Log Tips #2 - Cross Stepping with Elle Sutherland
Yonder ambassador Elle Sutherland shares her top ten tips for learning how to cross step. Before we get into her excellent tips, we would recommend that if you are hoping to cross-step your way to the nose then you need to be on the right equipment and in the right conditions.
A longboard in the 9-10ft range is going to be ideal for this. We ride 9’6’s and that is a really common size. Most of the beautiful, graceful long boarding we see takes place on single fins. A nice 9.75-10.5” fin will give you nice hold.
You also want a nice forgiving day, something in the 2ft range with good shape but still nice and mellow. Too small and you wont have enough water running over your rails to hold you, too big and it’s going to make life very difficult.
Over to Elle!
“I don’t pretend to be an expert, and I’ve only taken up long-boarding myself these past few years. But in someways, that means the learning process is still fresh for me. So here are my top tips for anyone else starting out with long-boarding and cross-stepping.
Don’t take it too seriously. You’re gonna fall on your ass in the beginning, so be prepared to laugh at yourself!
Don’t be over ambitious. You’re unlikely to be getting to the nose any time soon. Start by aiming for two steps forward, two steps back. Once you’ve mastered that, you can think about going for the nose. And don’t be surprised if you find back-stepping trickier.
Aim for shoulder-width steps; if you take big strides then you’re more likely lose your balance and become unstuck.
If you’re anxious about fluffing your cross-step attempt and messing up that beautiful wave that’s stretching out in front of you, then why not try it towards the end of the ride instead. But remember, it won’t work if you’re too far out on the shoulder and away from the wave’s power source (‘the pocket’).
Practice, practice, practice. And practice some more. Both on land and in the sea.
Maximise water time. There is no substitute for the real deal.
You’ll find cross-stepping a lot easier if you have a strong core, it will keep you centred and more stable. So get on those ab crunches ladies!
Learn from others. Watch the good long-boarders in your local line-up. And with social media these days there is an absolute wealth of surfing footage out there. Save your favourite clips and watch them over and over!
Don’t lose faith. Learning to cross-step takes time, so don’t be disheartened if you feel you’re not getting it straight away.
Most importantly, you’ve gotta have fun. It’s guaranteed that the moment you start getting frustrated or uptight, then you will fluff up every single wave from then on!”
