Longboardam

Interesting take, kinda on this topic on what is style.


http://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2015/04/09/elements-surfing-style

Elements of surfing style


<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">After watching the world's best struggle in small, low tide waves at Bells blindboy was moved to consider the neglected issue of surfing style.Style was once almost as important in judging a surfer's performance as the path they sliced and carved across the wave. Think Dora, Edwards, Farrelly, Lopez, Lynch, Fitzgerald, and Abelleira amongst others. Now, if the word is used at all, it seems to have a much more limited application. This is not to say that modern surfers lack style, Parkinson, Fanning and Florence are the names that come to mind but many other professionals past and present, are also exemplars.However we rate individual surfers it is indisputable that style counts for less than it once did and, consequently it is also less understood. These days it seems to be considered as a unitary quality which a surfer either possesses or does not. This is wrong. Surfing style is composed of discrete elements that need to be considered individually

.Functionality: In simple terms style has to work and ceases to be style when it inhibits performance. A classic example of this is the surfer who, having pulled into a large barrel, strikes a pose that results in his head getting hit by the lip. There are many lesser examples that can be seen fairly frequently at almost any level of surfing. The point is that where ever self-consciousness intrudes, style is likely to disappear. Functionality then is the base on which all else depends.

Economy: All movements need to be the minimum necessary to achieve their purpose. This does not mean minimal power. It means matching the power to the purpose. Consider the surfer who hits a bottom turn without considering that the approaching section is actually filling up. Often the board can be ripped through the turn with little loss of performance but usually with much loss of style. More broadly the idea is to dispense with the inessential; that trailing arm waving randomly in the breeze, the floppy wrist, the tics and twitches? Get rid of them. Claims, by the same criteria, no matter how richly justified, are never stylish.

Flow: It can be defined as the continuity of movement of both board and body in smooth regular patterns so that there are no pauses or sudden jerks. The path of the board, represented in space, should appear as one long curve with no singularities. No matter how much power is applied over how small a distance, the resulting path should be curved to maintain style. The radius of the curve may be tiny, but it should be there. The most common breach of this is the pivot on a rail fin to imitate a cutback or snap where it is not possible to perform the actual manoeuvre. Heinously abused in competitive surfing. Board flapping across fat sections need not even be mentioned.

Harmony: This is probably the most controversial point but is no less valid for that. The surfer should surf with the wave rather than force a pre-conceived pattern upon it. This is another area where many competitive surfers lose style. The most obvious example is when a surfer, desperately needing a high score, uses the whole wave to set up a final aerial. Aerials as such are not the problem, it is their imposition into a situation where they do not fit the wave. A similar point could be made about surfers forcing themselves more vertically into the lip than suits the wave, so they end up with a jerky recovery onto the face rather than a smooth transition. Recreational surfers can be equally guilty of this kind of over amping. Watch any beach break and see how long it takes to see an otherwise competent surfer force too much rail into the water on a cutback and either fall off or make an ungainly recovery.

Aesthetics: It may be theoretically possible to apply a purely aesthetic scheme to the relationship of board, body and wave but it is probably impossible to work from that scheme, that design if you like, to actual performance in the way that dancers and ice skaters do. The constantly shifting surface on which we perform mitigates against it. Rather the aesthetic quality arises naturally from other elements. A well balanced stance and natural flowing movements that fit the curves of the wave should automatically cause the lines of body, board and wave to align in a manner pleasing to the eye. That said, in some circumstances a greater awareness of posture would make a big difference. The most common fault is probably the hunching of the shoulders and dropping of the head.Young surfers and beginners need to be aware of these principles from day one. The focus, for a considerable period of their development should be on control and surfing the wave as it presents itself. Very often young surfers think only in terms of manoeuvres and force themselves in to attempting things that are clearly beyond their powers, if not to complete, then to integrate into the totality of the wave. It can be hard to recover from this in later years. The best surfers seem to demonstrate an inherent awareness of style from the moment they first step onto a board and build their repertoire without straining for particular manoeuvres in isolation. The rest of us, even if we can never approach their level of performance, might learn from that. //blindboy

SP said..

