All right, so you’re up and riding on your SUP board but if you’re like most of the world’s surf population that doesn’t have perfect Hawaiian waves to bash every day here’s a great manoeuvre to learn that can ultimately lead into some advanced moves which we’ll cover in future issues. The Cross-Step is a traditional long board style move that if done correctly will add style and grace to your riding.

In the early stages of surfing longer SUP boards, you’ll notice that many riders do what we label as the “shuffle”. This is where a rider will awkwardly reposition himself on the board by moving his feet without actually lifting them up. Although it looks relatively easy to perform a decent cross-step forward, and then back, requires some skill so let’s take a look at a few tips that will help speed up this process.

First thing, as you catch the wave is to do a very slight bottom turn to redirect your board along the wave face so as to maintain speed. It’s important from the start to keep your paddle on the side of the wave to which you are travelling as this can be a tool to help maintain balance and speed control.

As soon as you feel stable, bring your back foot over your front foot and place it in front of the other foot. It’s very important to distribute your pressure evenly between both feet. Too much pressure too quick on your new front foot will cause you to nose dive.

Key point is to twist your upper body towards the front of the board as you start cross-stepping. This will help you maintain a more centre line as you step forward rather than off the side of your board.

Once you have cross-stepped once, slowly bring your new back foot and cross-step slightly in front of your new front foot. At this stage be sure to take smaller steps so as to avoid putting too much pressure too quick on the nose of the board.

Keep your knees slightly bent and the top part of your body bent slightly back towards the tail of the board. As you move closer to the front of the board this will need to be even more exaggerated. This posture keeps weight on your fin to prevent it from breaking loose.

Once again use your paddle as a tool and skim it across the top of the wave to help stabilize yourself.

At this stage you can either cross-step one more time and go into a full hang ten, toes over the nose or initially it’s recommended to stay where you are or alternatively try slide your front foot a little more forward until you feel comfortable in riding near the front of your board.

Now the tricky part - getting back to a regular stance. Do exactly the reverse of what you did to get forward. A good tip is to push your board forward slightly and slide it under your feet as you cross-step back. This will feel as if you are not going anywhere as your board is moving forward so ensure to use your paddle to stabilize yourself.

Ivan van Vuuren

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