ( right arm )

· Choose a wave with a steep section and a lip that is going to throw.
· Make sure that you have plenty of speed and aim at this lip
· Once you hit the lip, throw your weight up and towards the front of the wave. You need to be as far as possible from the wave so you can start the reversed roll down.
· With your right hand , hold firmly the right rail in the middle, and starts the roll down from the right to the left ; actually you are doing an El Rollo like you would do on a right hander !
· After landing, re engage you rail for the next move.

Invert air

An invert is an air with your board and body tweaked in an inverted position.
After holding this move for a moment or two, you should untwist yourself in the same direction you twisted.
· Choose a wave with a steep section and a lip that is going to throw.
· Make sure that you have plenty of speed and aim at this lip ; do not try to hit it vertically , choose an angle that will allow you to land in front of the wave after flying over it.
· Once you hit the lip, throw your weight up and towards the front of the wave.
· Tweak your body and board in an inverted position which means that the bottom of your board should face the sky and your head should look down where you want to land.
· Keep this position for about a second or two , then untwist your board and body in the same direction you twisted, preparing the landing like for a normal air.
· After landing, re engage you rail for the next move.

This trick can be very spectacular , each bodyboarder has his/her own style , an Invert Air is a good way to express it !

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Intermediate combinations

Air 360

For this move, you have to first start with an aerial high enough so you can go for a 360 turn before landing.

· Choose a wave that has enough power to provide a pitching lip
· Hit the lip with a good speed
· Once you are in the air after hitting the lip , throw your weight up and towards the front of the wave, slide forward on your board , lift up your legs and arch your back.
· Throw your head and shoulders on the left ; keep looking to the left until your spin is completed ; if your initial air was high enough, you should be able to complete your 360 before landing
· After landing , put back your feet in the water and re engage your rail to gain speed for the next move.

Air 360 Reverse

Like for the Air 360, you need an aerial high enough so you can go for a Reverse 360 turn before landing.
· Choose a wave that has enough power to provide a pitching lip
· Hit the lip with a good speed
· Once you are in the air after hitting the lip , throw your weight up and towards the front of the wave, slide forward on your board , lift up your legs , arch your back and turn down to the face of the wave
· Throw your head and shoulders to the right looking the wave below you , keep looking to the right until your spin is completed ; if your initial air was high enough, you should be able to complete the Reverse 360 before landing
· After landing , put back your feet in the water and re engage your rail to gain speed for the next move.

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Advanced maneuvers

ARS

ARS stands for Air Roll Spin. It's a combination of an aerial , an el rollo and a 360 ideally all done while in the air, in the beginning you will land backwards facing the wave and have to do the remainder 180 turn ,to complete this trick, like you would do for a normal 360.

· Choose a wave that has enough power to provide a pitching lip
· Hit the lip with a good speed
· Once you feel getting pushed out in the air, arch your back and head to start your El Rollo
· After completed your El Rollo, start the 360 by throwing your body towards the wave. ( See the 360 and El Rollo details above )
· After landing , re engage your rail to gain speed for the next move.

Back flip

A Back flip is exactly the same move as in gymnastic ; it 's a full rotation backwards with a landing facing the wave , it should be followed by a 180 turn to get back in the right direction.
Choose a wave that has enough power to provide a pitching lip
· Hit the lip with a good speed but this time you have to hit it almost vertically and not on the side (like for an Air or an El Rollo),
· Once you feel getting pushed out in the air, arch your back and head and throw all your weight backwards. In the meantime, lift up and cross both legs.
· After landing , re engage your rail to gain speed for the next move.
This trick is very difficult and can be hurtful due to the usual very tough landing.

Front flip

A front flip is a full rotation forwards with a landing directly in the right position ready for the next move.
· Choose a wave that has enough power to provide a pitching lip
· Hit the lip with a good speed as you want to go first for an air
· Once you feel getting pushed out in the air, throw all your weight forwards. And in the meantime, lift up and cross both legs.
· After landing , re engage your rail to gain speed for the next move.

Double your pleasure
Combos with two similar maneuvers

The Double El Rollo

(invented by Mike Eppelstun in the 90's) consists , as the name says it clearly, of doing two El Rollos while still in the air.
Air 720 : it's two Air 360 done before landing ; for the technical part just read the Air 360 part …
Air 720 reverse : : it's two Air reverse 360 done before landing , same comments as the Air 720
Note : I have heard rumors of an Air 900 pulled out by an aussie bodyboarder and caught on video, I did not see it though.

Ruin your back
Combos with two different maneuvers

Hubb Air

This move was created by Jeff Hubbard (one of the best bodyboarder in the world). It consists of an Air 360 followed by an El Rollo all done in the air …

Gyroll Air

This trick was invented by Mike Stewart (several times world champion), it's a combination of an El Rollo followed by a front flip before landing…

As you can see, these combos tricks are "just" the combination of basic and/or intermediate moves ; to execute them you need a maximum of speed and a pitching lip so you can get high enough to do two (or more !) different moves while still in the air…

First learn to master the basic and intermediate maneuvers by doing them on every part of the wave ; then you can let go your imagination and pull …a back flip followed by an El Rollo ; or a 360 Reverse Air followed by a Reverse Rollo ! If you can do it, just name it as you wish because you will be probably the first to do so !

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