The Strike Range
Many surfers look too far down the line and try to attack sections that are three, four, five metres ahead of them. Directly in front of them, one metre away, there is a lip that is an easy target.
Don’t Look Too Far Down The Line!!
The target that is five metres away often leads the surfer into overextending racing away from the best part of the wave. If you target the lip in the area next to you, that is an easy strike rate and you can reach that target comfortably and in a quicker time. This speeds your surfing up. Make sure you are looking at targets within striking distance and not too far down the line.
Perception is essentially the brain’s understanding of what is going on in and around the body at any particular moment in time. In relation to surfing it is determining what is happening on the wave so that an appropriate response can be decided upon. Being aware of what is occurring around the body as well as within the body during a manoeuvre is obviously essential in nailing the turn.
It is vital to surf in a meter or two radius around your body as this is an achievable striking distance to lunge, jump or re-act to.
It also mentally takes the pressure off us knowing that the task ahead is within our range. If your target is out of reach, then there are a number of possibilities that could go wrong. Your may feel pressure to reach the target in time which can lead to poor design making or you may over extend your reach to get there weakening your posture.
Increasing the strike rate
In the photo above, we can see it is far easier for Kelly to hit the lip a meter in front than it would be to chase it down 5 meters away. It is a shorter distance to travel so the turn is executed faster and it is a more believe able reality fro him to conceive. A measured strike range will allow:
- A calmer approach;
- Fluent, coordinated movements, completed with the correct speed, strength and power;
- Movements perfectly timed with the wave, in the power zone;
- A more vertical trajectory;
- Choosing to use the ‘right move at the right time’;
- Turns executed with relatively little effort;
- The whole move appearing measured and not rushed;
- A successful outcome.