Backside Bottom Turn

Like the Frontside Bottom Turn the Backside Bottom Turn is the most important move in surfing. The backside bottom turn is essential for every other move in your backside repertoire. It allows you to gain speed, hit the lip, and change your position on the wave.

Start by catching a backside wave, and riding down the face with as much speed as possible. Ride straight down the wave, and when you reach the flats start your bottom turn right away. To start your Bottom Turn bend your knees, lean on your heel side edge, and turn your upper body in the direction you want to go. Look over your front shoulder. This will initiate the turn and allow you to see the lip you are about to hit. Your weight should be evenly distributed between your front and back feet. Ride through the beginning of the turn without dragging your heels in the water in-order to maximize your speed. It is very important to keep your original line through the turn so you don’t loose any speed. Try to pick the right line from the beginning. When you begin to go back up the wave transfer most of your weight to your back foot, and drive up the wave face to gain the maximum amount of speed possible for the wave. Focus on the section of the lip you want to hit, and on pushing with your back leg. Finish your powerful bottom turn with a big bash or a nice cutback, and continue down the line to do another one. When you get the bottom turn down try to hit the lip vertically or even over vertically.

Just like the frontside bottom turn the most important thing is you’re attention to detail. If you don’t make any little mistakes, and if you’re using the wave properly you will always be gaining speed for your next move.