Top turns along with the bottom turn are the foundations of surfing. After the bottom turn, it is the next move you need to master. The top turn is the move that allows you set up turns, store or release speed, but more importantly, it lets to link up the pockets of power along a wave. Helping yo to make mushy sections, ride a wave for longer and perform bigger moves. The top turn is also where you start to build on your moves, getting more radical. However, top turns seem to be the number one cause of snapped noses and folded ski's and kayaks. As a result, we've had a lot of requests for the next move on the blog being top turns.
Firstly, a top turn is a turn on the face of the wave, the nose doesn't extend out over the top of the wave, if it does, it becomes a re-entry or an off-the-lip.
Lets look at a traditional top turn:
1.You have dropped in on a wave, you can see a steeper wall ahead. A perfect area to set up some speed, for a bigger move further along the wave...
2. Perform a bottom a bottom turn, with your weight forward and your inside rail buried. You can see I am looking up at the walling section that will catapult me forward...
3. As you approach the spot, keep your eye on the spot, but start to release your inside rail to a flat plane. Start moving your weight to the centre of the ski (rather than the front) to allow the fins to do their job. The idea is you will have all youe speed and are ready to engage the outside rail...
4. As you hit the spot, start your turn early so that you can keep the speed you have gained. Lean over toward the outside rail. You will be using the outside edge of the rail as rocker, so start to insert this rail and use only a little bit of paddle...
5. Your outside rail inserted, start trowing your weight over your feet. Your aim here is to keep your momentum. At this point, you should have spotted where your next turn will be, often a spot for another bottom turn, top turn combination. As soon as your nose comes around in the turn, get ready to engage your inside rail again...
6. Turn completed, you should have lots of speed and well set up for your next move, and ready to blast off the bottom again.
Here is another example of a top turn on a crap wave.
You can see that the wave fattens out so it backs-off and gets slow. You can see the same as described above, using the outside rail and a small use of paddle to keep the speed, setting up moves further down the wave:
Putting style in it...
Top turns in contests are what can turn a 6.5 wave into a 7.5. A couple of well placed turns add points, and shows you know where the power pockets are. You could take off, go down the line and wait till the lip presents itself, but that ain't surfing! You can make a top turn into quite a cool move.
Take a look at this little video of some top turns (sorry the quality is crap - but you don't usually film top turns!)
First one - blowing out the tail: You can turn later and insert too much outside rail. As long as you have speed, this will break your tail out off the top of the wave while still allowing you to set your inside rail. You can see I am looking at where I want to be next, so this has set up a move nicely.
Second - top turn into a cut-back. Here you can see there is a very small pocket of speed. A nice drop soon opens out to a slow fat face. Yet, you can see further down the wave it walls up again allowing a close out move. So here the top turn is performed with even more outside rail, snapping the nose around by pulling hard on your feet while forcing your ass into your seat, turning you 180 degrees. The idea being to set you up in the power pocket when you need it, to connect with the inside. Big snaps will stall the ski for a split second, allowing you to set up your next turn.
Third - set up and 'exclamation mark' move. Here is probably the worst footage yet the best example of using top turns. Lets face it the wave is crap, slow an short area of speed, and if you do make the section, the wave is going to close out. OK its not very exciting, but is functional, the first top turn sets up the next move as described earlier. An exclamation mark move is the one you do at the end of a wave. Usually a big air in the close out, or a massive re-entry. On slow, close out crappy waves you can add some style. You can perform your top turn, but instead of trying to use it for speed to set up a move, it is your move. Here I set way too much outside rail, with my weight over the tail (rather than over my feet). Similar to blowing out the tail, but as it's a close out, you can over extend the turn, letting the tail slide. This can be a fun way to end a crap wave, but in doing so you need to sink the nose to throw the tail, as the tail spins it will release the nose.
That all seems easy enough - where does the damage come from?
The danger comes from where the turn is done, and not committing to the move. Before you perform your turn, you need to be sure, is it functional? Is this turn to set up another turn, or is it the final move itself? Top turns are at the steepest part of the wave. If you are using your top turn as a set up, don't over extend your turn. Remember to release your inside rail early and get into a neutral plane (no.3) and be ready to throw your weight forward while inserting your front inside rail. You want to let the ski do the work and it's inside rail act as the rocker. You need the confidence the ski will do it's job. If you turn and don't re-engage the inside rail, the volume of the ski means the tail can drift up the face, the nose can dive... right in the steepest, most powerful part of the wave. Turning too far on a set up turn can do the same thing - drive your nose into the beach.
If a exclamation move, make sure you pull your nose in hard and keep your weight over the tail. Keeping your weight over the tail will ensure you release the outside rail while releasing the nose. You will slightly invert, so that when you pull up on your feet, the tail will slide, its momentum will sink the nose, but it's momentum will release the nose again so that the tail and inside rail do the work. Naturally, as you complete the move your weight will be over the nose again.
Here is another little video. Again, sorry its crap, but it is an enlargement to show weight position and rail placement. Oh, and it is a off the lip rather than a top-turn but the technique is the same!
