To get an idea of what I am talking about, check out this short video from a recent session:
I was working on the Backwind Jibe. Just like I expected, the 110 l freestyle board seemed to small for my big feet, and I had a hard time going around the mast. I had worked on this move a few times before during ABK camps, but it seemed almost unreachable. At times like this, I always remember how my former Karate sensei called me "the guy with the worst balance" in my black belt test.
But I also think of more inspirational people, for example Dave White. Dave does not exactly have the most athletic build, but that has not kept him from holding speedsurfing records, winning national wave sailing championships, and creating top instructional videos. His "My Way" jibe video is one of my all-time favorites:
At 1:45 in the video, Dave demonstrates the Backwind Jibe, and I think it looks darn cool.
So I looked at my GoPro videos again, and discovered why I had such a hard time walking around the mast. The first problem was that I did not move the back foot far enough forward. When I then moved the front foot in front of the mast, my stance was very wide. That gave me two options: either push hard from the back foot, which would launch me over the front; or add a bunch of little steps, a great way to kill speed and step on your own toes.
The second thing I noticed was that my front foot was not wrapped around the mast enough: the toes were pointing sideways or even a bit forward, instead of (partly) towards the back of the board. Lacking Andy Brandt's freakishly flexible joints, that meant that my back foot would end up in the wrong place when I moved it in front of the mast: on the centerline, or (more often than not) even on the wrong side of the centerline. That lead to board wobble instead of constant carving, killing speed and any chances of success.
Fortunately, the fix seemed easy: just move the back foot forward as much as possible, right behind the front footstrap on the carving rail; and concentrate on wrapping the front foot around the mast, toes pointing to the back. I focused on these two things in the next session, and it made a huge difference - I got around with a couple of steps almost every time. Pretty soon afterwards, I managed to almost complete the move - I pushed the clew through the wind, and finished the move non-planing and with a tennis save. Not good enough yet to claim the move, since I was still dead downwind, and let go of the boom with one hand, but a lot closer.
The next session, I picked up right where I left of, and staid dry in my first try. A few wet tries followed, but I also got a couple of tries where I managed to turn through downwind onto the new tack, and kept both hands on the boom. Those count! In my last dry try of the day, I even managed to transfer all my weight onto my back foot while pushing the clew through the wind, which made the board snap around onto the new beam reach. Cool! Not planed through yet, but we should have a few more days to practice before we drive back to Cape Cod.
So, maybe I am not really that clumsy. I just have to remember that deep horse stances are for the dojo, and not for the windsurf board!
But I also think of more inspirational people, for example Dave White. Dave does not exactly have the most athletic build, but that has not kept him from holding speedsurfing records, winning national wave sailing championships, and creating top instructional videos. His "My Way" jibe video is one of my all-time favorites:
At 1:45 in the video, Dave demonstrates the Backwind Jibe, and I think it looks darn cool.
So I looked at my GoPro videos again, and discovered why I had such a hard time walking around the mast. The first problem was that I did not move the back foot far enough forward. When I then moved the front foot in front of the mast, my stance was very wide. That gave me two options: either push hard from the back foot, which would launch me over the front; or add a bunch of little steps, a great way to kill speed and step on your own toes.
The second thing I noticed was that my front foot was not wrapped around the mast enough: the toes were pointing sideways or even a bit forward, instead of (partly) towards the back of the board. Lacking Andy Brandt's freakishly flexible joints, that meant that my back foot would end up in the wrong place when I moved it in front of the mast: on the centerline, or (more often than not) even on the wrong side of the centerline. That lead to board wobble instead of constant carving, killing speed and any chances of success.
Fortunately, the fix seemed easy: just move the back foot forward as much as possible, right behind the front footstrap on the carving rail; and concentrate on wrapping the front foot around the mast, toes pointing to the back. I focused on these two things in the next session, and it made a huge difference - I got around with a couple of steps almost every time. Pretty soon afterwards, I managed to almost complete the move - I pushed the clew through the wind, and finished the move non-planing and with a tennis save. Not good enough yet to claim the move, since I was still dead downwind, and let go of the boom with one hand, but a lot closer.
The next session, I picked up right where I left of, and staid dry in my first try. A few wet tries followed, but I also got a couple of tries where I managed to turn through downwind onto the new tack, and kept both hands on the boom. Those count! In my last dry try of the day, I even managed to transfer all my weight onto my back foot while pushing the clew through the wind, which made the board snap around onto the new beam reach. Cool! Not planed through yet, but we should have a few more days to practice before we drive back to Cape Cod.
So, maybe I am not really that clumsy. I just have to remember that deep horse stances are for the dojo, and not for the windsurf board!
