Longboarding-The Science of Noseriding
The feeling that all longboarders are seeking - total euphoria whilst seemingly flying over water without the burden of gravity. Noseriding comes in various forms from the hang five, cheat five, hang ten, hang heal and more. The Holy Grail is the hang ten, where all ten toes are perched over the nose, satisfying the surfers craving of this elusive weightless feeling.
Noseriding may at first glance seem effortless, but this is far from the truth, and in fact making noseriding look effortless is one of the most difficult things to achieve.
Let’s dive into the science behind noseriding and the steps you need to take to finally feel the pure ecstasy that entails.
There is more to noseriding than one may think… Photo by @trubavinphoto
The Science of Noseriding
The science of noseriding is a book in itself, with an abundance of factors all coming together to create this perfectly suspended moment in time. The most simple way to think of noseriding is using the analogy of a seesaw. On the tail end of the board, the fin locks in to the wave and creates drag, whilst simultaneously the breaking section of the wave adds downward pressure on the tail. This allows you to move your weight to the nose of the board and form balance between the downward pressure on the tail and downward pressure on the nose. For the ultimate locked in noseride, the board MUST be fully locked and lodged into the wave, otherwise the seesaw effect will not be able to take place. This is why you see talented longboarders doing fully perched hang tens in the steep pocket of the wave, as this section allows for the tail to fully lock in and provide counterbalance to the surfer on the nose. If you are too far on the shoulder, without the board locked in, the balance will be off and you will inevitably nose dive.
As mentioned in our Ultimate Guide to Buying a Longboard, the attributes of your longboard will affect the way it noserides. For example, a wide tail with added rocker will aid with locking the board into the curl, whilst 50/50 soft rails will suck water over the board and add weight to the counterbalance of the noseride. A wide nose will make noseriding more stable and easier in flatter sections, whereas a narrower nose compliments the tight area of the pocket and allows for more critical noseriding.
Learn to Cross-Step First
How many times have you been excited to try to noseride, so you pop up and quickly shuffle your way down the board clumsily to try and perch on that nose?……This is a very common fault when progressing in longboarding and will only keep slowing you down in the long run. It is fundamental to first learn to cross-step before you noseride. In-fact, once you learn to properly cross step, the noseriding comes much easier than you would imagine.
To cross-step, you need to move your back leg in-front of your leading leg in a twisted motion, somewhat resembling the shape of an ‘X’. Try to keep this motion neat and narrow by landing your back foot only slightly forward of your front toes. This will create good technique and look much more elegant than wide cross-steps. Following this first motion, your back leg should then flow to the front again by moving from behind the heel of your front leg. Try to remember that your back foot always goes over your front toes, and your front foot always comes from behind the back heel. These two steps complete one full cross-step! Whilst carrying out this movement, aim to keep your front shoulder aimed towards the nose of your board, as this aids with balance and style. Also, try to keep your feet centered over the stringer to create overall good balance on the board.
You can practice on land by marking out the length of your board and then cross-step from your pop-up position towards the imaginary nose. This will help you get a feel for the movement, improve your balance, and help you figure out how many steps it takes to get to the nose. Usually it takes 2 complete cross-step to get to the nose from your pop-up position, however many advanced surfers aim to challenge themselves by carrying out a higher number of very tight cross-steps.
You can practice a cross-step or two out on the shoulder of the wave, but to progress to a noseride, you will need to learn to cross step in the steeper section of the wave and in the top third of the wave, as this is the section that allows for the ‘seesaw’ balance as mentioned above.
Learning to cross-step is the most time consuming process to learn regarding noseriding, but once you get it down you will almost be there!
Setting Up for the Noseride
Lets take things back a little bit before the cross-step to the set-up. It is crucial to set-up your board correctly along the wave and in the right position before you cross-step and noseride. You want to be staying in the upper portion of the wave towards the lip. Being positioned too far down on the flats will reduce speed and not allow for the board to lock in. Once you are up and cruising after popping up, you can start ‘trimming’, which is a form of micro adjustments to turn your board and bring it to the upper portion of the wave. To trim to the higher part of the wave, simply lean onto your feet over your toes or over your heels in the direction that you wish to go. If you are riding frontside, apply weight over your toes, and if you are riding backside, apply weight over your heels. This small movement will bring you up to the correct section of the wave.
