SurfSkate Tutorial: The Basics of Bowl Riding
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2021
- Riding in a bowl might be the ultimate way of putting a surfskate to use that maximizes every element of its design. If you are a surfer, it feels like you are riding up the breaking face of Pipeline or Uluwatu. If you are a skateboarder, a surfskate gives you an edge over your regular skateboard because you can ride practically any bowl in the world and never need to throw a single kickturn. And if you are purely a surfskater you are about to discover a lifetime of exhilarating fun! This tutorial walks you through the basics to get you comfortable and confident starting out.
1:10 - Skills you should have before starting
2:10 - Preparation and Planning your "Line"
4:10 - What to do with your body, stance, and positioning
6:15 - Getting your first turns (backside)
7:10 - Adding in Frontside turns
8:24 - Detailed breakdown of Frontside turns - The biggest challenge for new riders
9:00 - Good technique - Think of Arcs and Rainbows
9:52 - Putting it all together for success
Thanks for watching, and definitely let me know if you have any questions or challenges on your journey. Stay tuned for the next installment where I will get into intermediate bowl skills.
Stay-at-home orders have meant having to cancel in-person lessons so I am happy that I can keep teaching a way bigger audience online! A few people have suggested creating paid content but I think nothing will compare to in-person teaching so soon enough we'll get back to that. If you find my teaching useful and you really want to express gratitude, I set up a buy-me-a-coffee account as an option, but honestly, I get just as stoked about a new subscription, a thankful comment, or stories about how excited you are at doing something you've been trying to do thanks to my help. Keep shredding and pushing the boundaries of surfskating! www.buymeacoffee.com/MarktheL...
#surfskatebowl #bowltutorial #surfskate #howtosurfskate - Спорт
Best bowl tutorial for beginners I’ve seen. Super helpful. And I’ll never skate a bowl again without imagining that I’m a sparkling unicorn spreading rainbows as I carve. 🤣🤣🤣
😁 I thought that might help make it stick! 🌈🦄. Glad you found it helpful!!
@@magnetmountain33 I wanted to cover all this in my original script but had to cut it for time restrictions 😄
You are so right about surfers being better with frontside carving. I'm super comfortable frontside but still need some work on my backside.
I’ve watched several “how to skate a bowl” videos and you’re the only person who actually explained HOW to get up and down a transition. Thanks, Mark!
I'm 57 and started flat ground surf skate a year ago. Just getting into bowls now and your videos are triumphant! This is a joy of a sport and more people should do it. Thanks Mark.
Mark
My friend, you're quickly becoming my "Eckhart Tolle" of surfskating... and thank you for spending the time to explain to us (40 yr olders who are not ready to grow old) how to have fun while feeling/being young 🙏
You don't need to grow old, you just need to recalibrate your goals every once in a while and usually that means getting stoked over a wider range of accomplishments!
Yo you got the whole channel on lock man. Thank you for the content. I'm gonna film my adventure and progress
Great tutorial. Loved how you explained pumping up the bowl and using extension. Super helpful!
This is a great vid, Mark. Thanks a lot. Rad to see you are in Ottawa! We have a small but growing little surfskate community up in Whitehorse, Yukon. Basically 4 dads who were getting tired of just watching our kids have all the fun at the new skatepark.
Awesome tutorial. Step by step as usual. Well, nothing to say but Bravo !!!
Hey Mark! This is another fantastic video. Your explanations are really easy to understand and I can easily visualize myself going through the motions as I watch. I'm definitely going to practice my frontside turns using the techniques you explained here. Keep it up, man, you're awesome!
Really glad to hear that you are finding it helpful. My wife finds my videos more useful than my live coaching 😆.
You're taking the world on a wonderful journey Mark! I started from scratch and im progressing steadily thanks to your video's. Its gonna be a great summer here in Belgium. Cheers!
Awesome! Glad you are finding them helpful!
