Surf Lingo Part Three: Basic Surf Maneuvers

Welcome back for the third session of the Surfer Lingo Series. Previous sessions covered Basic Surf Lingo and Surfboard Terminology. If you missed those sessions, check the Ron Jon Surf Shop blog to catch up. For this session, we will introduce you to The Basics of Surfing Maneuvers with descriptions of some key surf moves to further your knowledge as you get on board with surfing culture.  

Regular footed: Surfers who ride with their left foot in the front. 
– It is important when first learning to surf to figure out whether you will ride regular or goofy footed. 

Goofy footed: Surfers who ride with their right foot in front. 
– When learning to stand up on a surfboard if you naturally place your right foot on the front of the board then you know you naturally ride goofy footed. 

Bottom turn: A turn made at the bottom of a wave after riding down the face. This powerful move allows a surfer to establish speed and direction. 
– The surfer cuts into that bottom turn to redirect their board away from the shallows. 

Take off: The point at which a surfer catches a wave and begins to ride the wave. 
– The surfer swiftly pops up to stand on their board and the transition is smooth for take off. 

Drop in: When a surfer catches a wave in front of another surfer that is closest to the breaking part of the wave. This is considered disrespectful in the surfing community. 
– With only 30 seconds left in the competition, the surfer in red does a drop in on surfer in blue to land those last-second scores. 

Duck dive: The art of pushing a board underwater and following your board under a breaking wave. This maneuver is not so easily done with a longboard. 
– It takes a lot of core muscle and upper body strength to duck dive as you have to force your board under the water when it naturally wants to float. 

Front side: When a surfer rides facing the wave. 
– Since the surfer rode front side, they could see the wave getting bigger. 

Back side: When a surfer rides with their back to the wave. 
– While riding backside down the line, the surfer admired the sunset beyond the coastline. 

Tubed: Riding a wave in the hollow pocket so that the wave is breaking over your head. This maneuver is very rewarding for a surfer. 
– The crowd began to cheer as the surfer got tubed at the end of the competition. 

Down the line: When a surfer rides a wave sideways along the wave face ahead of the breaking part of a wave. 
– The surfer began riding down the line parallel to the shoreline as the wave barreled behind them.   

We hope these terms help you understand some of the basic surf maneuvers as you continue your journey within the surfing community.