Once you are in this position, you need to read the wave. If the section is steep, then it’s time to cross-step! It may seem counter-intuitive, but the steep section of the wave is where the board will be the most stable due to being locked into the pocket.
With setting up it really is all about practice and feeling. It’s like riding a bike, there is a feeling when you ‘get it’. When you are in the perfect position, you will know, as you will feel the stability of the board from being locked in.
You will need to take time to also feel out the benefits of using cross-steps to create speed in a slower section to get you to a steeper section ahead. Moving your weight forward up the board but not all the way to the nose will create speed, which may be needed to get you to a steep noseride section in time. Once again, this is all about feeling, which is the beauty and mystery of longboarding.
@facingblankpages trimming and eyeing up the section. Photo by @lturiano
Time to Noseride
Once you have positioned yourself in the correct spot as mentioned above, its time to cross-step your way to the nose. You may feel the board sucking into the wave and the nose lifting up - this is the perfect time to get to the nose. Feeling the stability of the board locked in, you can be confident to make the final step to the nose. The fin and board will be locked in, and now it's time for you to perch on the other end of the seesaw. The last cross-step you take should land your front foot on the nose, preferably with your toes over the nose, but we won’t be too strict for now. Getting your front toes over the nose is called a ‘hang five’. Here your back foot will be behind your front foot and help you keep stable during the hang five. Now you are hanging! It’s going to feel strange but wonderful! You will feel the magical lift and speed as you glide effortlessly on the nose. Whilst performing a hang five, try to keep a slight bend in your knees for balance, and a nice straight upright position in your back. You can practice moving your weight over your back foot whilst performing a hang five to increase hang time.
Now it’s either time to move to the hang ten or step back. You can’t stay on the nose forever, and it is likely that your board will start to accelerate out of the pocket and into the flatter section, which is time to step back and avoid a nosedive! However, if you are feeling stable on your hang five and the board is still locked into a steep section, then go for the hang ten. Move your back foot to join your front foot, preferably with all ten toes over, then you can really claim it! A hang ten feels even more ‘out of this world’ than a hang five and provides the ultimate feeling of ecstasy that we are chasing. You will find balancing much harder on a hang ten, so try to engage your core to aid with balance - full superhero mode activated. Stepping back from a hang ten is trickier than stepping back from a hang five, but in time (and after a few falls) the movement will feel more natural and easier to complete.
An often neglected factor of cross-stepping and noseriding is your arm positioning. Try to be conscious of your arms whilst you are getting to the nose and noseriding. At first, your arms will naturally flail around a lot as a response of your body trying to keep balance. This will inevitably happen whilst practicing, but in the long run you want to aim to have your arms in a more relaxed and controlled position.
Choose the Correct Board
The correct board choice will drastically aid your progress in noseriding. If you are just starting out or progressing with your noseriding, we recommend a more ‘classic’ traditional longboard. A classic longboard has a wide tail and nose, soft rails and flat rocker. These attributes will help you perform more stable noserides - even in weaker, flatter conditions.
If you are already a competent noserider, we recommend a more progressive shape, such as an Australian Involvement style board. These boards are wider in the hips and narrower in the nose. They provide fantastic critical noseriding abilities due to the narrow nose fitting in the steep curl, and the wide hips helping to lock the board in.
You can find out more about choosing the correct surfboard in our Ultimate Guide to Buying a Longboard.
On the left, our classic ‘Resolution’, on the right our progressive ‘Fluid Drive’
Practice, Practice, Practice
Now you have read this blog, we hope you feel stoked and inspired to get out there and start perching on the nose! Remember, practice is everything. It’s easy to get frustrated, and surf progress can feel so slow, but stick at it and you will get there. Try not to think too much about the science and tips whilst surfing, as this can actually make you less present and cause less progress. Instead, soak up all the learning material like this blog during your time out of the water. Your magical brain will do the computing and start applying the knowledge in the surf automatically.
See you in the water!