Great stuff, I love the style of your videos, plz keep’em coming!
Thank you!
kool stuff man..looking forewards to the advanced tips.
Thanks for making this video.
Awesome tutorial Mark! The flow of your double pump is really great and smooth!
Thanks so much Noel!
Hi Mark incredible video .Thank u
Great job with this tutorial. Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
So helpful
That’s done next advanced stuff 🤙🏻
Congrats...very Nice
Thanks for the video !!
Great tutorial. Thanks! )
Great video. Awesome 😎
Awesome video!
Thanks Erik!
Super usefull. Thanks!
I so agree with your statement that this is “the best way to use your surf skate!” - surfing parks and pump tracks seems the stuff they were made for! There is a park in Bend Or. that is the surfiest I’ve found yet! Not a single box or rail... it was almost like a free flow pump track with bowls and coping.
I saw your image of that park in the FB group, it looks incredible! Have to get there someday.
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer here is the edit, even got some of the local kids riding my Carver! Good times can’t wait to go back soon!!
ua-cam.com/video/ZdImCUuOmxE/v-deo.html
@@boisebroncoadventures Need to get there
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer let me know if you are planning a trip Im 5 hours away - or if your ever in Boise to surf and or surf skate hit me up!
Very good content 🤙🤘
This was so good! Went to a skatepark today for the first time, pretty daunting! I think I got about a deck width up the wall & it felt awesome!! Keep them coming! :)
Haha, I remember that feeling. It felt like I was 4 feet off the ground and then I looked at the video and realized it was maybe a foot if being generous! But it was fun and I was hooked!
Kool Mr McCoy..i hope ya got that on vid..)
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer Yes, FUN INDEED!! Love your content, very inspiring! :)
@@middleagedshred Haha, I haven't looked yet, Womp! I do have footage of Idiotboy taking on a gentle slope sight unseen, that got progressively steeper & the concrete ran out! There is blood.... :)
@@nottherealmccoy4955 Ah..you should check out some "how to bail safely" vids..mabey our Landlocked surfer could post a vid on his perspective on bailing...sounds like your clip could be too spicy for youtube..you might have to setup an onlyfans page..)
thank you
I'm waiting for my surfskate in the mail. I'll need to watch all your family's tutorials, haha!
Best of luck on your surfskate journey!
Every time I see that bowl landscape I cry due to options in Hamburg.
Merci beaucoup 👍
Je suis heureux que vous ayez trouvé cela utile
Awesome video Mark! Best video on bowl surfskating for beginners! Do you have any wheel recommendations for riding bowls? Thanks
Thanks Nathanael, my fave wheels for park skating are discontinued I believe. They are these old Carver Roundhouse ones: www.kickpush.com.au/carver-skateboard-wheels-roundhouse-mag-indigo-81a The newer ones feel way softer and don't slide well. These ones say 81A, but they feel harder and faster than my 84s. But in general, harder is good for speed, and traction isn't as important when you are doing more transition pumping than surfskate pumping.
Thanks
Hey thanks so much for your support!
Great underrated content!!
Great footage as well, may I ask what camera are you using?
In this one I used the GoPro hero 9 and the Insta360 R one
Hi @Mark the Landlocked Surfer, thanks for this great video. I'm in a similar boat to you (landlocked surfer) and recently started surfkskating to quench my thirst :) today I progressed from flats and mellow downhills to making it around pump tracks for the first time without stopping.
My quest is to work up towards bowl riding, so I'm stoked to have found this video!
I have a question/suggestion for a video. Can you tell us what kinds of wheels you are using?
and also, how much do you tighten/loosen your trucks and bushings?
Anything along those lines would be so interesting to hear/watch!
Thanks for the super insightful channel, keep it up man!
