style

toneranger's picture
toneranger started the topic in Friday, 7 Mar 2014 at 2:27pm

I was watching that video on Ryan Burch and it got me thinking the importance or lack of style in surfing.Like a lot of things in our modern world it seems [like breakfast radio AND t.v.] have become a bit homogenized.Thinking of the current crop,say Kelly and Parko seem to have it in spades.It's not meant to be a list[I know i've left out some],just an example.Out of the current contest scene,citing history,I'd mention Midget,Wayne,Joel Tudor,M.R. to name a few.Anyway,watching contests live now with running commentary you often here"judges looking for big manouvres off the top","linking big manouvres with flow",but not a lot about "with style".Do the judges factor "style in their scores or is it all manouvre.This brings me to my next point.Watching the women surf last year and particularly this year on the Gold Coast competition,the women's standard of surfing has become nothing short of amazing.Sally Fitzgibbon has all the moves,is hungry but for God's sake Sally ,stand up straight,stop sticking that butt out and win a world title

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Tuesday, 11 Mar 2014 at 4:00pm

I swear Turdpel is just reading a from a list of catch phrases

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Tuesday, 11 Mar 2014 at 9:18pm

Sally fitz not so good style, Steph Gilmore great style.
Adriano not so good style, Machado great style

lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy Tuesday, 11 Mar 2014 at 10:06pm
goofyfoot wrote:

Sally fitz not so good style, Steph Gilmore great style.
Adriano not so good style, Machado great style

Disagree about Adriano.
He's not the same as he was when he was a grommet. I think his surfing is very powerful and stylish these days.

The commentators seemed to mention style over and over again during one of Dion Atkinson's heats. Kind of annoying. Parko seems to score better now when he adds something a little extra that I believe takes away from the effortless and graceful style too in my opinion. Hard to describe without going through video footage though.

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Tuesday, 11 Mar 2014 at 10:20pm

Yeah lostdoggy, when they interviewed the head judged, he really really emphasised critical turns. But I like seeing Parko just standing at the bottom for a couple seconds, just staring down the line, then unleashing. Adds an element of... mystique