I have found myself in bad situations more than a few times — one paddle short or gusting winds that hold you up a little longer than you would like. Whatever the reason for getting hung in the lip, one thing is sure: you are either about to get a severe beat down, or you are about to have one heck of thrill ride. Here are the key points to landing an air drop.
Once you have the board under your feet, do everything you can to keep them there. Most peoples instinct is to go limp and try to cousin the blow. Sometimes that is the best option but sometimes committing to staying on the board is the way to go.
Bend the knees! Stiff legged landings are always harder to pull off. Use your God-given shock absorber’s to help stomp air drops and airs alike.
And trust your skill. If you have done a fare amount of balance training, odds are your body will better prepared for these situations. I would rather let my body do what it was trained to do rather than trying to learn on the spot. Practice, practice, practice so that on game day you just focus on how to win and not how to play.
This is an air drop. Mark Healey, Dungeons, 2008. Photo: Red Bull
Get more tips and tricks on the best ways to stay in shape and maximize your surf performance over at Nakoa’s YouTube page.