Bryan
I have seven different boards with different wheels and I can shred on any of them with some fine tuning adjustments to my technique. So my advice if you are starting out is to work on your technique to begin with and get a solid foundation on whatever stock wheels you have. Once you are at the stage where you are sure it is the wheels that are holding you back, you should have a good idea of what you want. But generally, for skatepark riding you can sacrifice some grip for a harder wheel that will hold speed a little better. As for the trucks, I would experiment with them. generally I like to keep them almost as loose as they can go, except when I am doing more skateboardy stuff like riding a miniramp or jumping down staircases. Thanks for the suggestion - will add it to the list!
Frontside is scary but fun when I nail a full carve. I usually end up doing a medium high double carve.
Naaaaice🤙🏻
Hi, best bowl tutorial ever! Witch wheels shore should I be using for slides at the skate park, my crusing wheel seem to soft, too gripy. Thank man ! Keep up!
Thank you! Not sure if you have seen my video on how to do perfect backside bertslides, but technique is such a huge part of it. Sliding on big 78a’s isn’t too bad if you use the proper technique for unweighting, but definitely a harder durometer wheel can be a helping hando be able to slide without perfect technique. Try something in the 83-87a range if you still want to do some normal flatland pumping, but if you have a board strictly for the skatepark, I know some people like to go right up to 97a. Thanks for watching and for the kind comment!
Thanx for the advice bro, yes I sure did, great stuff, game changer, I also saw the other vid were you talk about carvers bowl wheels, Im gonna try that. Thanx again.
Hi mark, this is a great vid. Do you have any recommendations regarding pads and safety gear? Any particular brands/models that you use? Wanted to try bowl riding but also want to make sure i have the right protection.
Hey thanks! I haven't really found anything I love yet, but probably because I keep buying cheap stuff. I have noticed that for comfort, good knee pads make a big difference and maybe worth paying a little more and trying on for proper fit. Wrist pads wear out fastest. Quality might prolong their life but I've had $35 sets wear out as fast as $10 sets, so I think the strategy is either go cheap in bulk or go top quality. I reached out to a maker of expensive pads to suggest they sponsor me since so many people ask this but no response received 😄
My first takeaways are. Not turning when the momentum is still going upwards. Second it seems that the push on the back foot is crucial to get speed but is also scary since nose might lift. Third is wheels play a significant role. Funnily I have Carver Park Wheels that are Slower than YOW in 80 durometer. My seismic seem to be great at I guess they are 84. but dragons 64mm in 95 feel like rockets. Guess the better someone gets the less speed needs to come from equipment though😢
Great video Mark, really inspiring. Do you find certain trucks serve you better in the bowl or does it not make much difference? Thinking about Yow Meraki vs Carver C7
Honestly I have been happy with most surfskates in bowls. It is a bit more forgiving since you aren’t using a surfskate pump but rather transition pumping. Meraki and Smoothstar give you a tighter turn so you can go more straight up and still get your board around with all 4 wheels on the ground but they also feel a little less stable when you are new. CX and C5 are opposite, very stable and you can come down fakie if trying a rock-to-fakie on these, but your arcs will have to be a bit wider. C7 is kind of in between and one thing I like is that they carve grind very well if you want to get to the point of getting right to the coping. Swelltech trucks flow well but I find them really scary in the bowl, like riding a ripstik that could just slide out on you if you make one wrong move.
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer really helpful to know your experience with these. Thank you so much 😊
Awesome video! Do you think that trying to learn in 95a durometer Powell peralta wheels is too ambitious? Thanks!
Bowl is a lot more forgiving for harder wheels because you are doing more transition pumping than surfskate pumping, but you will need to be aware that 95a's will be prone to sliding out on double pumps or surfskate pumping between walls.
I just tried a pump track to get the hang of the extension when going up & compression when going down before seeing your great video. Could you confirm the weight distribution of the front & back foot. Going down I think most of the weight should on the front but what about going up slope? I thought it was the rear but almost slip off the board. I have not tried a bowl yet. Tks
Hmm, it is hard to describe in words, more of a feel thing. Generally going up, I try to just use my legs to unweight my board, so giving an upwards pump on the way up to u weight the board. Coming down the key is to extend your back leg in the last bit of transition to get a little speed boost coming out.
