Good longboarders make noseriding look angelic. Watching a perfect noseride doesn’t rouse the same virile shouts heard after the forceful hack of John John’s shortboard — it’s like being seated on a front-row red cushion, unable to blink at the riveting performance of inexplicably balanced soul-arching hang 10s and wispy cross-steps.
But it took good longboarders time and practice to get comfortable on the nose. Here are some noseriding tips straight from the vault of professional longboarding.
Choosing a Noserider Longboard
To get better at noseriding, you need the right tools. You’ll want to consider 3 different areas of a surfboard: length, rails, fin setup and shape.
Length: A longboard is defined as a board that’s minimum 3 feet over your head. A lot of professional longboarders like their boards to be in the 9’6 range. Smaller women or men might go for a 9’4, where taller and heavier women or men might like a 9’8. If you fall into the big kahuna category, a 10′ might do the job.
Rails and fin setup: Noseriding is easiest to try on a traditional longboard, which is a heavier board with soft 50/50 rails and one fin as opposed to a lighter, high-performance 2+1 (two side fins and a longer center fin) with harder 60/40 rails. This board type is better for executing other types of maneuvers like hard turns.
Shape: The nose of the board should follow the shape of a noserider, which is exaggeratedly rounded and not pulled in like a typical fun shape or mid length. If it’s excessively pulled in (comes to a tip instead of rounded out), there will be less volume in the nose of the board to hold you up for a noseride. It also helps to have a bit of concave under the nose as well as some nose rocker for extra lift support. Note: some longboarders like smaller noses because they work well in the pocket, but for the purposes of beginning noseriders, we recommend a larger, 18.5-20″ nose.
- Concave is a small depression underneath the nose of the board that allows air to accumulate with forward motion and lift the nose of the board out of the water.
- Nose rocker is when only the nose of the board is curved up ever so slightly. Some longboarders like a 1/2-1″ nose rocker.
Steps for Learning to Noseride
To noseride, there are 6 things on which to focus:
- Wave selection
- Cross stepping
- Setting up correctly
- Posture
- Arm positioning
- Walking back
Pick the Right Wave
The correct type of wave can fast-track you on a highway to the nose, but the wrong type can keep you in an endless loop of tumbles.
A clean, knee-to-chest high day with peeling waves and enough room and time to think are the optimal conditions for learning how to noseride. It’s also helpful if the waves have a little bit of power, because if the waves are too small and weak, it’s difficult to stay in the wave and keep momentum while on the nose — kind of like when you become unbalanced when riding a bike too slow.
There’s also a secret sauce to noseriding, and that’s being in the pocket of the wave. If the wave has a nice line on it that peels and isn’t all shoulder, then it’s a longboarder’s dream.
Set Up For Your Noseride
After catching a wave, the best time to typically noseride is after your bottom turn (but it depends on the slope of the wave). The section on which you noseride must be steep enough or be moving quickly enough so that you don’t sink. You’ll want to be on the high-line before you take your first cross step — that’s the top half of the wave.
Here are some tips for setting up your board in the wave:
- First, try to find yourself a waist-high wave.
- Bottom turn and angle your board up the face of the wave, but instead of cutting back again, set your board up so that you’re on the high line of the wave, angled down the line.
- Make sure that you’re in a steep enough part of the wave — noseriding is actually best to do in the “oh sh*t” part of the wave. If you’re on the shoulder, you’ll likely sink when you get to the nose.
Master Cross Stepping
Without a cross-step, you can’t get to where you need to be. Cross stepping is the act of crossing your dominant back leg over your front leg, then bringing your front leg out from underneath your back leg to take a step forward.
The action is much more efficient and effective than shuffling. Shuffling is simply sliding your back foot up to your front, then sliding out your front to shift forward. It’s a no-no in longboarding and will accumulate negative style points.
Much like learning to paddle before you can surf a wave, you’ll need to master cross stepping before you can comfortably ride the nose. Try bringing one foot over the other on land, and practice keeping your core strong.
And remember that it typically takes two small steps OR one large step to get to the nose.
So, practice, and read our lengthier article, How to Cross Step.
Posture
Posture is everything in noseriding, and where your weight shifts could mean a forward tumble or a beautiful ride. The very best longboarders aren’t hunched over when cross stepping or nose-riding — they walk with barely any bend to their body and a generally straight posture.
There are some exceptions when doing a cheater 5 or crouching down when on the nose to gain speed or even to drag the wave to slow down, but, in general, you want to keep your back as straight, core tight and your feet moving under your body smoothly. Try to cross step on land like you’re floating, with little movement in your upper body. Or, pretend there’s a stick strapped to your back so that you can’t move (but only when you’re cross stepping and on the nose — it disappears for a powerful turn).
Use Your Arms for Balance
Consider your back arm to be your rudder, while your front arm should be kept down. This is not just a stylistic preference — moving your back arm up and down will help you regulate and achieve balance.
If you bring your front arm up, even though it might feel like a momentary savior, it’ll actually throw you out of balance. A golden rule of longboarding is quiet, smooth arms.
Getting to the Nose
So now, your line is set, your back is straight, your arms are helping you feel more comfortable, and you’re ready to walk.
To get to the nose, you’ll need to take either 2 small to medium cross-steps or one large, jump-like step. It’s best to move your feet quickly, as any minuscule weight shifts will tell your board to do something new.
When you do get to the nose, wrap your front toes around the tip of the board for a hang 5, and shift most of your weight to your back foot (depending on what the wave is doing). If it feels like you’re going to lose the wave, you should be able to shift some weight to your front foot to gain a little speed. If you feel like it, bring your back foot up for a quick 10, then shift your back foot to its original hang 5 spot to prepare for walking back.
Walking Back
Getting to the nose is the easy part — you can cross-step up and stand there for a few seconds, but then, reality hits and so does a face-full of ocean. Getting back from the nose is the hardest part about noseriding and simply takes a lot of practice. Remember to have good posture, and try your best to keep your weight shifted back. This will help when you bring your front foot from the nose back behind your back foot.