A “perfect” bottom turn is the preparation maneuver for a re-entry, snap and more what you can do on top of the lip.

In the surfing world, the bottom turn is taught and seen differently by many coaches. I want to explain with this small contribution briefly what happens during a bottom turn and how to practice a bottom turn.

Before we released Surf Companions, I had worked with many coaches and was always interested in the details of what moves were needed for what maneuvers because of my sports studies. After a lot of searching and evaluating techniques, we managed to package the steps into step-by-step illustrations. The bottom turn actually has only 3 important points compared to the cutback, which if followed, makes a great bottom turn.

If you look closely at the pros in video & photos, they all basically do the same thing (with different styles, of course). The hard part is rather to summarize which exact movement you have to make now.
If the wave allows it, you should surf after the take-off in the “flat” of the wave, then you have a longer way to the lip and the “pivot point” of the bottom turn is in the flat and not mid-face, i.e. in the middle of the wave. The preparation is therefore: Surf “down” into the flat of the wave. Many surfers forget 🙂

As you can see in the photo, the main body movements are the following:

COMPRESSION: A compression of the upper body ( “compress” ) over the surfboard.

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REACH & HOLD: Stretching and holding. ( reach&hold )

A solid bottom turn is an essential that you should definitely look at.

If your bottom turn is solid, the maneuvers that follow will be much easier.

Now get out there and practice your bottom turn!

I am excited about your experiences with Bottom Turns and hope I can expand your surfing knowledge with this little insight and thus your surfing!

Daniel
Co-Founder Surfcompanions