In love with your videos!! All perfect explained!! Is the surf skate you are using good for making ollie's and drop in the bowl? The one I have from de "Slide" brand is not too good for that
Thanks so much Hugo! I have quite a few different boards, it has become a bit of an obsession. The one in this video has a very short tail making it more difficult to Ollie, and a bit more nerve-wracking to drop in with. But I have others that probably Ollie nearly as well as a regular skateboard, I Ollied over a 6 staircase set least week (well maybe more like 5 and a half as they were tiny) on a custom setup with Carver CX-mini trucks, and I can even nollie pretty high with my Yow Medina Camo. A board shape with a good tail and a bit of lift to the nose will always be my preference to keep those options open.
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer Thank you so much for answering!!! I'll have a look the that model you told me, hopefully it can be versatile for every situation and have all that options open!!
@@hugoeiroa Here is my review of the YOW Medina: ua-cam.com/video/tEgYJxmC5CA/v-deo.html
And here is the update for when I learned how to Carve grind on it without hanging up: ua-cam.com/video/-NK71rGNEB4/v-deo.html
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer Thank you so much!! I will definitely have a look!! Surf skate is so addictive hahaha. Hope you are having a wonderfull day, greetings from Spain! ✨😊
After watching your videos it inspired me to hit some skate parks!! I'm on the carver green room with c7 and honestly I think for bowls its a bit too long, and maybe the wrong trux. I can't seem to get enough speed and my carves are very drawn out obv because of the c7s. Whats the carver you're using there? I'm debating buying a second setup for skate parks.
The one in this video is 29.5" with C7's. I prefer CX and C5 in bowls, but C7's work fine as you can see, just a little heavier. The green room is long and it can work in the park, but the problem is that you will need more speed to get it up the wall. Keep practicing before buying a new board though. Go for the biggest corner and work on getting low then unweighting, and coming back down, but go at a bigger radius arc with the larger board.
Got the greenroom with cx and it works mighty fine in bowls. I like a wider stance and prefer 18-20 WB. But it the end, you can get used to anything. Don't get caught on gear! (I also ride regular 15" wheelbase skateboards with "normal" ace trucks as well as super twitchy smooth star from time to time)
@@filipwanstrom5094 if only you could buy anything carver right now. I’d buy a set of cx.
I ride a Greenroom in a bowl just fine. I’ve tried YOW Meraki, Slide, Carver C7, and Carver CX in the bowl. My favorite is CX.
Play with your wheels on your greenroom to increase your speed. Smaller and harder than typical surfskate wheels.
I also just got a Carver Black Tip. I haven’t ridden in the bowl yet, but just from skating it I can tell it’s going to become my bowl deck. Shorter, snappier, locks your feet in better.
But I like the greenroom too! Works great for me.
@@SurfskateLove what wheels do you recommend?
I'd like to switch from my conventional board to a Carver for sharper turns in and around the bowl. Can you tell me if there's much wheel bite or jacknife with a surfskate? Thx.
Wheelbite is an infrequent issue, and typically when it happens you’ve turned your wheels so much that you wouldn’t have ridden away anyways. Some systems are prone to jackknife if you get your weight too far forward. It isn’t an issue with Carvers but have done it on YOW, Smoothstar, Swelltech, Waterborne… with greater range of motion comes greater responsibility!
nice video!
what surfskate did you ride in this video?
