Beginner surfers learn to carve in both foam and real waves. The techniques are the same and the most fun aspect of surfing.
Surfers can learn to carve even as beginners in foam waves. The technique for foam and real wave begins the same. While riding straight on the board, the surfer rotates his upper body beginning with the eyes.
The eye lead carves in surfing. The eyes then turn the head and the shoulders arms and trunk should turn together in initiating the carve. When riding a foam wave, surfers can pump a few times to be sure they are in front of the wave and then look in the direction they want to carve (turn).
On real waves, surfers drop down the face and begin their run in the pocket with carving a bottom turn. The bottom turn takes the surfer into the pocket. On a short board, the surfer will accelerate by pushing the nose up and down the wave with his front foot.
On a long board, most surfers are going to drive the wave meaning run straight in the pocket. For carves on a long board, most surfers will move to the tail of the board putting the weight on their back foot, lifting the nose of the board and then swinging it in the direction of the turn.
On a short board, after accelerating for speed, the first turn might be up the face by once again initiating a bottom turn. In a bottom turn, the surfer initiates as above, then rides up the face. Once near the top, he decides on ripping the lip, getting air, or another trick like a 360.
For steep carves like up the face of a wave, the surfer will get a low center of gravity and usually drag their inside hand in the water. Its still a bottom turn and requires the surfer to look up the wave and rotate their upper body.
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