Walking on a longboard surfboard, often called "cross-stepping" or "boardwalking," is a fundamental technique used to position yourself on the board while riding a wave.
Understanding how to walk on a longboard is essential for executing maneuvers like nose riding. The core principle involves maintaining your balance while carefully moving your feet along the length of the board.
Understanding the Basics of Boardwalking
The goal of walking on a longboard is to smoothly transition your weight and position on the board without disrupting your balance or affecting the board's trim. It's a deliberate, step-by-step movement, not a shuffle or run.
Key Techniques for Boardwalking (Cross-Stepping)
Walking on a longboard requires coordinated body movement and precise foot placement. Follow these steps to learn the technique:
- Maintain Your Stance and Balance: Begin in your comfortable riding stance.
- Ensure your shoulders are positioned over your hips for balance as you move. This alignment helps keep your center of gravity stable over the board.
- Initiate the Step: To move forward (towards the nose), take the foot that is behind and cross it over the foot that is in front.
- Place Your Foot on the Stringer: Always keep your feet on the stringer as you step forward or back on the board. The stringer is the wooden strip that runs down the center of the surfboard.
- Why the stringer? The reference emphasizes: If you divert your weight away from the centre of the longboard, it will affect the balance and you will no doubt fall off! Keeping your feet on the stringer ensures your weight stays centered.
- Bring the Other Foot Forward: Uncross your feet by bringing the original front foot forward, placing it in front of the foot you just moved, also on the stringer.
- Repeat as Needed: Continue this crossing and uncrossing motion along the stringer to move towards the nose or tail of the board.
- Moving Backward: To move backward (towards the tail), reverse the process, crossing your front foot over your back foot while maintaining balance and keeping feet on the stringer.
Practical Tips for Mastering the Walk
- Practice on Land: Get comfortable with the cross-step motion and maintaining your balance on a stable surface first. You can draw a line (the stringer) on the ground.
- Start Small: Begin by taking just one or two steps at a time on the water before attempting to walk the full length of the board.
- Look Ahead: Focus your gaze down the line of the wave or where you are going, not directly at your feet.
- Stay Low: Bending your knees slightly can lower your center of gravity and improve stability.
Common Boardwalking Pitfalls
Avoiding common mistakes is crucial for successful boardwalking:
- Stepping off the Stringer: As highlighted in the reference, placing your feet wide or off the center line (stringer) will shift your weight and cause instability.
- Poor Body Alignment: Failing to keep your shoulders over your hips reduces your ability to recover balance during movement.
- Rushing: Taking large, hurried steps instead of controlled cross-steps will likely lead to falling.
Mastering the longboard walk is a key skill that unlocks more advanced longboarding techniques. Focus on maintaining balance, keeping your feet on the stringer, and practicing the smooth cross-step motion.