For most of this video I am using Carver Conlongue C7
Great Video! I have been skating bowls for around 2 years on independent trucks. I am perfectly comfotable dropping in off coping. I am wanting to try a surf skate, probably a set of C5s on a 10 inch deck. I have loosened my trucks to the point of wheel biting, a lot. I am a bit worried about dropping in with a truck that turns that much, as in a fear of instant speed wobble or squirling out hard on a drop in. Question is, is a drop in feeling close on RKP the same feeling as a Indy truck? i see videos of drop ins !nd they always seem super unstable. cant tell if its because they are just learning to drop in vs being unfamliar with a RKP truck. any advice would be great. thanks Matt!
now i feel dumb! Sorry! Mark (not matt). all apologies
It took me a while to do it because I had the same fear, but once I did, I realized it felt essentially the same as a regular skateboard. If you are comfortable dropping in now, you'll be fine. The way surfskate trucks are designed is different from regular trucks and different than longboard or cruiser RKPs, so instead of getting speed wobbles, the trucks just keep turning, and a C5 won't jackknife. You'll get the hang of it quick!
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer Thanks Mark! ok I'm in. gonna order a set of C5s. I watched more of your vids, looks like your drop ins are clean and wobble free. my local bowl is a 6ft shallow end, Ill just send it! hahaha Keep up the good work, your videos are a great source of knowledge and inspiration.
hello Sir, i would like your input on this
im about 5'10" and would like to build up a bowl riding surfskate.
im looking at a board that's about 10"wide, 32" long ,wb of 16"
would you recommend using a c7 or a cx truck or even a Yow system ?
Thank you so much!
I think your deck dimensions make sense. A lot of people are of the opinion that CX are the best in bowls. I don't share that opinion, but they work fine, and if you are interested in doing any manouevres that require riding fakie, like a 360 or 360 bertslide or rock-to-fakie, then CX have an edge. C7 also work well in the bowl and grind coping nicely. I used a C7 board for most of this video. I love my YOW trucks for bowl riding, they are much more nimble and can turn more tightly than CX or C7 but you do have to be more cautious when grinding coping. Remember that YOW adapters set back your axel more than CX and C7s so the wheelbase will feel shorter. The last thing that might be worth considering are Curfboard trucks, I found them to be really effective in a bowl-specific setup.
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer cheers mark ! Thank you
Do you know how I can get a surfskate truck? I want to upgrade from my waterborne on my cruiser, put my waterborne on a longboard, but I can't find just a truck. Everything is out of stock or sold only as a complete. Thanks for any help.
Wish I could help with that, but they are a hot commodity right now and scarce all around the world.
Where is this great park located that youre riding in?
Legacy Skatepark in Ottawa, Canada 🇨🇦
Hello, I want to buy a surf skate to skate park, I have a low level but I am not a beginner. I wish I could pump and bowl. which truck I should take YOW or CX.
A lot of people say that CX is their favourite for bowls but I'm not one of them. The turn radius is wider than on a meraki and I find that I have to kick turn sometimes for the really sharp turns. Doing grinds on the coping is possible on both, but each with their own challenges. YOW can jackknife on you as I show in my video on grinds with Meraki, and CX have long Kingpins that can hang up. All that said, both are still good options and you probably wouldn't be disappointed either way.
I find it quite exhausting riding around in a bowl, a lot of resisting this downward force as I go up the transition. I find it particularly strenuous on the outer thighs, particularly of my leading leg. Is this normal and something that I will build strength for, or am I doing something wrong? I find it all quite terrifying so perhaps I'm being too stiff and staying too high out of fear or perhaps I have just eaten too many pizzas?
Bowl riding is one of those things that actually is less work the better you get because you can keep your momentum and be more efficient. The more smooth and clean you are with your arcs, the more you can carry that momentum. The higher you get on the walls, the more downward force you will have to carry into the next turn. So the higher and faster you go, the less work it is. Keep working! And check out my other tutorial on flow: ua-cam.com/video/TrcKm-hGxjY/v-deo.html
@@MarktheLandlockedSurferThanks, will watch. The bowl I have access to has a 2' drop from 7' bowl to a 9' pocket. It has no ramp, and I'm nowhere near ready to drop in, so I have to work up the momentum after a short runup with the 2' drop. Going back and forward inside the pocket is fine, but by the time I've got momentum enough to get somewhere near the rim, my thighs are burning so bad I fear I'm going to just crumple into the ground as I transition up on the next pass. If this doesn't sound familiar then I guess I am doing it wrong.
