A surfing tutorial with Kelly Slater - video

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

Struggling with your slob grabs? Rodeo flip a bit rusty? I feel your pain, and Kelly Slater does too, that's why he's here spouting all sorts of uncommon surfing wisdom.

This vid is compiled by Gold Coast surf coach Clayton Nienaber and features Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds, and Mick Fanning. The main footage of Mick was taken from 'One Session' by Ryan Moss.

Mick Fanning footage courtesy of Ryan Moss.
Dane Reynolds footage courtesy of Mini Blanchard.

Comments

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 5:28pm

I wondered why I kept seeing all these dingbats with their palms facing upwards flailing at the Point. I thought they were waiters offering someone a drink.

longboarder420's picture
longboarder420's picture
longboarder420 Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 1:23pm

I find it funny that Shortboarders always rip on bodyboarders but in fact bodyboarders have being doing airs for much longer then surfers and most moves have come from bodyboarding, Same with riding the shockwave bodyboarders have been going deep for ages,

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:17pm

Hahahhaaa, yep ... with the HPC near here, all I see are kids surfing the same with arms above their heads doing top turns and blowing waves pulling airs. None of them have any style. But, then, well ... I'm an old kook, and prefer to surf the wave, feel the sensation of the board under my feet and push my personal performance for MY enjoyment.

Written somewhere is the old philosophical question - do you ride your surfboard on the wave, or do you ride the wave on your surfboard? I've concluded good surfers blur that line ... the HPC trained monkeys are in the first camp and miss the whole point of reading a wave.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:25pm

wingnut2443 wrote:

Written somewhere is the old philosophical question - do you ride your surfboard on the wave, or do you ride the wave on your surfboard?

Plato, right?

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 7:23pm

Not sure Stu, I'd be punching way out of my weight class to even have a guess, let alone comment.

Besides, we have bigger issues at hand here ... Your boss for one. He's missed ANOTHER session this week. There really IS only so much that can be done to welcome him into the local fold ;) ... I got a very firm "Stop it!" from him this afternoon after I sent him a pic of what he was missing :)

yocal's picture
yocal's picture
yocal Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 9:38am

Plato shredded the surfboard on the wave for sure

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Saturday, 5 Sep 2015 at 9:02am

Aristotle?

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:23pm

seriously, I've never heard anything more ludicrous than turning your hand upside down to do a turn.
No wonder Brazil is smashing us senseless.

Also, is it too much to ask that they use a camera with a working autofocus.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:41pm

yeah, the poor focus had me too ... like serious, you're promoting something and that's the best you can do?

C'mon Steve, us old kooks might surf better with our palms sunny side up! Who knows?

You really should come up here and watch the HPC wannabe's, couple beers in the carpark ... it's a like a whole new 'reality TV' episode is unfolding in front of you.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Saturday, 5 Sep 2015 at 9:10am

Yes wingnut I was concerned about the HPC turning out robots. The whole scene is so far removed from where I surf it sounds like another planet. I think of some of my favourite surfers and they all have very different styles. Seems to be the way everything is going these days, put them in a box and set them off on rails for a very narrow path.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:43pm

What the hell did I just watch

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:47pm

Why all of a sudden are they teaching them to do that shit, FFS
Right I wanna see Wayne Dean do it at snapper
Shaun Tomson do it at J Bay
Sunny Garcia do it at sunset
Big Lifty do it at Blacks

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 7:24pm
udo wrote:

Why all of a sudden are they teaching them to do that shit, FFS
Right I wanna see Wayne Dean do it at snapper
Shaun Tomson do it at J Bay
Sunny Garcia do it at sunset
Big Lifty do it at Blacks

AND ... FR76 at the OX !!!

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:48pm

Wingy before the shark thing really kicked off here we'd see the HPC bus down here pretty regularly.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 6:55pm

Bus? ... There's 3 of the bloody things around here!

So, you know the 'techniques' I mention? ... Like serious, what's going on with all the BS 'surf coaching' stuff. Who dreamt this shit up ... has the HPC produced ANY top 5 surfer?

Hey Stu, maybe there is a story / article in there for swellnet? Your 'viewer' stats for the ASP / WSL rattled some cages, maybe some research about the 'outcomes' from all the government dosh that goes toward the HPC? I'm sure there are plenty of 'warm fuzzy' measurements used to justify the $ given to them ...

Gary G's picture
Gary G's picture
Gary G Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 8:11pm

Personally I loved the out of focus camera work.

I find my performance is highest when the people looking at me can't really find the focus either.

batfink's picture
batfink's picture
batfink Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 10:27pm

I'm with you all. There was a clip elsewhere on this site of Julian Wilson surfing some average to good indo waves. The issue of style came to my head. Comparing him to the brazzos, and it was so clear to me that Julian could pull these things off with style, but I look at Gabriel Medina in particular, and no question he is an amazing surfer, but style just never ventured int his neighbourhood.

Julian had flow, style, connection to the wave, I just don't see that in so many of the brazzos, who to me seem to fighting the wave, looking to overpower it rather than working with what is provided. Sure that sounds a little stereotypical, but it's what I see.

Am I wrong?

Julian a definite future world champ for me, but I would love to see Owen Wright bag one before JW takes over.

Hate flailing arms thing myself.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 5:30am

Hey batfink, yep... I basically said the same thing about JW over in the comments on the clip of JW.

For me, I can watch guys like Andriano, Wiggolly and Italo ... it's the flippy flappy styles of Gabby and Filipe that irritate me. I can't figure out why Zoseas has pushed the later two.

The sad thing ATM, is Matt Banting who, IMHO, is going too far down the 'flippy flappy' style path. He's a good kid, from a good roots surfing background, and has shown respect in the lineup whenever I've seen him out there... kid can surf, but needs to stick to his solid rail game and FUNCTIONAL air game.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Thursday, 3 Sep 2015 at 10:40pm

Kellys been known to flail the arms on occasion to milk the extra half a point in a heat.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 6:25am

v. true Zen.

Nothing wrong with Gabby's style either.

The old stereotype of the flapping Brazzo's is well dead and buried.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 4:35pm

Opinions, we all have them. For mine, I disagree Steve. By far the majority of the Brazzo's have crap 'flippy flappy' styles, and for zoseas to push them ahead of the likes of Italo, Wiggolly and Andriano is short sighted marketing.

Gabby claims WAY too many waves and is no where near as good as JJF, IMHO.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Saturday, 5 Sep 2015 at 9:13am

Ahhh not over the flat sections. Adriano?

hovercraft's picture
hovercraft's picture
hovercraft Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 10:02am

Slater's always moving around, adjusting what have you, Some of his crazy take offs etc...he is all over the shop WHEN he was pushing the limits.

I wish i could have Fannings take off and first turn, Danes raw power in 3-4 and Parkos or Currens coolness in finding and slotting into the barrel, JJF pure skill under the lip, Bourez's cutback, Nat Youngs lip game and Julians air game and girlfriend. I want nothing from our South American flappy birds.

ACB__'s picture
ACB__'s picture
ACB__ Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 3:10pm

I'd have Jordy's self confidence.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Saturday, 5 Sep 2015 at 9:14am

And his wife isn't too shabby.

Stevepalace's picture
Stevepalace's picture
Stevepalace Friday, 4 Sep 2015 at 6:02pm

If that guy was skating around doing turns like that down at my local park he would get a swift punch in the face and told to F*** off....