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How to position yourself higher in the wave using your inside rail
If you look back at tip 7, we talked about how you want to be positioned in the upper third of the wave for your noseride. Thereâs a few different ways to go about doing this, but in todayâs tip weâre going to focus on using your inside rail.
And to make sure weâre all on the same page, the inside rail is the rail of your board thatâs closer to the face of the wave regardless of whether youâre going frontside or backside. So if youâre going frontside itâs your toe side rail and if youâre going backside itâs your heel side rail.
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so why is your inside rail important?
Because consciously applying or releasing pressure from your inside rail helps to position you higher or lower on the wave face.
As water travels up the wave face, if your rail is engaged in the wave it will push the rail (and therefore the board) in an upwards direction. If the rail isnât engaged, your board will be planing along the surface instead travelling down the wave face.
By applying more pressure on your inside rail, youâll âclimbâ up the wave face & position yourself higher in the wave.
Releasing pressure lowers you back down if needed (this can be necessary if youâve applied too much pressure or are starting to go up & over the back of the wave or if youâre just making an adjustment as conditions change).
Consciously applying or releasing pressure from your inside rail helps to position you higher or lower on the wave face
The way you apply pressure is done one of two ways (or a combo):
- by pressing down with your toes or heels (whichever is on the inside). This can be sufficient for minor adjustments.
- by moving your hips towards the inside rail to put weight into your toes or heels. This is probably the more common way to do it, just make sure youâre not bending at the waist to lean over!
Balancing this pressure on the inside rail helps your board to find its position on the wave face & gives you an easy way to keep making adjustments as you go.
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