Hey mate, I'm in the market for a new surfskate and I was hoping for some advice.
I've used a surfskate before and would like to improve my surfing by getting back into it again, and from what I've gathered smoothstar is the way to go for a pure surf trainer. Problem is, I'd ideally like to be able to skate bowls and from what I can tell the smoothstar seems to be too loose to keep speed properly.
I don't have the coin to buy two boards, one for surf training and one for bowls, so do you have any recommendations on what I should pick up?
Love the channel, been really digging all your videos 👌🏼
Thanks for the comment! I have had a whole bunch of boards to ride and review, and the Smoothstar is the one I have been saving for last. I know a lot of people do skate bowls with them, and even though I found the YOW a bit wobbly in steep transition at first, I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I will be riding the Smoothstar pretty soon and will try to remember to circle back to update you. I do find that my YOW Medina is a really good all-around board.
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer thanks so much for the reply homie, keep up the good work!
Hello! I was wondering which board ykure using in this
Mostly filmed on The Carver Conlongue pro with C7 trucks
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer thanks for such a quick reply!
Marvelous bowl, where is it?
It is in Ottawa near Algonquin colllege. It is older and the concrete is in rough shape in a few spots but it has great flow!
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer thank you! Legacy skatepark?
Is there a wheelbase that you found ideal for bowl skating with a surfskate?
Wheelbases are not simple in SurfSkate terminology because depending on the truck system you use it might be offset from the bolt holes in very different ways. Generally something more compact is my favourite for flowing in bowls, and I like C5 or CX a little more than a board with a swing arm for riding bowls. So on a CX or C5, 15" feels great to me, which I think has an axle to axle distance of around 16". 15" bolt hole wheelbase with a SmoothStar would be practically unrideable, so I think the key thing is to just shave a little off what you like for pumping the flats.
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer Thanks! I agree, CX is a great bowl truck. Will try on an old school pool deck, many of which are around 15”.
What is the longest axle to axle wheel base that is easy & stable for beginners on a bowl? I have several decks ranging from 20-26" axle to axle wheelbase with waterborne / smoothstar adapters & all with WB rails as I like the extreme lean they give.
Is that a cx? Also what wheels are you using?
Mostly C7 in this video with 69mm roundhouse concave
I'm 183cm (6 feet) how long should my deck be?
You should check out @surfskatelove board selector tool. Starts with measuring your stance. Also different systems offset the axles more or less so it gets complex and his system is helpful. I am the same height and my sweet spot seems to be about 17" axle to axle.
After watching this video I brought a bowling ball to the skate park like you said to. Needless to say I’m not allowed back and I will be paying for a few peoples hospital bills.
😂😆😂 I said “Visualize”!
note to self: 4:50 5:50 8:25
I really want to see Mark’s utube videos but they don’t load up.
Hey, what do you mean, like you can see the title but they don't play?
Great video but the audio is too low
Yeah filming the skatepark sections with a 360 cam was good for visuals but not ideal for audio. Lesson learned.
1. Wear wrist protection.
Always a good idea
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer I broke my 'skateboard' bone a couple of years ago : /
Also, video record yourself, because when you think you are bending your knees, bend them some more because most certainly you are not and one may "believe" it does.
100% true. My wife never believes me until I show her the video!
Eh wait what? Frontside is on your heels and backside is on your toes? That makes literally no sense at all 😂. Can someone please explain? I'm talking 6:28
It is about where the obstacle is relative to you. So you turn on your heels when the wall is in front of you. Turn on your toes when your back is to the wall.
@@MarktheLandlockedSurfer aaaaahhhh gotcha thanks!