Here's how you do it:
1. Get some speed. Come off the bottom and project down the line- no bogwan bottom turns here! You've got to drive off the bottom by dropping your ass and getting some spring out of your legs- get those fins working for you... power 'em up! Stiff leg bottom turn are only cool if you're soul arching through the pit at Pipe- everyone else should loosen up and get JAMMING!
2. Take aim. Look for a little vertical section or an oncoming ball of whitewash coming toward you, now put the cross hairs on it and bounce off the bottom up towards it.
Smack the shitake out of that!
3. Hit it. As you see the lip approaching, bend your knees, release your inside rail and spring up, pushing your board up the face and into the lip. Yep, the timing and coordination of this part of the trick makes it the toughest part of the whole thing... this is where practice makes perfect. The bottom of your board should smack the lip with a satisfying slap. Schwack!
4. Redirect. Don't come off the bottom staring at the lip the whole way- if you do, you'll end up jamming up into the lip but you won't be able to complete the move by bringing the board back down. As you throw your board into the lip, you should already be turning your head back down. Look away from the lip to the trough of the wave, spot where you want to finish the turn. Look to where you want to go... this is a HUGE piece of good advice.
Land that lipper! Look to where you want to go, and you'll go there.
5. Arms. As you get better at this trick you'll want to work your arms into the equation, they'll help put more power and flow into the smack. Keep it simple, the quieter your upper body the better the move will look. As you come off the apex of the turn, try to push your back arm across your body. The move is like trying to reach across your own body, your forearm should cross in front of your chest. Remember, less is always more- try not to flail like a spastic chicken.
6. Legs. These boards are big- even the small ones, so the more muscle you can put into the turn the better. Don't be afraid to try to push through the turn with your back leg. If you hit it just right, you'll exit with more speed than you entered.
Push through the turn and exit with more speed than you entered with.
7. Timing is key- you want to hit the lip at just the moment that it detaches from the face of the wave. How do you learn to do this? Practice it everytime you go for a surf, watch videos of the good guys working 'em over. Not just SUP surfers either, watch the shortboard pros, pause, rewind and slow it all down. Dissect the motion. Visualize yourself doing it- then get out there and try it.
Good Luck!