Interesting take, kinda on this topic on what is style.


http://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2015/04/09/elements-surfing-style

Elements of surfing style


<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">After watching the world's best struggle in small, low tide waves at Bells blindboy was moved to consider the neglected issue of surfing style.Style was once almost as important in judging a surfer's performance as the path they sliced and carved across the wave. Think Dora, Edwards, Farrelly, Lopez, Lynch, Fitzgerald, and Abelleira amongst others. Now, if the word is used at all, it seems to have a much more limited application. This is not to say that modern surfers lack style, Parkinson, Fanning and Florence are the names that come to mind but many other professionals past and present, are also exemplars.However we rate individual surfers it is indisputable that style counts for less than it once did and, consequently it is also less understood. These days it seems to be considered as a unitary quality which a surfer either possesses or does not. This is wrong. Surfing style is composed of discrete elements that need to be considered individually

.Functionality: In simple terms style has to work and ceases to be style when it inhibits performance. A classic example of this is the surfer who, having pulled into a large barrel, strikes a pose that results in his head getting hit by the lip. There are many lesser examples that can be seen fairly frequently at almost any level of surfing. The point is that where ever self-consciousness intrudes, style is likely to disappear. Functionality then is the base on which all else depends.

Economy: All movements need to be the minimum necessary to achieve their purpose. This does not mean minimal power. It means matching the power to the purpose. Consider the surfer who hits a bottom turn without considering that the approaching section is actually filling up. Often the board can be ripped through the turn with little loss of performance but usually with much loss of style. More broadly the idea is to dispense with the inessential; that trailing arm waving randomly in the breeze, the floppy wrist, the tics and twitches? Get rid of them. Claims, by the same criteria, no matter how richly justified, are never stylish.

Flow: It can be defined as the continuity of movement of both board and body in smooth regular patterns so that there are no pauses or sudden jerks. The path of the board, represented in space, should appear as one long curve with no singularities. No matter how much power is applied over how small a distance, the resulting path should be curved to maintain style. The radius of the curve may be tiny, but it should be there. The most common breach of this is the pivot on a rail fin to imitate a cutback or snap where it is not possible to perform the actual manoeuvre. Heinously abused in competitive surfing. Board flapping across fat sections need not even be mentioned.

Harmony: This is probably the most controversial point but is no less valid for that. The surfer should surf with the wave rather than force a pre-conceived pattern upon it. This is another area where many competitive surfers lose style. The most obvious example is when a surfer, desperately needing a high score, uses the whole wave to set up a final aerial. Aerials as such are not the problem, it is their imposition into a situation where they do not fit the wave. A similar point could be made about surfers forcing themselves more vertically into the lip than suits the wave, so they end up with a jerky recovery onto the face rather than a smooth transition. Recreational surfers can be equally guilty of this kind of over amping. Watch any beach break and see how long it takes to see an otherwise competent surfer force too much rail into the water on a cutback and either fall off or make an ungainly recovery.

Aesthetics: It may be theoretically possible to apply a purely aesthetic scheme to the relationship of board, body and wave but it is probably impossible to work from that scheme, that design if you like, to actual performance in the way that dancers and ice skaters do. The constantly shifting surface on which we perform mitigates against it. Rather the aesthetic quality arises naturally from other elements. A well balanced stance and natural flowing movements that fit the curves of the wave should automatically cause the lines of body, board and wave to align in a manner pleasing to the eye. That said, in some circumstances a greater awareness of posture would make a big difference. The most common fault is probably the hunching of the shoulders and dropping of the head.Young surfers and beginners need to be aware of these principles from day one. The focus, for a considerable period of their development should be on control and surfing the wave as it presents itself. Very often young surfers think only in terms of manoeuvres and force themselves in to attempting things that are clearly beyond their powers, if not to complete, then to integrate into the totality of the wave. It can be hard to recover from this in later years. The best surfers seem to demonstrate an inherent awareness of style from the moment they first step onto a board and build their repertoire without straining for particular manoeuvres in isolation. The rest of us, even if we can never approach their level of performance, might learn from that. //blindboy